Footnotes 4: the annual type design periodical by La Police returns 

Swiss digital type foundry La Police continues its mission to enrich the type design industry with the 4th issue of Footnotes, one of the very few physical periodicals specifically about type. 

A publication that was first launched in July 2016, Footnotes is a generous project for the typophile community and one that honors typography’s numerous virtues and boundless past conceived by La Police’s founder and designer Mathieu Christe back in 2012.  

Footnotes (D) which is the 4th installment of the “periodical bulletin of applied research in type design” contains four articles. Telefont and the last Dutch telephone book by Martin Majoor, Ikarus between the worlds by Ferdinand P. Ulrich, Picture me and then you start watching, One-off Six: Ceremony by Joost Grootens, and Mixed cases, A perspective on material qualities of 19th-century stereotyped poster type by Pierre Pané‑Farré. 

As noted each Footnote copy comes with complimentary goodies aka a book shelfmark (listing the table of contents of the previous issue) and a card with visual clues.

“Be it an original or historical typeface, it's almost impossible to detach from the past or avoid fingerprints. By studying, researching, writing & publishing, I get to digest ideas and forms, which will hopefully infuse my output” said Christe in this insightful interview with Typographher’s Nicole Arnett Phillips on the occasion of Footnotes (A) release. 

“Working as a graphic designer, I can always try out an idea for a certain project. Judge it contextually, improve it, change it or forget about it. That way, I don't feel the urge to publish too quickly or everything I do” he said when asked about how the applied written and visual research he conducts enriches his practice as a type designer.

Edited and designed by Mathieu Christe, Footnotes is La Police’s flagship publication, available solely in print and released occasionally, ideally once a year. As issues become out of print, selected articles will be accessible online. 

To guarantee free access to knowledge, the complete collection is available in libraries and institutions worldwide. An up-to-date list can be consulted here.

If you feel like contributing with original content, don’t hesitate to get in touch to share your idea(s). To get a sense of the tone, reading an issue beforehand is strongly recommended. A list of all articles published so far is available here.

While most Footnotes copies are being sold online through its dedicated website, a selected list of bookshops that offer a physical access to the publication is available here. 

Support the publication, and stay up-to-date with Footnotes on their website or on Twitter.