Signature ideas

Six signature directions for Lea

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 L · hover one to see it in use

Understated · flowing · fully readable

Tightly massed, so it holds together small.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

A long-running and dramatic hand. It runs 3.3 times wider than it is tall. It is also one of the few here that lays a line back underneath the name. 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.

both names in one unbroken line · a capital on its own shelf · finished on a long sail

A spare and airy hand. Only 6 loops in the whole mark. It is the rare one that runs both names together as one word.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

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

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

A grand and even hand. The capital stands 3.1 times the height of the letters after it.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

Upright and composed, it never looks rushed.

the full name · closed with a small loop

A deliberate and even hand. It is built in 9 separate strokes. It is also one of the few here that ties off with a small loop instead of flying away.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

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

both names in one unbroken line · a capital on its own shelf · finished on a long sail

A generous and rounded hand. It spends 25 loops getting through your name. It is the rare one that runs both names together as one word.

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

Drawn in stages, the way a considered mark is.

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

A grand and compact hand. The capital stands 2.9 times the height of the letters after it.

What Lea gives a designer

The capital L carries the mark. There are 2 distinct professional constructions of it on the studio's shelf, and which one a design commits to changes the whole gesture.

After the capital, Lea runs entirely at x-height — no ascenders, no tails — so the whole middle of the mark is a single calm band, and the capital and the closing gesture do all the talking.

Four letters or fewer is the easiest length to keep consistent — Lea 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