"The typographic community is at an inflection point — there's a global blossoming of interest and more nuanced cultural conversations taking place," Samarskaya says.

"It's an exciting moment in history and an incredible privilege to join TDC at this critical juncture. I'm very honoured and pleased to be working with our incoming advisory board and The One Club to help facilitate the conversations and momentum underway," adds Samarskaya.

Samarskaya will work alongside Carol Wahler, long-standing TDC executive director, to expand on TDC's commitment to typographic excellence. She will be responsible for:
  • driving TDC's brand and vision
  • managing marketing and partnerships
  • overseeing operations
  • heralding TDC's annual Typeface Design, Communication Design and Ascenders competitions, and
  • launching new initiatives.
She will also work closely with the TDC advisory board to ensure consistent application and continuation of TDC's anti-racist pledge, which involves proactively seeking women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ designers to become:
  • members
  • awards programme judges
  • event speakers, and
  • board members.
"Samarskaya's strong skill set, deep industry knowledge and connections, as well as energy, make her the right person to help drive TDC growth and relevance to the global type community," concludes Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club. "Bringing her on board as the organisation's first managing director is also a reflection of The One Club's commitment to TDC and all that it stands for."

Established in New York in 1946, TDC celebrates and aims to amplify the power of typography and serves as a global community united by the shared belief that type drives culture and culture drives type.

The organisation runs the TDC Communication Design and TDC Typeface Design competitions. It also produces The World's Best Typography® annual, coordinates traveling global exhibitions of award-winning work and offers scholarship programmes. It hosts:
  • conferences
  • classes
  • workshops
  • type salons, and
  • a design jobs board.
For more information, visit www.oneclub.org. You can also follow The One Club on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.