The society has an international membership and its aims are to establish and maintain standards of typography and to provide a forum for debate.

[1] The ISTD was originally formed as the British Typographers' Guild (BTG) in 1928, when Vincent Steer and friends met in a Sicilian restaurant in Holborn, to found the society.

Steer recognized the need and the potential for the creative typographer's skills in a world where most 'design' was carried out through compositors' layouts.

From his own background in printing, and the opportunity to observe the trade in America, he determined to develop the profession of typography in the UK, and to that end started the British Typographers Guild with six other like-minded founding members.

Student Assessments are held in England, Ireland, Middle East, South Africa and Australia to deal with the submissions relating to each location.