How to Combine Fonts, How Not To, and the Best Font Combinations

It is said that typography is the most important part of graphic design. And good font pairing is key because it dictates how professional, readable, and aesthetically pleasing your design is. If you don't make the right combination of fonts, your design will suffer.

In this article, we’ll give you some tips and tricks on how to pair fonts and the best font combinations from Envato Elements. Follow along with us over on Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

How to Combine Fonts, How Not To, and the Best Font Combinations

1. Use a Single Font Family 

If you are a beginner designer and you are still unsure about how to combine fonts, take the safe route. Superfamilies are font families that carry many weights and styles within the same typeface. By sticking to one superfamily, you are one step further into creating a minimalist layout.

You’ll know the fonts will work together because, anatomically, they are the same. This makes mixing fonts so much easier.

The advantage of using a superfamily is that the designer has taken care of the smaller details of the font by adapting it for larger and smaller scales. So if you need to use one style as a headline and one for the copy, you’ll be sure the characters will be readable at both sizes. Superfamilies have endless options that allow you to mix them up.

These qualities are great if you are looking for website font combinations, or if you are designing a resume layout and need to mix fonts. 

2. Keep It Minimal

When it comes to mixing fonts, it is always a good thing to set some boundaries. Try not to spend too much time combining fonts of multiple styles. Try to stick to two or three fonts maximum—it’ll save you time, and readers won’t skip reading the content.

Fonts have personalities and may compete for attention on a page. If you choose a superfamily and stick just a few options, that also counts! Try serif and sans serif or script and sans serif font combinations. That’ll give you the right amount of variety to keep your design exciting. 

Below, I paired Tharon Brush Style with Berlin. Tharon is an energetic, handwritten font that is perfect for a logo or for the headline on an editorial piece. The font is bold and strong, so it needs something modern and basic to balance it.

That’s where Berlin comes in—this sans serif font is geometric and structured, and stylistically it is the opposite of the handwritten font. Berlin is minimalist and clean, perfect to pair with a font that evokes movement. The two fonts work well together.

3. Choose Contrasting Fonts

Deciding on a couple of fonts for your layout is a serious business. You want to use contrasting typefaces that complement each other. Anatomically speaking, if there isn’t much difference between the fonts, it can come across as a mistake.

It is common and some might even say a rule of thumb to use a sans serif and a serif font because these are different enough to put together on a layout. Some designers might even venture to use two fonts of the same classification. For instance, if you choose to use two sans serif fonts, make sure they evoke similar moods but are completely different from each other. 

Consider how you are using the fonts and how you can go about it. You can achieve contrast by mixing fonts of different weights, kerning, and styles. If you are really inclined to use two completely varying fonts, you can go classic with a sans serif and a serif, or depending on the theme you could mix fonts of script and serif types.

Below we have Ropstone, a vintage decorative font inspired by classic posters. There are a couple of ways to go with this: we can combine it with a script font or with a sans serif. A great script font to pair with Ropstone is Ink Blank. The calligraphic feel contrasts nicely with the decorative intricacies of Ropstone. 

If you’d like to keep it simpler when contrasting fonts, choose a sans serif font like Noir Pro. A sans serif font will support the decorative font without getting in the way too much. The decorative font can be used in special instances only, like headlines.

Meanwhile, a sans serif font can be used for body text to keep it legible and let the decorative font shine. If you are working with a vintage theme, this a good idea of font combinations for print and an editorial piece. 

4. Convey the Intended Mood (Text and Content)

Fonts are like humans: each one has its own personality and character. If you are designing with a specific mood in mind, pay close attention to the type of font you are using. Knowing how to pair fonts becomes a key skill.

For instance, a kid’s birthday party invitation can be forgiving when using decorative fonts. You wouldn’t want to use the same font in a formal document like a resume or a high-end restaurant. Even knowing how to use contrasting typefaces can make a difference depending on the context.

Every font has a story, and more often than not it conveys a specific time period. Avoid using a sci-fi font on a text that speaks about traditional printing processes. Instead, read the text and understand its meaning before choosing a font, and think which fonts could enhance the theme. This is applicable for all font styles and every combination of fonts. 

Almeda is a vintage decorative font that would perfectly fit a 1920s text, an invitation, or an editorial piece. A great companion for Almeda is Bw Vivant (no longer available); this elegant font conveys the glamour of the Art Deco days. When you combine fonts like these, the uber clean shapes make it perfect as body copy to support the intricacies of Almeda.

5. Display Fonts to the Rescue

Let’s say you’ve chosen a good font combination, but the page still looks plain. Or you want to highlight the headline on a page, but you already have two fonts you are working with. That’s alright: display/decorative fonts are here to the rescue and can jazz up the design.

