The writer Beatrice Warde (1900–1969) was brilliant and groundbreaking—and she was also a typographic scholar and the first female member of the Type Directors Club. So it’s fitting that the organization honors her and tomorrow’s female-identifying typographic creatives with the Beatrice Warde Scholarship, a $5,000 award that is open to students globally who are in their second-to-last year of undergraduate education, and “whose work demonstrates exceptional talent, sophistication and skill in the use of typography across current media.”
As the TDC details: “She enthusiastically believed in the merits of education and championed them throughout her professional career with Monotype [where she was publicity manager]. Her office was an open door for any person interested in typography, and numerous people in the initial stage of their careers began their education with a visit.”
The criteria for the Warde award extends beyond type design and includes design criticism, and submissions will be judged by Gail Anderson, Ralitsa Debrah, Deborah Gonet, Shelley Gruendler, Kwame Nkrumah, Rathna Ramanathan, Fiona Ross and Mariko Takagi.
Simultaneously, the TDC has announced the return of the TDC Superscript Scholarship, now in its sophomore year, which honors BIPOC students studying type in the U.S. with a $5,000 award. Acknowledging the daunting industry data—that the design industry is composed of only 3% Black, 5% Biracial and 8% Latinx creatives, with even lower statistics in type design—the scholarship is open to juniors or first-year grad/post-grad students “who demonstrate exceptional talent and promise in the design and creation of letterforms (typeface, lettering or calligraphy).”
The jury for the award includes Saki Mafundikwa, Bobby C. Martin Jr., Nina Stössinger, Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich and David Jon Walker.
“TDC works to amplify the power and influence of typography in the cultural landscape,” board member Bobby C. Martin, Jr. said in a release. “These two scholarships were created to bring more women and BIPOC designers into the field, and thereby make it better.”
Monotype is sponsoring both awards, and the deadline for entries is Feb. 26. Find out more about the Beatrice Warde Scholarship here, and the Superscript Scholarship here.