Alex Hunting Studio launches the meticulously designed journal Footnote – a crucible of creative expression

Footnote is a new journal dedicated to fostering creative exchange between writers, artists and photographers. Devised and designed by Alex Hunting Studio – design director of Kinfolk – the journal has been in development for a number of years, but took a while to realise alongside client work and life commitments, Alex tells us. “The concept itself is quite simple and has remained consistent from the start,” Alex says. One of his main incentives was exploring a topic that was conceptually, editorially and visually rich, so “the biggest challenge was selecting the writer for the inaugural issue’s central text”.

Each issue of Footnote invites writers, photographers and artists to respond to a word, phrase or idea in a central text. In the first issue, that text is Peg, a hallucinatory story of mutation and decay, by poet and novelist A.K. Blakemore. Looking back, “the process is quite unique compared to other magazines I’ve worked on,” says Alex, “because you don’t really know what the magazine will look like until the very end.” In a pretty off-piste process, the design is only worked on when all the work – which is written and created from an open brief, meaning Alex and the team have no clue what it might focus on – has been collective and collated. “While I discussed some briefs with contributors, the beauty of the project lies in the personal and unfiltered nature of their responses,” says Alex.

On having a central text for all of the contributions to respond to, Alex says: “This process is fascinating because, while the responses are incredibly varied, the core themes of the text naturally weave through all of them.” This, therefore, creates a sort of footnote, and a sense of editorial harmony across the publication that is mirrored through its design. “Peg set such a rich foundation for this inaugural issue,” Alex expands. “[A.K’s] writing style is evocative and sensual, which we knew would inspire our contributors,” having been initially drawn to her via her latest book, The Glutton. “Initially, we considered using a classic, renowned piece of fiction, but we felt that might bring too many preconceptions to the responses.” Alex and the team were decided that the contemporary nature and originality of the journal was crucial to its founding.

This modernity is embodied in the intentional and meticulously restrained nature of its design. As the core focus of Footnote is one of artistic exchange, Alex didn’t want to “impose” too much visually. As such, the studio opted for Elsner+Flake’s Life EF as the primary body and headline typeface, providing a subtle, unobtrusive yet inextricably editorial tone. In support, the team turned to Bull-5 Mono by David Einwaller as a contrasting supportive typeface used for captions and small text. “The only real decorative element comes from the use of footnote symbols,” Alex says. This ornate, semi-decorative conceptual element that’s sparingly added across the publication acts as a visual unifier between texts. “For the symbol typeface, I used AS Thermal by Actual Source,” Alex ends. “Its technical feel and flexible letterforms allowed it to be deconstructed and used almost as imagery.” This final touch distils a profoundly ambient, yet equally technical, touch to the engrossing editorial.