If you flip through a magazine, you’ll notice there’s usually a serif font used for copy and a sans serif for decks or headlines. But if you are feeling adventurous, it’s completely OK to use a decorative font for the headline. Avoid using these fonts in the copy; keep long forms of text as legible as possible. 

Below we have Gorgeous, a classic and versatile font that's highly legible at a small point size. Mojita is an intricate, geometric font that is inspired by Japanese Art Deco and Aztec and Mayan pattern design. In order to balance the visual noise that Mojita brings, Gorgeous brings a traditional quietness.

These are great contrasting typefaces that make combining fonts an easy task. I see this pairing as one of the best font combinations for print, specifically a fashion magazine. 

6. Avoid the Same Font Style

Creating a combination of fonts of the same style can bring up conflict in the design. This is because, anatomically, they look almost the same. We have to keep in mind that readers won't always be professional designers, so they won't notice slight differences between fonts.

For instance, if you wish to use two serifs together, that’s going to be tough to make work on a page, and it can look like a mistake. Instead, try using contrasting fonts, like a slab serif with a serif. Slab serifs are heavier than regular serif fonts and can work as the lead font in a design piece, while the serif font can act as a supporting font. 

Let’s take Gorgeous from the previous example (versatile, remember?) and mix it up with Bw Glenn Slab. These contrasting typefaces make good teamwork: the robust and sturdy slab adds quirkiness to the traditional Gorgeous. You could use Bw Glenn Slab for headlines; it’s got the heaviness and personality to lead a page.

Many newspapers use this pairing because it's one of the best font combinations. The slab serif is different enough and calls for attention, while a traditional serif lends legibility to long forms of text. 

7. Use Hierarchy to Your Advantage

There are many qualities to consider when it comes to hierarchy when combining fonts. Size, color, weight, kerning—these variables can help you create a stronger layout.

For instance, a headline will be set at a higher point size than the copy. Therefore, the reader’s eye will go to the headline first and the copy second. If the headline's font weight is similar to the one on the copy, the design will lack contrast, and therefore the page will look monotone. 

Try to choose and combine fonts that give you the option to play around with their weight. For instance, you could use Antique Regular in the copy of a layout and Nista Grotesk for headlines. The modern font helps keep the layout clean, and with seven weights, you can find the mood and determination a headline needs.

Newer trends in design use a sans serif as the copy and a serif as the headline. This modern and contemporary combination of fonts is perfect for print and resumes. 

8. Stick With a Designer

Learning how to pair fonts is a useful skill, but it takes time and knowledge to master it. If you are a beginner designer and you are still learning how to pair fonts, try mixing fonts from the same designer.

Aside from using superfamilies, this is the easiest way to learn how to pair fonts. Designers have a particular vision and style, and this also applies when it comes to type designers. 

Envato Elements has great designers with a wide range of fonts that you can use. Maulanacreative has an extensive library of handwritten fonts and sans serifs. Saturasi is a high-energy script that is sure to stand out in any layout, and here it's paired with Lostfield. This sans serif is a condensed family with multiple weights that can look great against the thin Saturasi lines.

Social media is becoming increasingly popular, so combining these two fonts is awesome if you are looking for a design with a strong impact. Website font combinations tend to be static, so what better way to add movement than with this awesome script. 

9. Try Font Duos

Font duos are popular on Envato Elements. Designers have already gone through the rigorous process of finding the best font combinations. We all love a good time saver!

These pairings come in handy if you are mixing fonts to design wedding invitations, social media posts, editorial pieces, and even logos. If you are looking for a specific mood, this is an awesome way to choose and combine fonts.

Ripon is a classic serif accompanied by an elegant script font. The font duo has an airy and traditional feel with an edge. Perfect for wedding invites, stationery or fashion-inspired collateral. 

The Audacity font duo contains a sans serif and a script font. This pair is perfect if you are looking for a handmade and vintage look in your designs. Brand development projects would benefit from this option to combine fonts!

10. Trust Your Gut to Mix Fonts

Like any skill, learning how to pair fonts requires practice. You’ll only become better by trying things out and combining fonts on your own. Try pairing the craziest combinations with the most traditional ones to see how they work.

There’s no exact science as to what font pairings will work perfectly together. It's all based on the content and the mood you want to evoke when combining fonts. Try multiple typefaces, resize them, use various colors, and look at the characters as if they were images. Does it convey a feeling?

This awesome Lemonade font duo is the best combination for wedding invitations. Not many would think to pair a script with a serif, but this pairing works so well. The modern handwritten script keeps the design current, while the thin serifs of the second font add glamour and contrast.

Both fonts are elegant on their own, but put together they make fantastic companions. So what feelings do they convey? Friendliness, authenticity, love: all positive feelings you'd want on a wedding invitation.