Signature: A Happy Accident or a Stylistic Choice?

In my freshman year of university, my professor saw my signature on what was probably some advising document about my schedule and commented on how “that is a signature of someone who will be in charge.” To the dismay of nearby students that snickered after hearing that comment, I received a lot of attention for my penmanship. I was asked if I had taken calligraphy and penmanship classes multiple times. Unless my parents sitting us down to create a signature when I was about eight years old counts as any professional training, the answer is “no.” Not only did those comments and questions momentarily stroke my ego, it reinforced my thoughts on personal branding and branding in general. Though I exclusively wrote in cursive for convenience sake, it was seen as a stylistic choice. 

Even now, it is a component of my personal brand. I only write in cursive and I only write with pens that I deem great quality. It may be a simple fountain pen or ballpoint pen that costs a few bucks, but it is part of the brand. And hey—those pens I purchased in 2013 are still going strong! It was a very small investment into my personal and professional brand. 

Writing exclusively in cursive came naturally to me and I have no reason to fight it or attempt to resist it. Similarly, your brand and branding elements should not feel forced. I’ll tell you what is forced: me practicing my writing with my left hand for an entire semester in college. Did it get the job done? Sure. Was it great? That’s debatable. Did I have a back-up plan because my older sister was in the same class and took notes right next to me? Yes. Just like I struggled to make sense of the notes I took with my nondominant hand, you will look back on your branding and social media page with confusion and a bit of a headache, unless you are confidently creating a brand that makes sense. 

Eight years after that particular comment, I make stylistic choices in internal documents, social media content and the logo of my company, Heritage Writing Co.. Regardless of why it was chosen and utilized, it will represent the brand; you might as well, make it make sense, as the youngins would say. Contact Heritage Writing Co. to get a strategy behind your logo and branding assets. After all, we love a good Heritage here.