Elaine Charal: Handwriting for Business Blog

Handwritten Logo: Sharpie

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:53:28 -0400

The Sharpie Marker logo!

Handwritten logos are also a paper snapshot of not only the company, but what the company is unconsciously broadcasting to their customers about the company and what they are wanting to do for their customers in relation to benefits and service.

The Sharpie logo is a fine example of a logo having a constellation of positive characteristics that the company is on a subliminal level broadcasting to all their loyal customers; it is part of why people would feel an instant comfort in seeing the Sharpie logo and knowing they are using a good product.

The printed capital ‘S’ in the Sharpie logo indicates artistic ability: The company is conveying, “If you use a Sharpie, you’ll enhance your artistic abilities.” A printed ‘S’ also represents constructive thinking processes.

The squared letters in the ‘h’ and the ‘r’ within the Sharpie logo indicate a high level of manual dexterity. Therefore, the company is conveying, “If you use a Sharpie, your level of manual dexterity will be enhanced!”

The p-stem in the Sharpie logo is retraced, indicating precision in graphological terms. The company is conveying to all customers: “Enhance your precision by using a Sharpie!”

The i-dot is not only rounded, but close to the i-stem in the Sharpie logo . The company, therefore, is indicating that your ability to deal with detail will also be enhanced by using a Sharpie. The rounded i-dot indicates loyalty: Sharpie is conveying to their customers that they will be loyal to the quality of the product and to all Sharpie customers.

The ‘a’ in the Sharpie logo is clear, with no extra loops or hooks, indicating clarity, frankness and honesty. The message to all Sharpie customers is that by using a Sharpie everyone will be clearer in their communications.

The gentle forward slant of the Sharpie logo indicates the company is empathetic to its customers and has a good rapport with everyone who uses a Sharpie.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Conrad Black - 1996 Writing

Sun, 4 Sep 2011 16:30:21 -0400

Conrad Black in 1996

I recently found a letter written by Conrad Black in 1996, and thought there would be a good deal of interest in the dynamic aspects of his writing at that time.

Note the very firm t-bars, denoting extremely strong willpower. Most of the t-bars are extremely long, indicating enthusiasm: This enthusiasm made Conrad of 1996 a natural leader: All he had to do is get excited about what he was doing, and others would want to be a part of it. Many of his t-bars angle upward on his page of writing, indicating his optimism and positive mental attitude.

A great number of the t-bars sweepingly join to his next letter, indicating his fluidity of mind. This fluidity not only helped Conrad talk his way into or out of most situations, but helped him troubleshoot any difficult situation. He could easily change the subject, and no one would know! The figure-8 ‘g’ in the word ‘meeting’ and ‘King’s’ also indicates this fluidity of mind.

The star shape in the letter ‘t’ within the word ‘ate’ and ‘next’ indicates his tenacity.

Note the stick on the letter ‘p’ in the word ‘hope’ and ‘accept’. This stick shape indicates ‘argumentativeness’, indicating that Conrad is an incredible debater; he is someone who almost always got the last word.

The sharp break-away stroke in Conrad’s letter h’s in the mid-portion of the letter and the same break-away stroke in his letter ‘t’ in the word ‘went’ indicates his initiative: Conrad didn’t wait for much, but moved ahead with whatever needed to be done.

His many greek e’s within his letters indicated his literary ability and his creativity, seen today in the books and columns he is writing. The delta d’s in the word ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘forward’ also indicate his literary and creative abilities.

Conrad’s straight dowstrokes indicate his determination. His wide lower loops indicate his love of variety and ability to multi-task. There are many stick-like downstrokes without loops throughout his script, indicating Conrad would do his best work independently and was a leader/manager personality.

The retracing of his letter l’s suggest he was particular about the ideas he accepted, and would not readily accept an idea beyond his comfort zone.

The angled connective strokes between many of his letters indicate Conrad’s drive to achieve.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Jack Layton's signature

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:37:26 -0400

Jack Layton: Dynamic All the Way!

