Sydney designer/artist Gemma O’Brien named to jury for global TDC Ascenders 2024 Competition

Gemma O’Brien, an internationally renowned designer and artist based in Sydney, is among the 20 creatives from 12 countries named to the jury for the Type Directors Club‘s global TDC Ascenders 2024 competition, celebrating international typographers, letterers and type designers aged 35 and under.

Ascenders is a fast-growing portfolio-based competition dedicated to type in all its versatile forms and the inspiring up and coming designers — individuals or duos — who are elevating the medium.  Entrants submit six projects – typography, use of type, design, lettering, etc. – with short descriptions, a statement of their role in the project’s creation, and a list of individual credits where applicable.  

Says O’Brien: “Winning Ascenders in 2022 was a celebration for me, a chance to reflect on my creative output,  and an acknowledgment of how the creative industry has profoundly enriched my life. I encourage all typographic artists to take pride in their work and enter Ascenders 2024.  I can’t wait to see the portfolios of this year’s entrants.”

This year’s entries will be judged by a diverse jury of global leaders in the field, including some past Ascenders winners.  The complete jury list can be viewed here.

Entries are now being accepted, with entry fees increasing after the early-bird deadline of March 15, 2024.  Final deadline April 19, 2024.  Entries will be judged by a diverse jury of global leaders in the field, to be announced shortly, and winners will be announced in June 2024.

In order to make Ascenders affordable around the globe, TDC offers a tiered pricing structure with significant discounts based on the country where the entrant is located: full-priced, mid-priced, low-priced, and, for eight countries, free.  TDC members also qualify for discounts. 

This year’s Ascenders branding and award are designed by TDC Advisory Board members Marta Cerdà Alimbau, who runs her design studio in Barcelona, and Parasto Backman, who operates Studio Parasto Backman in Stockholm.  

For more information and to enter, please visit the TDC Ascenders 2024 website.

Photographer: Jeremy Shaw