GratuitousType is a publication we have curated, edited, and designed since 2011. Issue 4.5 is the first in a series of “half issues” created to examine subjects introduced in our full issues but not yet explored in detail.

This slim booklet is printed in the same copper ink used in its sister issue. Type and other graphic elements relate to Issue 4, but evolve beyond it to give this reader its own unique identity.

Content includes papermaking with Letterproeftuin; an examination of the impact of Enzo Mari’s work in the wake of contemporary open-source design; a chat with Walker Art Center ex-pats Andrea Hyde and Eric Price; an addendum to Corita Kent’s canonical Rules and Hints for Students and Teachers; and a look at the rise of the designer as shopkeeper.