Long before it was a style, the signature was a promise. Medieval agreements were sealed with wax and monograms because most people could not write; as literacy spread, the hand-signed name became the personal mark that made a document binding - unique to one person, hard to forge, instantly recognisable.

The stylised personal signature we know today grew out of that legal function. A signature had to be fast (you sign hundreds in a lifetime), distinctive (so it could not be copied) and confident (a hesitant scrawl inspires no trust). Out of those pressures came the classic autograph shape: a dominant opening capital, a quick connected flow through the rest of the name, and a decisive underline or flourish to finish and 'lock' the mark.

In the modern era the signature became branding, too. Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Ford and Kellogg's all built wordmarks from a founder's handwritten name, and celebrity autographs turned the personal signature into a collectible object. Today a signature is identity, legal mark and logo at once - which is exactly what a signature font generator lets anyone create for their own name.