Informing personal branding through self-assessed handwriting analysis: proposal of a supportive online platform
Keywords:
Personality traits, Entrepreneurship, Classroom communication, Research design, Higher education, Self concept, User generated content, Self evaluation, University students, Innovations, Brand loyalty, Visual communication, Cultural identity, Handwriting, Students, Brand identification, Psychological aspects, Computer mediated communication, Handwriting analysis, United Kingdom--UK, Saudi ArabiaAbstract
Despite the abundant existing literature on the psychological aspects of graphology and visual communication, very little research (if any), has been conducted, as to the links of interpreting personal handmade markings on graphic self-branding processes. This research aimed to investigate possible interrelations between fields of handwriting analysis (graphology) and personal branding, underpinning methods and patterns of building graphic personal identities amongst higher education students. Furthermore, it aimed to promote the use of graphology in self-branding processes. This involved secondary sources of information, along with empirical works, totalling 25 semi-structured interviews and the collection of 97 handwritten samples to detect commonalities/differences of handmade markings. Participants included higher education students and instructors from visual communication fields across two cultural contexts: Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. The achieved findings were discussed with two professional UK-based graphologists. Given that self-branding is considered complex and time consuming amongst visual communication students, the outcome proposes an online personal brand design platform, innovating current methods of self-related research, yet grounded on current usages of conventional handwriting and providing a visual scope of relevant design applications, considering internal and external influencing factors.