Jack Layton’s signature has numerous strengths. These strengths appear in his 2008 signature as well as his 2011 signature, indicating his consistently dynamic personality was evident no matter what he went through.

Both of Jack’s signatures move up on his page, indicating his optimism: He believed things would work out well, no matter what.

Jack’s very high capital letters indicate his confidence and self-esteem. Jack believed in who he was, what he stood for and what he did.

The very long stroke above the capital ‘J’ in Jack’s first name indicates his enthusiasm and charisma. Jack was a natural leader: All he needed to do was to get excited about what he did or wanted to do, and everyone would want to be a part of it. The fact that this particular stroke ‘flies’ above the stem of the capital ‘J’ indicates Jack was a visionary, long-range goal setter.

The initial hook on the capital ‘J’ in Jack’s 2008 and 2011 signatures indicates ‘acquisitiveness’. Jack wanted to acquire ideas, thoughts, innovations. The final hook on this ‘J’ in Jack’s 2011 signature indicates tenacity: Whatever Jack accomplished and achieved, it was his.

The ‘a’ in Jack’s first name resembles an ‘o’, indicating he worked hard and made everything he did look easy. The pinched look of this particular letter ‘a’ indicates that Jack did far more for others than he realized. The tall, very slender loop on the ‘k” of Jack’s 2008 signature indicates he had very high principles and values that helped him guide his life.

The break-away stroke in the mid-portion of the ‘k’ in his first name indicates Jack’s initiative: Jack didn’t want for anything, but started moving on whatever could be done.

The very firm downstroke in the ‘y’ of Jack’s family name indicates his determination. The fact that this particular downstroke is so long indicates his need for change: Same/old wouldn’t last overly long before Jack ‘changed things up’. The hook at the end of this particular downstroke indicates Jack was someone who desired independence, was security minded, and someone who was conscious of his past.

Jack’s very high t-stem in his family name indicates he was a real go-getter who would always bite off way more than he could chew and then run to keep up. He needed to be in control so that if anything went wrong, he could do ‘damage control’.
 Jack’s t-bars in both signatures move downward on his page of writing, indicating his need and ability to take charge. Both these t-bars join to the next letter, indicating Jack’s ‘fluidity of mind’. This fluidity not only enhanced his communication ability, but also helped him talk his way into or out of almost every situation. This trait would also help him smooth over difficult topic and move them to ‘safe waters’ without anyone realizing he had shifted the subject.

The downstroke on the ‘n’ in Jack’s family name pulls to the left, indicating reserve, suggesting that people may think they knew Jack, but in truth it would take time for someone to really get to know Jack to truly be able to say they knew him.

The period at the end of Jack’s 2008 signature indicates decisiveness, indicating he at that time was broadcasting unconsciously “I have the last word”.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

"Snail Mail My E-Mail" project promotes hand-written letters

Sat, 6 Aug 2011 13:06:27 -0400

‘Snail Mail’ project promotes art of letters

The information and quotes in this blog are from CNN, and were written by Doug Gross on August 4, and relates once again to the importance of hand-written letters. Snail Mail My Email is a service created by Ivan Cash, a San Francisco designer and art director. The service lets users turn an online message into a handwritten letter. Since July 15 over 2,300 e-mailed letters to be written and then sent out. Snail Mail My Email users may request a doodle, flower petal or other extras to be included in their letters. Here are excerpts from Doug Gross’ article:

“The concept is simple. Since July 15, anyone interested has been able to e-mail a letter to the project’s volunteers. They turn around and hand-write the letter – complete with extras like a doodle, flower petal or lipstick kiss if desired – and mail it to the recipient.

