Signature ideas

Six signature directions for Athena

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

Long and low, it takes the whole width of the line.

the full name · finished on a long sail

An airy and upright hand. The letters are set well apart. The "r" in "Worth" is the letter carrying it, because that is where your hand is already fastest.

Confident · flowing · signature-legible

It turns corners instead of rounding them, and that is the whole temperament.

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

A dramatic and urgent hand. The stroke swells and thins by a factor of 3.7.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

The capital dominates, and the rest of the name follows quietly.

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

A theatrical and even hand. One letter is pushed well past the proportions of its neighbors.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

Generous with its loops, and unembarrassed about it.

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

A compact and quick hand. It stays 4.5 times wider than tall, where most signatures sprawl.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

Tightly massed, so it holds together small.

the full name · finished on a long sail

A level and spare hand. The capital is only 1.6 times the height of the letters after it.

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

Written at speed, and it shows in the best way.

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

An upright and restrained hand. It stands almost straight up, 20 degrees off vertical.

What Athena gives a designer

A signature is won or lost at its opening letter. For A, the studio draws from 2 constructions observed in professional hands, and every direction below chooses one and holds it.

What follows the capital decides the middle of the mark: the t and h reach 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