- Sharon Hafuta
- May 8
- 9 min read
Maybe you are the type to create inspiration boards of the whimsical fonts you fall in love with on the Internet. And maybe you’re a committed Times New Roman user and the idea of introducing new styles into your writing makes you want to hide under your desk.
Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, fonts are an essential component of excellent website design. Which is why our designers have created this font pairing guide just for you. Whether you’re looking for new ideas or aren’t sure where to start when it comes to deciding your signature online handwriting font, stay tuned to discover the ten most amazing font pairings you can use in your next graphic design project.
Understanding what is typography and its impact can help you make better design choices and elevate your work.
The 10 best font pairings
01. Georgia, Avenir and Avenir Light
Meet Georgia, a Serif web-safe font that is both elegant and serious, like a tux. It does well accompanied by the Avenir family, a classic sans serif font that boasts easy readability and matches Georgia’s graceful simplicity.
Good for: Business, portfolios, CVs and publications.
02. Oswald Medium and Roboto Bold
Oswald Medium communicates strength with its bold weight and clean lines. With a title font that strong, balance your page out with Roboto Bold. The neo-grotesque sans serif typeface was developed by Google as the system font for its mobile operating system android, to be “modern and approachable.”
Good for: Business, fitness and technology.
03. Reklame Script, Poppins Semi Bold and Poppins Extra Light
Reklame Script belongs to a family of fonts that are influenced by the hand lettering of 1940s and 1950s printed advertisements. This inspiration is reflected in the font’s friendly warmth, good for communicating your fun and personal approach. The clean and geometric look of Poppins SemiBold and Poppins Extra Light make these fonts your go-tos for your subtitles and paragraph text, respectively.
Good for: Family and kids-oriented businesses, online stores, DIY and blogs.
04. Monoton, Lulo Clean and Futura
Get funky with the retro feel of Monton. This artistic font is definitely one best reserved for large headlines only. Counter its strong statement by keeping your subtitles simple and friendly with the all caps Lulo Clean. Tie it all together with a serving of elegance by using Futura for your paragraph text.
Good for: Music, entertainment and retro themes.
05. DIN Neuzeit Grotesk and Avenir Light
Keep your site approachable and readable with the classic geometry of DIN Neuzeit Grotesk titles. Continue the trend with the classic sans serif Avenir Light, whose simple elegance goes easy on readers’ eyes.
Good for: Business, online stores, portfolios and photography.
06. Raleway and Helvetica
Raleway is the font equivalent of adding a statement piece to a black dress or having your funky socks poke out of the bottom of tailored suit pants. Bold yet modern. Simple with a twist. It does well with Helvetica, a sans serif font which keeps the contemporary theme and clean appearance going.
Good for: Business, online stores, portfolios and photography.
07. Belinda, Libre Baskerville and Brandon Grotesque
The vintage brush script of Belinda can be used to evoke an inviting, personal atmosphere. Pair it with subtitles written in Libre Baskerville, whose serif lettering is modeled after an old font to give it a more traditional look. Finish things off with Brandon Grotesque in your paragraphs. The geometric sans serif font adds a touch of modernity to the more nostalgic touches of the previous two selections.
Good for: Business, fashion, DIY, blogs and food.
08. Playfair Display and Snell Roundhand
This combination takes elegance to the max. The modern serif font Playfair Display drips classic design. Together with the vintage Snell Roundhand in your subtitles, your site will show you know what it means to get fancy.
Good for: Weddings, invitations, jewelry and online stores.
09. Sarina, Playfair Display and Proxima Nova
Sarina’s brush style letterforms projects that casual artsiness of the cool kids you know who went to design school. Its stylistic form is balanced well with Playfair Display subtitles, a modern serif that keeps things elegant and classic and the simple Proxima Nova in your paragraphs.
Good for: Lifestyle, beauty and online stores.
10. Clarendon LT, Lulo Clean and Georgia
The bold structure of this slab serif font makes Clarendon LT pop off the page. Tone things down in the rest of your text with the all caps (but still friendly!) Lulo Clean in your subtitles and the gracefully professional Georgia in your paragraphs.
Good for: Business and publications.
When to use font pairings?
Choosing the right font pairing is key to a cohesive design, but sometimes minor adjustments to an existing typeface work better than adding a new font. Simple changes like switching to bold, italic, or condensed styles can emphasize or create hierarchy without disrupting visual harmony. However, in some cases, introducing a new font is necessary to achieve a specific look or clearly separate content types. Here are some scenarios where a new font can improve your design.
Creating contrast
Using two fonts with contrasting characteristics can add visual interest to your design. For example, pairing a serif font with a sans-serif font can create an interesting contrast between traditional and modern styles. Or pairing a thick, bold font with a thin, delicate font can create an eye-catching balance of weight in your design.
Differentiating content types
Sometimes you may have different types of content that need to be clearly distinguished from each other. In this case, using different fonts for each type is an effective way to separate them visually. For instance, you could use a clean sans-serif font for headings and a simple serif font for body text to make the distinction clear.
Emphasizing important information
Using different fonts is also a useful tool for emphasizing important information in your content. By using a bolder or more decorative font, you can draw attention to key points and make them stand out on the page.
