Learn to pair your fonts well

If graphic design was a classic movie, fonts would be its lead actors.. Choosing typefaces helps to establish the tone for your design’s look and feel as a whole. Typography is a complex togic - particularly for beginners, it’s absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed!. 

Normally, even if you are not a graphic designer, you can recognise poor font choices from a mile away. You just glance at the design and it's obvious that font combinations just don't look nice. While making such assumptions of two individual fonts together is much harder, one thing we certainly do is assist you determine which are the finest combinations 

Fortunately, we have created the perfect font pairing guide that can help you achieve success regardless. DzynSpace has a library of font pairings that will elevate your graphic design projects- from wedding invitations and corporate assets to branded social media posts. Let us now get to the basics: 

Basics of Font Pairings:

We must talk about the four font categories - serifs, sans-serifs, ornamental and scripts, before we even process to understand which ones to pair. The purpose of font pairing is to select typefaces which complement each other (typically 2-3 at maximum). Concerning interpersonal relationships, opposites like to attract and generally this is also true when combining fonts. Opposite styles may work together effectively. Feel free to combine the numerous typographical and font styles to let your individuality shine through.. 

‍

Serif Fonts
Serif fonts utilises broad and thin strokes to produce a style that is bold and courageous, best suited for news and print in the journal. The word "serif" refers to the little bits on each letter. In design, serifs are paired with their exact opposite: sans-serifs. As we stated, the font combination does not have any actual restrictions but as a general recommendation, you can't go wrong when combining a serif font with a sans-serif font.

‍

Sans-Serif Fonts
The name "sans-serif" refers to exactly what it sounds like: no serif letters. Sans-serifs fonts are perfect for websites, blogs and other flat designs with semi-rounded features. San-serif fonts are generally considered the most readable font style, therefore are an excellent choice for body text.  It has a warm, inviting vibe while giving you a sense of stability and gravity.

‍

Decorative Fonts
These are ideal for a variety of products and markings as ornamental fonts are more imaginative than serifs and serifs. In logos, packages, posters, and more, you will see beautiful typefaces. It is generally the central focus of a text-based design and can be coupled as supporting text with serifs and serifs.

‍

Script Fonts
The script fonts appear more like handwritten letters. These have a personal touch on any typeface. They are ideal for invitations for weddings, greeting cards and shorter headlines. The strokes utilised are more fluid than ornamental fonts and are in good contrast to serifs and serifs.

Now that we have covered all the different types of fonts, let us quickly scan through some of the common ones. (bonus: they’re free fonts) 

‍

1. ABRIL FATFACE 

Serif Font from the TypeTogether family. This font is inspired by the elegant fonts from 19th Century’s Britain and France. The perfect pairing would be: Roboto Regular or Raleway 

2. ALEGREYA SC

Developed with keeping literature in mind, this is a small-caps serif font. When you want your design to be text-heavy, this font is your muse. The perfect pairing would be Oswald and Lato. 

3. ALEX BRUSH

Alex Brush is a beautiful brush-based Script font. The perfect font pairing would be: Roboto Regular and PT Sans.

4. ALLAN

Allan is a lovely Handwritten font from Anton Koovit. The perfect font pairing would be: Lato and Raleway

5. AMATIC

If you’re looking for a simple, effective hand-drawn font, Amatic is your font. The perfect font pairing would be: Josefin Slab and Open Sans Condensed

‍

When in doubt, it is ideal to pair typefaces from the same, but making one of them standout. That only means a visually balanced hierarchy must be established. Try pairing a typeface, which you think is the primary combination, with a subtler font. If they both have a bold personality, you risk being monotonous at the opposite end, and you certainly want to avoid that. Go crazy - combine a serif with a sans-serif, but do not go overboard with what they seem different. Take a look at what they convey on a similar ground. Don't select a highly classical handwritten font for the title, for example, then a digital font for the body content. 

That’s about it from us! Why don’t you rush to DzynSpace to try these out?