Prison Gothic is originated from the 1970s prisoners of the Stanley Prison which they produced the traffic signs. The inmates used cutleries to engrave characters that is based on Ishii Gothic. Since there were no standardisation on traditional Chinese character at that time, Prison Gothic usually have a distinct rigid, bold typeface. The font weight of the characters are unique, such as the thickness of each strokes, and variant of the same character. From the mid-1990s, the HKCSD gradually transitioned to computer-aided design and manufacturing. In 1997, Prison Gothic stopped its manufacturing, there are 700 signs remaining in Prison Gothic.
In October 2016, the Road Research Society [zh] launched the "Recapitulation of Prison Gothic". The Road Research Society hoped they can revive Prison Gothic with the aid of computer. After 5 years of development, they launched a funding campaign in July 2022, ending on 22 August. They ultimately raised $1.33 million, exceeding the original target by 191%. The computer typeface was introduced in November.
