How to pair fonts | Explained

Making the website design exquisitely pleasing while keeping it absolutely professional is very important in website development. Using the right fonts and the right font pairings help maintain the consistency of a website design and enhance the user experience. It leaves a good impact on the user which happens to be good for your business. CSS lets you use numerous font pairings. This write-up discusses the following:

1. Guidelines on Pairing Fonts
2. Some great font pairings

Let’s get started.

Guidelines on Pairing Fonts

When pairing fonts, there are some guidlines that should be taken care of. Here we have jotted down some tips on pairing fonts.

1. Avoid visual conflict
   Visual conflict occurs when you use font pairings that do not complement each other. In order to avoid this visual conflict choose a font pairing that is diverse yet blends well together.
2. Pair within Font Superfamilies
   Using font pairs from within a font superfamily could prove to be a very good choice. Consider only those font pairs that complement each other but do not look too similar. You can compare font pairings from within a font superfamily on the basis of serif vs. sans serif, thick vs. thin, or condensed vs. extended.
3. Maintain Contrast
   Maintaining contrast is absolutely necessary when pairing fonts. Contrast helps you maintain a balance in your font pairing in a way that two fonts from the same font superfamily harmonize yet look a lot different. Using a sans with a sans-serif could be one way to keep a contrast though it is not the only way to do it.
4. Use less than three fonts
   In order to make your website design visually pleasing, using only two fonts would be more than enough (one for the header and the other for the body text). Go for the third only when necessary.

Now that we have understood some basic rules of font pairing, let’s go through some good font pairing options.

Some great font pairings

There are multiple repositories from where you can get numerous amazing fonts such as Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, Fonts.com, and many more. Keeping the above rules in mind you can create a good font pairing of your choice.

Here we have listed some good font pairing options for you!

1. Verdana and Georgia

Verdana features bold and wide characters making it appropriate for the header text meanwhile, the thin strokes and thickened serifs of Georgia makes it a perfect choice for body text.

Example
In this example, Verdana is being used for the heading and Georgia is being used for the paragraph.

Output

A combination of Verdana and Georgia is being used.

2. Lobster and Cabin

The combination of Lobster and Cabin works perfectly well. These two fonts complement each other in a way that Lobster is bold and attractive while Cabin is plain and simple.

Example
In the below-mentioned example, Lobster is being used for heading, and Cabin is being for the paragraph.

Output

A combination of Lobster and Cabin fonts is being used.

3. Helvetica and Georgia

Helvetica is a very popular choice when it comes to brand names because of its neat, bold, and modern look, and Georgia is an excellent choice for body text due to the thin strokes of its characters.

Example
This example uses Helvetica font for heading and Georgia font for the paragraph.

Output

A combination of Helvetica and Georgia is being used.

4. Cinzel and Fauna One

Cinzel and Fauna One are google fonts. Cinzel takes its inspiration from roman inscriptions and has a contemporary style. On the other hand, Fauna One has a modern touch to it with a soft and condensed structure.

Example
In this example, Cinzel is used for heading, and Fauna One is used for the paragraph.

Output

A combination of Cinzel and Fauna One fonts is being used.

5. Josefin Slab and Josefin Sans

Josefin Slab has a typewriter-style that goes perfectly well with the vintage style Josefin Sans. For headings Josefin Slab is used while for paragraphs Josefin Sans is used.

Example
This example uses Josefin Slab for headings and Josefin Sans for paragraphs.

Output

A combination of Josefin Slab and Josefin Sans is being used.

These are a few samples of font pairings. Using the guidelines mentioned above, you can create a font pairing of your own and make a fantastic website!

Conclusion

Good font pairings can create exquisitely pleasing websites that enhances user experience and hence are crucial to the structure of a good web design. There are some guidelines that need to be followed when combining fonts such as; avoiding visual conflict, pairing within font superfamilies, maintaining contrast, and using not more than three fonts. This write-up discusses these guidelines and showcases some popular font pairings.