One of the most distinguished and prestigious competitions in the design world is the TDC Annual Typography Competition. The Type Directors Club writes the book on the best typographic design—literally—by producing the eagerly-awaited annual.

This year’s competition, TDC51, consists of 225 winners selected from over 2,400 entries representing 37 countries from Norway to New Zealand to Germany. The competition, along with the annual and an international traveling show, present an opportunity to record and preserve a snapshot of what is happening in the world of typographic design. The winning pieces are a barometer, of sorts, of where the creative wind is blowing.

The competition recognizes excellence in the use of typography, hand lettering, and other letterforms in conjunction with graphic design in every media, including all forms of print and multimedia. The creative playing field is leveled as designers from every country, of every age and experience level—from students to seasoned professionals—are invited to enter their work.

The judges for this year’s competition included Cecelia Dean, Evan Gaffney, Christopher Mount, Jonathan Notaro, Piet Schreuders, and Gabriele Wilson. Charles Nix, chairman of this year’s competition, says, “If you ever meet someone who has judged a design competition, thank them. It’s grueling work. This year’s Type Directors Club competition had thousands of entries, and the judges scrutinized each one. Design competitions like ours create the historical record, and are an important form of proof of professional achievement.”

Overall, the entries represented a very broad range of design perspectives and approaches, from the literal to the figurative; from dramatic to downplayed. Lots of creative and unconventional use of type, in a non-font way. Here is a sneak peek at the winning selections of TDC51, months ahead of the fall release of the annual.