Mastering font combinations: essential advice and top font duos
Balancing the right font combinations can bring a visual harmony and elevate your creative projects. Here are some suggestions for various styles to suit your needs, coupled with some tips to keep in mind. For a deeper dive, don't forget to check out our font vs typeface guide and our list of best free fonts.
Selecting Font Pairings
Consider Font Sizes
It's crucial to take into account the size of your fonts. If the X-height (the size of the 'x' character) of your two choices is similar, they're more likely to work harmoniously.
Experiment with Font Weights
Terrance Weinzierl, Creative Type Director at Monotype, suggests playing around with different font weights. Lighter weights within the same family can create a harmonious and cohesive look, like using different shades of a single color. Pairing fonts with comparable characteristics maintains an interesting balance without too much contrast, reminiscent of using analogous colors. Oppositely, using bolder weights for contrast provides a pop in your design.
Look into Font Superfamilies
Consider typefaces packaged like kits, such as Laura Worthington’s Charcuterie family. This family is a collection of sans, serif, and script styles designed to pair flawlessly with each other.
Combine Contrasting Typefaces
As a beginner, avoid pairing fonts that are too similar as they might seem redundant. Instead, aim for contrast through weight, width, or style. Opt for superfamilies like Kairos or Macklin, offering serif and sans serif options that work effortlessly together, giving you harmony and flexibility.
As you advance, feel free to experiment with more sophisticated pairings. For example, Helvetica, a clean neutral sans-serif, could work well with Walbaum, a serif with similar proportions but higher contrast, or consider sturdier options like Sentinel. Try pairing ITC Avant Garde Gothic with Lublin Graph, as both share geometric resemblances, like their alike proportions and single-story 'a'.
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Font Pairing Examples
Here are some carefully curated font combinations to inspire your projects:
01. Academia & Franklin Gothic SG
The refined appeal of Academia, coupled with Franklin Gothic's more contemporary style, creates a harmonious duo suitable for streamlined design.
02. Norwester & Kollektif
This unexpected pairing of Norwester and Kollektif provides a modern twist to your projects, with Norwester's strong, geometric design taking the lead and Kollektif offering subdued strength and authority.
03. Aldus & Astoria Sans
Inspired by Renaissance-style typography, Aldus blends beautifully with Astoria Sans for classic yet contemporary projects.
04. Century Gothic & PT Serif
A versatile pairing with a timeless feel, this combination has been artfully designed to complement one another while avoiding overused looks.
05. Calvert and Acumin
Characterized by a punchy and bold appearance, Calvert offers a diverse range of styles, making it a perfect match with ultra-modern Acumin. However, be aware that Acumin requires an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for access.
06. Montserrat and Courier New
This unusual pairing integrates Montserrat's light, modern sans-serif with the vintage vibe of Courier New, offering a balanced contrast.
07. Skolar Latin and Proxima Nova
Skolar Latin, designed for complex typography, pairs with Proxima Nova for an elegant and balanced look. Both typefaces possess distinctive characters and suitable weights, allowing them to work together seamlessly.
08. Alegreya Sans SC and Source Sans Pro
Spanish font Alegreya Sans SC, featuring subtle characters and versatile weights, pairs well with Source Sans Pro, a clear, contemporary font by Adobe.
09. Pacifico and Quicksand
For a playful duo, consider using the delightful brush font Pacifico within headings and Quicksand for its rounded terminals and friendly appearance within body text.
10. Julius Sans One and Archive Narrow
This strong font pairing features Julius Sans One's all-caps form in a single weight, exuding a powerful presence, offset by the geometric elegance of Archive Narrow.
11. Playfair Display and Raleway
The high-contrast Playfair Display, inspired by 18th century typefaces, pairs well with Raleway, a humanist sans-serif font.
12. Oswald and Lato
Released in 2011, Oswald reworks an ‘Alternate Gothic’ style and blends perfectly with Lato, offering versatility in a wide range of weights and variants.
13. Super Grotesk and Minion Pro
Experience the harmony between the effortlessly modern Minion Pro and Super Grotesk, a nimble sans-serif offering an air of modern elegance.
14. Libre Franklin and Libre Baskerville
These two libre fonts, optimized for screen display, have distinct personalities: Libre Franklin for headlines and Libre Baskerville for body text, providing a traditional feel without appearing outdated.
15. Freight Sans and Freight Text
Font superfamily Freight provides numerous weights and styles, including Sans, Text, Display, and Micro versions, making it easy to find compatible font pairings.
16. Kaufmann and NeutraDemi
For an unexpected yet stylish combination, pair handwritten font Kaufmann with the crisp, clean NeutraDemi.
17. Brandon Grotesque and Minion Pro
This pairing of the ever-popular Minion Pro for headlines, featuring tall x-heights, legible characters, and robust serifs, with Brandon Grotesque for body text, offers a contemporary, classy look.
18. Josefin Slab and Patrick Hand
Inspired by the typewriter aesthetic, Josefin Slab's unique details and playful personality contrast beautifully with friendly, approachable Patrick Hand.
19. Helvetica Neue and Garamond
Combining the ubiquitous Neo-Grotesque sans-serif Helvetica Neue for headlines with the classic Old Style serif Garamond for body text results in a neat, harmonious duo.
20. Caslon and Myriad
Old-style serif and late-20th century humanist sans-serif Caslon and Myriad make an elegant, contrasting combination.
21. Nova Mono and Lato
This duo features the monospaced Nova Mono, offering a striking display appearance, and contemporary, friendly sans-serif Lato for maintenance-free readability.
