Signature ideas

Six signature directions for London

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

Everything rounds, nothing is cornered.

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

A dramatic and long-running hand. The stroke swells and thins by a factor of 2.6. The "r" in "Worth" is the letter carrying it, because that is where your hand is already fastest.

Confident · flowing · signature-legible

Compact, with its weight gathered in one place.

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

An angular and restrained hand. The turns are cut rather than curved. It is the rare one that stands the name on the L's own foot.

Commanding · sharp · signature-legible

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

the full name · underlined in one return stroke

An even and rounded hand. It holds one weight almost the whole way through.

Confident · sharp · fully readable

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

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

A deliberate and theatrical hand. It is built in 13 separate strokes. It is also one of the few here that stands the name on the L's own foot.

Understated · sharp · signature-legible

Tightly massed, so it holds together small.

the full name · finished on a long sail

A theatrical and unbroken hand. One letter is pushed well past the proportions of its neighbors. It is the rare one that leaves on an exit stroke long enough to carry the eye off the page.

Commanding · flowing · fully readable

Upright and composed, it never looks rushed.

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

A generous and even hand. It spends 44 loops getting through your name. Almost nothing else here drops the L's tail below the line to weigh it down.

What London gives a designer

Everything starts with the L. 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.

After that, the lowercase run does the work: the d reaches into the ascender line, which gives the mark its upper silhouette.

London is 6 letters: room for a real rhythm without the fatigue of a long run.

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