Signature ideas

Six signature directions for Brad

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 B · hover one to see it in use

Understated · flowing · fully readable

The capital keeps its place, which puts the emphasis on the whole name.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

A long-running and angular hand. It runs 4.9 times wider than it is tall. The "r" in "Worth" is the letter carrying it, because that is where your hand is already fastest.

Confident · flowing · signature-legible

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

the full name · finished on a long sail

An airy and generous hand. The letters are set well apart. It is the rare one that leaves on an exit stroke long enough to carry the eye off the page.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

It leans into the page, the way a hand in a hurry does.

the full name · closed with a small loop

A compact and grand hand. It stays 2.2 times wider than tall, where most signatures sprawl. Almost nothing else here ties off with a small loop instead of flying away.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

Everything rounds, nothing is cornered.

the full name · finished on a long sail

An upright and generous hand. It stands almost straight up, 20 degrees off vertical. It is also one of the few here that leaves on an exit stroke long enough to carry the eye off the page.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

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

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

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

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

Pressure where it presses, hairline where it lifts.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

An airy and restrained hand. The letters are set well apart.

What Brad gives a designer

A signature is won or lost at its opening letter. For B, 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 d reaches into the ascender line, which gives the mark its upper silhouette.

Four letters or fewer is the easiest length to keep consistent — Brad can be written in full on everything from a card to a contract.

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