Creating hierarchy
Another way to use different fonts in your design is to create hierarchy and organization within your content. You can achieve this by using one font for headings, another for subheadings, and another for body text. This helps guide the reader's eye through the content and makes it easier to navigate.
Setting the tone
Different fonts carry different connotations and can help set the tone for your content. For example, a clean and modern sans-serif font can give off a professional and contemporary impression, while a handwritten or script font can add a personal and friendly touch. Consider the overall tone you want to convey and choose fonts accordingly.
Why is font choice important?
After all the time you’ve spent focusing all of your energy on your site’s content, transitioning to thoughts about your typeface can feel super trivial. Does anyone really care if your ‘As’ slant one way versus another? Designers excluded, the answer is probably no when it comes to geometric minutiae like this. But there are more obvious font characteristics that actually do matter and make choosing the right font for your website a very important determining factor for your website’s success and its overall make . Let us explain why.
We’ll start with what fonts can communicate. Selecting a group of fonts that go together for your website is a bit like picking out what you’re going to wear in the morning. When you’re contemplating your closet, your goals are usually to assemble an outfit that represents who you are and that doesn’t feature mismatched items. Your choices should frame your personality rather than take it over.
Same goes with fonts. The examples will feature font combinations that are consistent with your business’ branding, don’t clash horribly with each other and don’t distract from the content that you’ve worked hard to produce. In other words, font pairings can simultaneously both express a message of their own and also work in your favor to make sure other elements of your site can get their fair share of attention, too. For example, that’s why it could be a good idea to use a whimsical cursive font for a travel blog’s title, yet a more cleanly defined lettering for the menu options.
If you've read up about typography, you'll know that readability is one of the most important factors here. This is because visitors to your site won’t hang around if they have to decipher your words or if a combination of too many fonts has them rubbing their eyes. What’s more, search engines like Google take note of short browsing sessions on your site or almost immediate clicks on the ‘Back’ button, which will affect your display ranking on results pages.
Tips for using font pairings
To avoid that fate, here are some pro tips we’ve compiled for you to keep in mind as you design. Or you can use them to seriously impress your friends with your extensive fun facts about fonts. You do you.
Keep it simple
Remember the number three. That’s the maximum number of fonts you will want to use on your site, total. Any more than that and things will start to look like a circus. Plus, when you keep it simple, your site will be easier for users to read and navigate.
Arrange a hierarchy
Identify your title, subtitle and paragraph fonts. Visually distinguishing these categories from each other will help site visitors instantaneously organize and comprehend the information you’re presenting to them. For example, using the most personality-infused, bold font for your headlines is a good practice because it’s an instant cue that those words contain the most essential information. Subtitles provide additional signage for your viewers, alerting them to menu options or calls to action. And paragraph text should of course be the easiest to read of all three.
Stay consistent
Beyond sticking to your font plan from above, this also means not switching things up mid-sentence. If you need to add emphasis in your writing, opt to italicize or bold your text rather than changing the font.
Similarity creates harmony
When pairing fonts, look for a shared element to connect them. Completely unrelated fonts can make content feel disjointed, so find at least one common trait—stroke weight, angles, curves, x-height, or even a similar “mood.” Great font pairs often share subtle details that unify them. However, avoid fonts that are too similar. In that case, stick to one font or use a variation from the same family.
Contrast adds interest
You might think, “Isn’t contrast the opposite of similarity?” It is—but it’s also key to creating visual interest. Focus on where fonts contrast, not where they align. Contrast makes a pairing dynamic—like “opposites attract.” For example, pair a super wide font with a super condensed one. When fonts share a similarity, like weight, the contrast feels balanced and creates a striking combination.
Build your font mastery with these resources:
The power of font psychology (+ tips on how to choose a font)
The ultimate guide to choosing the perfect font size for any design
Serif vs sans serif: choose the best font for your project
Never be confused by typefaces vs. fonts again: here’s how they differ
How to choose font pairings
Choosing font pairings can be tricky, but it's an important part of any design project. The right fonts can help to create a sense of balance, harmony and hierarchy in your design. Here are some top tips for choosing font pairings:
Consider the purpose of your design. What kind of mood or feeling do you want to create? Are you designing a website, a logo or a piece of print design collateral? The purpose of your design will help you to narrow down your choices and select fonts that are appropriate.
Think about the audience for your design. Who are you trying to reach? What kind of fonts will they find appealing? If you're designing a website for a young audience, you might want to choose more playful fonts, but if you're designing a logo for a corporate client, you might instead go with more traditional fonts.
Consider the overall look and feel of your design. What colors are you using? What kind of images or graphics are you incorporating? The fonts you choose should complement the other elements of your design.
Pay attention to the contrast between the fonts. You want to create a balance between the two fonts, so that they don't clash or blend together. You can create contrast by choosing fonts with different weights, styles or sizes.
Font pairings FAQ
How do I choose a third font when two aren't enough?
If you find yourself needing a third font for a project, make sure it complements the existing pair rather than clashing or overwhelming the design. A neutral sans serif can often serve as a great middle ground between a decorative headline font and a traditional serif body font. The main goal is to maintain harmony between all the fonts so your design feels intentional and cohesive.