22. Fontin and Fontin Sans
From Dutch foundry exljbris, Fontin was designed specifically for small sizes and pairs nicely with Fontin Sans for body text.
23. Minion and Poppl-Laudatio
This duo features the revival of an Old Style serif typeface, Minion, with an understated yet quirky sans-serif, Poppl-Laudatio.
24. Liberation Serif and Liberation Sans
Offering an open-source alternative to popular Windows fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier New, Liberation Serif and Sans form a stylish and versatile partnership.
25. Trade Gothic Bold and Sabon
Combining the popular Trade Gothic Bold as a headline font with the classic Old Style serif text font Sabon offers a clean, professional look.
26. Gilroy and Quicksand
A perfect blend of contemporary and classic, this combination pairs trendy, industrial slab-serif Gilroy with friendly, approachable sans-serif Quicksand.
27. Orpheus Pro and Fontin Sans
Experience the timeless elegance of Orpheus Pro's typewriter-style curves and nobility, paired with the neat, finely crafted Fontin Sans.
28. Playfair Display and Source Sans Pro
Mixing the eye-catching display font Playfair Display with understated Source Sans Pro results in a harmonious blend of old and new.
29. Scala and Scala Sans
This pairing from FontFont features an Old Style serif Scala and its sans-serif companion, Scala Sans. Each member of this family brings a sleek, modern edge to the party.
30. Bebas Neue and Montserrat Light
Clean, condensed letterforms unite in this pairing, featuring the streamlined and on-trend Bebas Neue for headlines and contemporary Montserrat Light for body text.
31. Rockwell Bold and Bembo
Featuring bold, attention-grabbing Rockwell Bold balanced by versatile Bembo, this duo offers harmony between old and new design aesthetics.
32. Myriad Black and Minion
Myriad Black's retro, ultra-bold design provides a strong contrast with classic Minion's Old Style serif body text, resulting in a balanced hierarchy.
33. Souvenir and Futura Bold
Mixing the playful, charming Souvenir with the quirky, geometric Futura Bold offers a modern look with a nod to the past.
34. Dax Bold and Caslon
Combining authoritative Dax Bold for headlines with the effortlessly neutral Caslon for body text, this pairing balances informality and modernity.
35. Roboto and Montserrat
Roboto’s flexible weight options, combined with Montserrat's spirited yet approachable curves make a clean, modern duo, well-suited to digital products.
36. Antique Olive Bold and Chaparral
Offering high-contrast and sharp edges, Antique Olive Bold pairs well with understated, modern slab-serif Chaparral for clarity and style.
37. Aviano and Aviano Sans
This duo featuring all-caps varieties with sharp serifs and streamlined sans-serif forms offers a powerful impact with clean hierarchy.
38. TheSerif and TheSans
The LucasFonts' Thesis family offers compatibility, with their serif and sans-serif variants complementing each other to establish harmony.
39. Renault Light and Apex New
For a business-like, professional appearance, choose this duo incorporating contemporary sans-serif Renault Light with authoritative slab-serif Apex New.
40. Calluna and Calluna Sans
Designed for optimal legibility in various design contexts, Calluna and Calluna Sans’ harmonious contrast maintains a cohesive look while offering modern appeal.
41. UnifrakturCook & Podkova
Blending a striking blackletter font with contemporary sans-serif Podkova, this duo conveys a unique, edgy aesthetic perfect for modern, attention-grabbing projects.
42. Playfair Display & Alice
Featuring an innovative display font with flowing serifs, Playfair Display, and Alice's more traditional curves, this duo delivers a playful, stylish balance.
- Balancing the right font combinations can bring a visual harmony and elevate your creative projects, as seen in the examples provided here.
- It's crucial to take into account the size of your fonts, especially the X-height, when choosing font pairings for harmonious results.
- Experiment with font weights for different looks - lighter weights can create harmony and cohesion, while bolder weights provide a pop in the design.
- Consider typefaces packaged like kits, such as Laura Worthington’s Charcuterie family, for a collection of fonts designed to pair flawlessly with each other.
- Contrasting typefaces can be a good choice if paired with complementary characteristics, providing an interesting balance without too much contrast.
- Beginners should aim for contrast through weight, width, or style when pairing fonts, avoiding redundant choices.
- As you advance in your design journey, feel free to experiment with more sophisticated pairings, such as Helvetica and Walbaum, Sentinel, ITC Avant Garde Gothic and Lublin Graph, or Calvert and Acumin.
- For creative work, deciding on a font superfamily can offer a wide range of options to work effortlessly together, resulting in both harmony and flexibility.
- Seek inspiration from various design styles, such as fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, relationships, pets, travel, cars, and shopping, when choosing font pairings for your projects.
- A deeper understanding of the difference between fonts and typefaces can help you make more informed decisions when selecting the perfect pairings for your creative cloud projects.
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- Printing and packaging projects require careful selection of font pairings to ensure UX and UI best practices, like maintaining proper contrast between headlines and body text, using complementary colors, and considering the layout of design elements.
- Following careful curation, the following font combinations have been compiled for inspiration: Academia and Franklin Gothic SG, Norwester and Kollektif, Aldus and Astoria Sans, Century Gothic and PT Serif, Calvert, and Acumin.
- By pairing ITC Avant Garde Gothic with Lublin Graph, both share geometric resemblances, like their alike proportions and single-story 'a', for a harmonious yet modern look.