A person’s handwriting is unmistakable – just like an electronic signature. Graphologists have been analysing handwriting and checking the authenticity of signatures for centuries. But what significance does handwriting still have in the digital age? Are there any links between electronic signatures and the craft of graphology? We talked about this with Viennese graphologist Elisabeth Charkow.
Developing personality
Besides the ability to write and use a writing instrument, analysing handwriting requires something else: a common, culturally-bound writing system. A complex business, because handwriting is subject to constant change over the course of a person’s life – parallel to their personal development and as a result of the ageing process. If they do not, this can also be seen in their handwriting. Elisabeth Charkow: “If an adult still has the handwriting from their primary school days, this can tend to indicate stagnation – but often also that written expression does not play a central role in everyday life.”
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Writing is movement
Handwriting is always the result of movement. The sequence of movements involved in handwritten signatures is just as characteristic as a fingerprint. Therefore, the writing movement can be used for biometric signatures because they can be clearly assigned to a signatory. In order to be able to evaluate a handwriting graphologically, graphologists also analyse writing form, writing style and frame fit. How much space does a signer take up? This also varies from person to person, just like fingerprints. As with biometric signatures, the thickness of the imprint of the writing instrument and the angle at which it is written must be deciphered individually.
