In 2007, the first Forever Stamp was released. These stamps cover a letter that weighs an ounce or under and can be used regardless of the current postage rate. In 2013, the first Forever Stamps for international mail were released, called Global Forever. The same “Forever” validity still applies, and these stamps can be used to send letters to over 180 countries. The USPS's Forever and Global Forever stamps are valid for postcards and letters weighing one ounce or lighter and within the dimension limitations. Other postage is needed for specs outside of those dimensions.
Historically, global stamps helped unify and simplify postage when international agreements were passed that reduced the number of stamps required for sending international mail by only requiring a stamp from the country of origin rather than each country the piece would pass through.
Visually, the Global Forever stamp takes a circular, symbolic appearance as opposed to the other rectangular USPS stamps meant for domestic mail. The typographic details of the stamp are also curved around this silhouette, with the word, styled as bolded, GLOBAL, in an accent color in all but one of the global stamps. These details are to differentiate between domestic and international mail.
The first Global Forever stamp released back in 2013 included a fitting digital illustration of the Earth by Leonello Calvetti. He used satellite images of Earth and 3-D technology to create it. The stamp’s designer and typographer is Greg Breeding. Later, more stamps were released, including seasonal stamps for Christmas. The first and a later seasonal stamp included a circular wreath. Other subjects for the seasonal stamps include a poinsettia, with the plant itself having a global history. Subjects of the non-seasonal global stamps include another rendition of an Earth illustration, the moon, and different rounded botanical subjects. Specifically on the botanical stamps, details such as petals or leaves stylistically incorporate themselves as they bleed into the text of the stamp. The text on the global stamps has used both sans serif and serif typefaces, likely to match the range of aesthetics.
