Part One:
Why Write Vertically?

SignWriting records the way the body looks.
If we signed lying down...

...then writing horizontally might make sense!

But we sign sitting or standing :-)
And because our bodies are vertical when we sign...

...it feels comfortable to write signs vertically.

Writing down the page also provides important information that is easier to read vertically than horizontally. It increases reading speeds.

Vertical columns establish "the center of the body", which in turn helps the eye take notice of Spatial Comparisons.

When the hands, the head or the torso are placed "off center", the changes in body shifts are clearly evident, as you will see on the following pages...