For most people, the language of art is reserved only to artists who practice self-expression through various mediums – from visual to musical, literary to performance – that garners an audience. Or to be more precise, art is only applied to those artists who make it their vocation – a calling – that requires acknowledgment and dedication.

But perhaps, what people have forgotten especially is that everyone possesses an artistic expression that is impossible to be replicated. An art form that is so intrinsic and intimate that it provides a window into a person’s character. We all know it and use it so much of our lives. Therefore, it is the most accessible of art forms. Though lately, as many observers feared, it’s starting to fade into obscurity and lose its appeal what with it being eroded and replaced with keyboards and touch screens.

This worrying trend has prompted those at the academe to sound the alarm and bring it to people’s serious attention. A person’s handwriting is a key element in learning and education. Sometimes, the age and maturity of the person can also be determined as our handwriting has a natural tendency to evolve over time. Unbeknownst to many, it also holds the answer to our physical health and illnesses and how developed our motor skills are especially in terms of hand and eye coordination.


Our handwriting gives the reader several ideas as to how we like to project ourselves to the world. How we dot the I’s and cross the T’s, the elegance of the cursive letters and the way we treat the spaces to each letter and to every word – are indicative of our inherent values and sense of economy. Additionally, how we write, the stroke of the pen as it applies pressure to the paper, provides hints to one’s current state of mind. It’s a profound way to monitor personal history, character traits and inner thoughts.

Handwriting, as much as it is an art form, is also a human achievement that has helped save, preserve and restore ancient civilizations. It has a very rich history from its humble origins in the early cuneiform to the Greek alphabet, down to the invention of the printing press and the advent of state-of-the-art technology. But even so, handwriting, in all its classical beginnings has managed to survive. And yet, the right questions we should be asking is, “How long?” and “Are we prepared to let it die along with its history?”


Barely so few people I know can’t even remember the last time they wrote something the length of a five-sentence paragraph. The increasing dependence on technology has put a damper on medical practitioners trying to track a person’s health in relation to handwriting over time. That’s where graphology comes in – though very useful – has caused rifts among privacy advocates and ethical watchdogs due to its invasive and controversial nature. Yet, graphologists, or individuals who practice handwriting analysis, refute this and consider handwriting to be part of the public domain.

In my opinion, it is every person’s responsibility to preserve the culture of handwriting the same way that the Mesopotamians, the Greeks and others have fought and found ways to preserve theirs to this day. And in the argument of privacy, the use of handwriting as a scientific case study should be done with the full consent of the subject. Anything outside of that – is a clear disrespect of personal rights even for people in the public eye. But then again, there are always exceptional circumstances that this can be waived.

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Photos via congalaconga and Phil Gyford