Founding member Milton Zudek described the club's goals at their first exhibit opening in 1947: We simply want to make more and more advertising people aware of the importance of the agency typographer.

We want them to realize that the selection of type for an advertisement demands a sixth sense that goes beyond the basic knowledge of typefaces—that it demands, in effect, the same kind of artistic sense that people have learned to associate with Art Directors, but are still learning to associate with Type Directors.” Speaking that same night, Paul Lang, a member of the Art Directors Club remarked, “When I began, artists were called layout men, renderers or finishers.

Founding member Milton Zudeck described the club’s goals: “We simply want to make more and more advertising people aware of the important of the agency typographer.

[6] 1987: The TDC’s first international conference Type 1987 was held in Manhattan, giving participants the opportunity to gather with “stars” from outside the US like Adrian Frutiger and Neville Brody.

The TDC’s first international conference, Type 1987 was held in Manhattan, giving participants the opportunity to gather with “stars” from outside the US like Adrian Frutiger and Neville Brody.

In addition to celebrating outstanding achievements, the typography competitions and resulting annuals serve as important historical records of typographic trends, and are an invaluable resource for both designers and scholars.

Beatrice Warde Scholarship Winners receive a $5,000 USD award as well as a free one-year student membership to the TDC, offering discounts and other opportunities for conferences and events.

Previous winners of the award include Doah Kwon (2022) Ximena Amaya (2021), Tatiana Lopez (2020), Blossom Liu (2019), Anna Skoczeń (2018), Tasnima Tanzim (2017), Ania Wieluńska (2016), and Rebecca Bartola (2015).