Signature ideas by name

How a good signature grows out of your name

A signature is not a font: it is your name written fast, by a hand that has done it a thousand times. That is why the best ideas come from the letters themselves. A name that starts with a big round capital invites a loop; one with a y or a g at the end has an underline built in; a long name wants a narrow, quick style and a short one can carry a flourish.

Each page here looks at one name letter by letter and tells you what to do with it: how to form the capital, where the joins get tricky, what to do with dots and crossbars, how to finish. You see the name in every handwriting style, with your own last name if you type it, and as initials and monograms.

Making it yours

• Pick a style, then make it personal. Open the one you like in the signature generator and change the slant and size, or draw it yourself on the pad using the style as a model.
• Practise on paper. Write it twenty times quickly. The version your hand settles on is your signature; then photograph it and make it transparent.
• Keep it consistent. Use the same signature on everything you sign, so it is recognisable as yours.

Famous signatures

How presidents, monarchs, writers, composers, artists and scientists signed their names, what makes each signature distinctive, and how to borrow a little of its style for your own.