Signature Style and Name Perception

I’m wondering if anyone else feels the same way:
For me, the way that a signature is designed changes a lot about my perception of the names in it.

For example, bright colours (especially pink and blue) give names a modern feel; muted colours make them feel down-to-earth.

[name_u]Grey[/name_u] is very simple but classic, black feels very “official” and no-nonsense like.
Fonts especially but also the layout and other elements (such as dashes or symbols) also add to the different perceptions of the same names.

A name like “[name_f]Flora[/name_f]” can feel very modern (Flora), current and bubbly (Flora) or classic (Flora) to me depending on the signature style.

[b][name_m]How[/name_m] do certain aspects of a signature change your perception of the names in it?
Any specific colours/fonts that change the vibe of a name?

And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?[/b]

This is an interesting post~

Alright: [name_m]How[/name_m] do certain aspects of a signature change your perception of the names in it?
Probably only on a subconscious level. Maybe how the signature is arranged will make be think that “this person has a different style than me” without seeing the names on it. Not sure. I never thought about it until reading this post.
Any specific colours/fonts that change the vibe of a name?
Sure. Some combos look better in some fonts than others. A name that is just “nms”
in one persons signature may look more like “NMS, but it looks pretty!” in another’s based off of the way it looks written down. Font/colours have a lot to do with that.
And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?
I’m not a fan of established gender roles perse, but I have a affinity for virtue/unisex names on girls (and in some cases, boys) so back when I had singles on my list I tried to clarify which gender the names on my list were for through colours most would understand as boy/girl. I haven’t dropped that yet because my signature feels wrong/bare without it. I also alphabetise my signature. Perhaps to look more sophisticated.

[name_m]How[/name_m] do certain aspects of a signature change your perception of the names in it?

When the color is irritating to me, I avoid reading the signature. The style of the signature doesn’t really change my perception of a name.

Any specific colours/fonts that change the vibe of a name?

Some colors clash with the name.

And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?

When I have the time, I try to make the names in my signature close to their proper colors. Names have colors to me. I’m not going for a specific vibe.

Quite an interesting question…I see what you’re saying. My signature used to be colorful just bc I thought it was pretty. But then I decided to tone it down so that the focus was more on the names. I also started not even capitalizing the first letter to create what I feel is softer, the italics for elegance, and the georgia font for classiness. So, yes, there is thought behind the design of my sig:)

I used to use pink and blue, or purple and blue, or purple and green, but I really don’t believe in gender roles or societal perceptions of what gender is in general. (when I get pregnant, I’m not telling anyone the sex of my baby, because I refuse to stuff it into a societal box before it’s even born. Plus, those cake-cutting parties are just weird. It doesn’t matter except for the type of name I give this screaming womb nugget. If anything happens and it turns out that the name I gave them doesn’t match up with their gender identity, we’ll figure it out.) I use a more studious-looking font in my signature and more muted shades of green and blue. The stars separating each of my combos are because I really like stars and I thought it looked cute. I agree with a PP, if I find a signature to be an eyesore/too many colors/hard to look at, I’m probably not going to read it because that’s a lot of energy to expend on a stranger on the Internet. I’ve been feeling bored with my signature and I really want to change it up, but I don’t know how. I guess I’m kind of in a rut. Everything I can think of as far as ways to change it are things I’ve already tried and either outgrew or didn’t like.

Really interesting reading all your thoughts on this as it’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time.

This is a very interesting question to have raised and in all honesty I judge a signature a lot depending on the fonts, formatting, colours, etc. because I think they often link in with the naming style. I personally like fairly ‘minimalist’ signatures, with simple colour schemes and my naming style is quite classic/elegant/posh, but definitely not hippy/eccentric/popular.

[name_m]How[/name_m] do certain aspects of a signature change your perception of the names in it?
I view names in a colour co-ordinated, simplistic, symmetrical signature as being more sophisticated/elegant, which is something that I personally enjoy. Seeing certain names that I initially disliked (e.g. [name_m]Cove[/name_m], [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m], [name_f]Odessa[/name_f]) within a beautiful signature has made me really fond of them.

Any specific colours/fonts that change the vibe of a name?
Anything sans serif (the rounded letters without the calligraphy-esque flicks at the end) makes me take the name less seriously.

And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?
I don’t actively aim to give off a certain vibe to other people, but I definitely like to present the names that I love in the style that I like. A someone with a passion for handwriting/reading, the ‘image’ of a name and it’s shape on paper are really important for me.

Yes! I think about this so much. Creating a beautiful signature is one of the fun parts about nameberry.
Small, petite fonts make me think of the names as more elegant and mysterious. Big, bright fonts feel more childish to me / I’m less inclined to warm up to the names in that format. I like muted colors over none at all, though.
And I agree with a pp- sans serif fonts don’t showcase a name as beautifully as a serif font would.

I also go back and forth between all lowercase, or writing with appropriate capital letters. For example, one of my favorite visual signatures is @pliechassereleve 's signature because it’s so muted, symmetrical, lyrical, and I love the softness of the lowercase letters.

I like to arrange my signature in a way that’s attention grabbing but not overly blaring. It really bothers me when all 4 lines of my signature don’t perfectly match up, but I guess I have to let that pet peeve go. I choose colors based on what I imagine I’d base my children’s wardrobes around. I’ve bolded the font to make it slightly different, since there’s so little variety of choice. The symbols in between I can just imagine on some beautiful piece of paper announcing a birth, wedding, or some other celebration. I like how it’s balanced between formality and youthfulness.

So yes, signatures are extremely important to me!

I’m so glad you brought this up! I feel like I am constantly changing my signature but do not talk to anyone about it!


[name_m]How[/name_m] do certain aspects of a signature change your perception of the names in it?

If I see a signature I like (like the colors stand out to me or the font) I will take a closer look at the signature. Sometimes I’ll see a name/combination I hadn’t really thought about before and it’ll make me think about it more. Most of the time I think “oh pretty! but not my style”. However, there are times where I probably have seen a name in a signature and it made it’s way on to my favorites list but I can’t think a specific time when that happened.

Any specific colours/fonts that change the vibe of a name?
I don’t really pay attention to font names so I can’t tell you exactly which ones I like the most. Probably something similar to my signature. I tend to like pastels or lighter colors.

And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?
I just do what I like. I am not sure what the exact vibe it is. For the most part I like romantic, nature, & whimsical names.

I’m not sure if any of my perceptions of names have been changed or affected by sigs, although maybe they have and I haven’t noticed. I do get certain images, vibes and occassionally colours from certain names, but I’m not sure if people’s signatures have also influenced that. I do think certain signatures are nicer to look at.

And do you design your signature a certain way because you want it to give off a specific vibe?
I’ve always designed my signature with what I like. I really like Times [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]Roman[/name_m] as a font in general, because it looks historical, but isn’t too fussy or difficult to read. And as for colours, I just like using my favourites. Before I had purples and blues, but more recently I’ve been loving blue, black and silver, so I changed it up to that. I tend to like sigs with some colour, but not over the top, too bright, huge font or in your face. Maybe just a few that go together and complement each other well. I like separating my boys and girls names, just so it’s clear what my style/names I like for both and I get to use more colours haha. It used to be purple/indigo for girls (I hate pink, as a colour, not just for girls but in general) and blue for boys, but I like the silver/grey and blue right now. I did think of doing different colours I associate with each name, but that went over the code limit (and I wanted to keep my quotes and general info haha). Plus that might have been a bit too much. I kind of like it as it is, but I can’t ever make it perfect.