Font Pairing… Like A Fine Wine.

Pairing fonts is a guilty pleasure of mine. Some might call me a font fanatic. And if I’m being honest with you, when I open my inbox every morning I have at least 4-5 emails waiting for me with suggestions on the best new free font downloads.

So… Picking a font is fun. Right?

Am I to be taken seriously at all times like a Size 12 Times New Roman? Or is my business more on the trendy side (like a salon or spa) and going for the Milea Handwritten Brush Font to grab a consumers attention and show that I’m a little flirty? Whatever the case may be, the font(s) that you use as a business define the overall vibe you are throwing out into the universe.

Now, here is where fonts can get complicated. I bet you didn’t even realize that was a thing, did you? You can’t just go around throwing fonts together all willy-nilly and calling them a pair. There is a method to the madness, and that is what we are going to be discussing today. Say it with me - “harmony between fonts is key to my brand’s overall appearance”.

First up, a personal favorite of mine. For those who love a good mix of modern (sans-serif) and traditional (serif): You can’t go wrong with Garamond and Helvetica Neue. Garamond by itself is an excellent font, especially when you jazz it up by italicizing here and there. But when you put these two together? So compatible. So classy. It’s like that moment when you find the perfect merlot to pair with your filet mignon. The two fonts are a flawless pair that creates a timeless feel when used together.

While we are here, another serif font I want to touch on is Minion Pro. The slightly more attractive younger brother of Times New Roman. Pair this font with a nice sans-serif such as Proxima Nova, and you have once again mastered a modern-traditional duo.

Want to blend two sans-serif fonts together, keeping your look fresh and modern? Try pairing Open Sans (Bold or Extra Bold) with Nunito. Or go for Oswald Heavy with Open Sans. And for anyone who truly knows me, if you’re looking to keep it in the same font family, a personal favorite for me is Segoe Pro Condensed Bold with a tight Segoe Pro Light or the Liberation font family. There are so many possibilities out there!

Now I bet you are wondering, what if I want to pair two serif fonts together and stay on that completely traditional one-lane highway? Even though it’s not as common to see as the serif and sans-serif duos, you still have some options. Although, it can be risky. It’s important that you pick fonts that contrast, but share a similar mood. In other words, you need to be able to distinguish where one font ends and the other begins, but they also need to work harmoniously together. Upfront you need to decide which of the two fonts is the star in your show and who is the supporting actress - both serve a defining role to the message you are trying to portray. If you aren’t feeling brave enough to use two different serif fonts together (because let’s be honest, it can be like pairing hot dogs with chocolate milk), another option is to play around with the weight and size of one font. Much like how I had mentioned earlier, pairing Garamond Regular and Garamond Italics to play nicely off of each other.

Just remember, there are so many different font variations you can put together that you can’t really mess it up. Okay, that is somewhat of a lie - you can definitely mess it up (we’ve all done it a time or two). But have fun experimenting, and when all is said and done, as long as your font pair isn’t hard on the eyes and flows nicely, you’ve done a good job.

Happy fonting, my friends!