Perfin

Perfins, a contraction of ‘Perforated Initials’ or ‘Perforated Insignia’, first appeared on postage stamps in Britain in 1868. As unused postage stamps could be redeemed for cash, companies used perforated text and symbols on stamps to signify ownership and protect them from theft. The use of perforations meant there was no need to overprint onto the stamp image.

Perfin, designed by Alison Haigh, was created based on the letterforms seen on a plethora of referenced stamps. It attempts to place some form of overall grid and structure into this nuanced and haptic system to construct a graphic typeface that still embodies the spirit and overall aesthetic of the original references.

It is available in one cut — Regular — and is open to licensing in both Standard ('STD') and Professional ('PRO') versions, the latter containing a range of additional OpenType features.