Signature ideas

Six signature directions for Jennifer

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 J · hover one to see it in use

Understated · flowing · fully readable

Upright and composed, it never looks rushed.

the full name · a swept capital · underlined in one return stroke

A level and restrained hand. The capital is only 1.6 times the height of the letters after it. It is also one of the few here that runs a long swept approach into the J. The double "n" in "Jennifer" goes down as one motion, so the middle of the name never stops.

Confident · flowing · signature-legible

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

the full name · a capital on its own shelf · finished on a long sail

An even and restrained hand. It holds one weight almost the whole way through. The "f" in "Jennifer" is the letter carrying it, because that is where your hand is already fastest.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

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

the full name · a capital on its own shelf · finished on a long sail

An unbroken and rounded hand. Only 9 pen lifts in the whole thing.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

Generous with its loops, and unembarrassed about it.

the full name · closed with a small loop

An airy and quick hand. The letters are set well apart. It is also one of the few here that takes the J's tail underneath the name and back.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

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

the full name · a capital that drops below the line · finished on a long sail

A dense and measured hand. The letters are packed close together. It is the rare one that drops the J's tail below the line to weigh it down.

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

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

the full name · a capital on its own shelf · closed with a small loop

A deliberate and compact hand. It is built in 14 separate strokes. Almost nothing else here ties off with a small loop instead of flying away.

What Jennifer gives a designer

The capital J carries the mark. There are 3 distinct professional constructions of it on the studio's shelf, and which one a design commits to changes the whole gesture.

After that, the lowercase run does the work: the f reaches into the ascender line, which gives the mark its upper silhouette, the dotted i leaves a mark above the line that a fast hand turns into a flick and the double n is a rhythm no other letter pair gives — two identical strokes that must agree.

A 8-letter name rewards economy: the directions below keep the capital and the final stroke emphatic and let the middle travel.

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