Signature ideas

Six signature directions for Andrew

Each one is a genuine drawing of the name — not a font — made by the same studio that draws the paid commission, with the design decisions stated under it.

Drawn from the name · 6 directions · capital A · hover one to see it in use

Understated · flowing · fully readable

Upright and composed, it never looks rushed.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

An angular and measured hand. The turns are cut rather than curved. The "r" in "Andrew" is the letter carrying it, because that is where your hand is already fastest.

Confident · flowing · signature-legible

One weight the whole way through, which is what makes it read as modern.

the full name · a capital that drops below the line · underlined in one return stroke

An angular and airy hand. The turns are cut rather than curved. It is the rare one that drops the A's tail below the line to weigh it down.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

One movement, barely interrupted, which is why it repeats.

the full name · a swept capital · finished on a long sail

A rounded and long-running hand. Every turn is rounded off. Almost nothing else here runs a long swept approach into the A.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

Tightly massed, so it holds together small.

the full name · finished on a long sail

A dramatic and generous hand. The stroke swells and thins by a factor of 4.1.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

One letter does the performing, and the others hold still for it.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

A level and unbroken hand. The capital is only 1.8 times the height of the letters after it.

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

Compact, with its weight gathered in one place.

the full name · finished on a long sail

A grand and quick hand. The capital stands 3.5 times the height of the letters after it.

What Andrew gives a designer

Everything starts with the A. The studio holds 2 distinct constructions of that capital — drawn from how professionals actually open a name — and each direction below commits to one of them.

What follows the capital decides the middle of the mark: the d reaches into the ascender line, which gives the mark its upper silhouette.

6 letters is the length most signatures are built on — enough travel for character, little enough to repeat exactly.

Making it yours

These studies are drawn on the first name alone, because that is how the question is usually asked — but a working signature is built on your full name: the second capital, the balance between the two words, and the short everyday version are where the real design decisions live.

The studio draws twenty directions for your full name in about a minute, and the kit — the files, the report that explains the design, and the stroke-order lesson — is what the three you choose become.

Other names