Choosing Fonts · Page 1 of 7
How do you choose the right font?
The answer is simple: match its personality to the job.
Every typeface has a personality. Learn to pick one that fits the message, matches the artwork beside it and pairs with a second font to build clear visual hierarchy.
Type is artwork, not just words. Letters are lines, curves and corners, so they have to agree with everything else on the page.
In this lesson
Assessing a typeface
The main type categories and the details to look for.
Match the font to the message
Fit a typeface’s personality to the topic, audience and setting.
Match type to images and symbols
Coordinate proportion, shape, line and texture with your artwork.
Pair fonts for visual hierarchy
Combine two fonts that contrast without fighting, with nine rules of thumb and examples.
Try it: pairing lab
Choose a heading font and a body font and see how they work together.
Test your knowledge
Four quick practice exercises. They are not graded.
John McWade, “What typeface goes with that?” in Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff (Peachpit, 2010).
“How to use that typeface,” Before & After magazine, article 0677.
Douglas Bonneville, The Preposterously Huge Book of Google Font Combinations (BonFX, 2020).
© Created by Sara Rosenstock, Marietta College Graphic Design.