Cash, who recently returned to San Francisco after a stint working in Amsterdam, said he’d been an avid letter-writer in college and the few years after. He said there’s something about the process of pulling out a pen and paper and crafting a message with your own hand that makes it more personal and well thought-out.” But eventually, he said, he began defaulting to e-mail and Facebook message like a lot of people. “Snail Mail My Email” was born as a way of getting back in touch with the joys of putting pen to paper, he said. “This isn’t a project that’s out to make money or be a forever solution,” he said. “This is just a jumpstart to help raise awareness.”

Apparently more people were interested than Cash guessed. In the project’s first two weeks, 2,300 letters were sent out “I’d originally thought I’d get five to 10 letters a week – and I was hoping I’d even get that many. He said. He’d originally planned to copy the letters himself. But when he got 1,000 e-mails on the fourth day, he considered canceling the project. After posting a request for help, he now has 134 volunteers literally lending a hand.

Kristin Huben of Montgomery, Illinois, is a volunteer who read about the project on a tech blog, sent her sister a letter through the site, then jumped when she saw Cash’s call for help. “I’ve always loved writing letters,” said Huben, who said she’s written nearly 50 so far. “I think it’s really become romanticized in an era of e-mail and Twitter and whatever – it’s an amazing thing to send a letter or receive a letter and think, ‘Someone took the time to do this.’” “Hands down, I would say that 90% of them are love letters,” she said. “I just feel so lucky to be part of a couple’s love story. It’s really sweet.”

Cash has penned more than 75 letters including the text of a man’s proposal speech to his wife, letters to President Barack Obama and even an acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, from the “Harry Potter” series.

There’s something about a personal letter that e-mail or texting can never replace said Margaret Shepherd, author of “The Art of the Personal Letter: A Guide to Connecting Through the Written Word.” Shepherd said she supports the “Snail Mail” project as a way of enlightening people about the value of a handwritten note. But she’d still prefer to see participants just pick up a pen themselves. “Your mom wants to see your handwriting, and she wants to hear your voice, not a stranger’s,” she said.”

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Jaycee Dugard - Remarkable Coping Skills

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:24:12 -0400

JAYCEE DUGARD – Remarkable coping skills

This script is taken from Jaycee Dugard’s memoir called “A Stolen Life”. Jaycee was kidnapped at age 11 while waking to a bus near her house by Phil and Nancy Garrido. She was held for 18 years in a suburb of the San Francisco Bay area and had two daughters with Garrido, and was forced to be a ‘sister’ to her daughters.

This writing sample is from a journal she wrote about a kitten she was given (which was subsequently ‘gotten rid of’ because it interfered with Garrido’s fantasy. At the time of this writing, Jaycee had been held for two years. She had been raped repeatedly and threatened, and saw no one but Philip and Nancy Garrido, and was not allowed out of the room where she was kept.

This was (and is) a remarkable girl in relation to the coping skills in her script. Her vertical slant helped her maintain an objective, pulled-back outward demeanour during those traumatized and terrified years.

Her wide word spacing helped her keep what was happening to her at arm’s length, and helped her emotionally distance herself from what was going on. This script appears to be fairly heavy in relation to pen pressure, which would have given her enormous energy reserves to show resilience under stress.

The dominant lower-case letter area throughout her script helped her focus on the day-to-day, minute by minute which I’m sure helped her find even small things in her environment to feel appreciation for that helped her to hold on and focus on keeping herself as whole and as safe as possible.

Her rounded m’s and n’s also helped Jaycee focus on whatever matter was at hand and take things one minute, one day, and one circumstance at a time. The carefully retraced mid-portion of these letters helped her repress her emotions so that she could make sure she was ‘good’ and didn’t anger her captors.

The heart doodles that appear within her script and at the bottom of each page reflect her hope; hearts are ‘romantic’ doodles. The string at the end of her heart-shaped doodles at the end of her page may well have been symbolic of hope and love feelings reaching out to her ‘future’ (the string on the heart moves toward the right). In some of her heart doodles, the string is more vertical, suggesting she was elevating her sense of love and hope above what was happening to her each and every day.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com