This is the certificate I wrote, designed, letterpress-printed, and presented to Gerrit Noordzij with his TDC Medal from the Type Directors Club during the 2013 ATypI conference in Amsterdam. It’s typeset in Noordzij’s own typeface, Ruse, and was printed at The Arm in Brooklyn, NY.

Noordzij passed away on March 17, 2022, and he will be missed. It’d be hard to overstate his influence on how people teach, design, and produce type today. For more context, see the official announcement of the award from the TDC (archived), as well as the video of Noordzij’s acceptance speech.

Transcription of the certificate:

In recognition of his immeasurable contributions to the fields of typeface design and education, the Medal of the Type Directors Club is presented to Gerrit Noordzij.

For more than half a century, you have served as a guiding inspiration in the fields of typography and typeface design. Through your teaching, you have fostered generations of creative thinkers and makers. With you as a role model, your students have gone on to become exceptional role models themselves. Your writing has provoked countless designers around the world to consider the shapes of letters in new and stimulating ways. Your influence is beyond measure and the history and practice of making and using letterforms is forever marked by your contributions. The Type Directors Club is proud to present you with the highest honor it can bestow upon an individual, The TDC Medal.

[TDC monogram]
[Signed]
Graham Clifford, President
10 October 2013 • Amsterdam