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Yes, font pairing is a popular and useful marketing strategy. It helps make the texts more interesting and adds a lot of visual appeal. The idea is to create a design which is different and yet harmonious.

Some key points to keep in mind while pairing fonts would include:

1.Combining a serif with another sans serif.

The most imperative detail in font pairing is to know the highlight difference betwixt a serif against a sans serif font type. The serif refer to a certain typeface with a thin line which is attached towards the ending of a stroke. Meanwhile, the sans serif refer to a certain typeface which do not have any type of stroke embellishments. It is similar to the font being used in the current sentence that you’re reading as of now.

A safer bet while deciding upon font pairing would be to combine a certain serif font with added strokes with another sans serif font. The primary reason being, as a general thumb rule, the greater a contrast between fonts, the more visually appealing they seemed. The stark difference in the overall anatomy of the highly contrasting fonts create a perfect bend of design and symmetry. Meanwhile, fonts that are too similar fail to create any contrast and never really impress upon readers due to a lack of visual appeal.

But the distinction to use separate fonts upon high contrast is also a very fine line. It is also advised to stay away from fonts which are fundamentally much different from each other. A very finite line whereas contrast and discord is kept well in balance. An example would be to put together Garamond font along with Sabon to understand the concept. It can be done with other such highly discord fonts like Helvetica and Univers in one example to gain clarity on the fine line.

2.Avoiding Similar Type Classifications.

Another useful way to ensure discorded typefaces in font pairing would be to avoid choosing same category typefaces. An example of similar category typeface would be such as Scripts and slab. Scripts refer to the typefaces which link a letter with the next. They are seldom used as types of headers or the first display. Meanwhile, Slabs are special type of serif font which have thick, almost block-like projections added to the end of a letter with strokes.

Having similar type of classification of font typeface fails to create enough contrast and create a lot of clash. A perfect example of the same can be witnessed when using typeface Clarendon with Rockwell. It fails to impress upon and looks un-classy.

Therefore when trying to use different types of fonts into one text, using a slab type along with another slab is very unattractive and unappealing to the eye. Instead using combination of Slab with Sans Serif makes a huge difference in the contrast levels and entices viewer attention immediately.

3. Contrast font sizes.

Now that we have understood that creating contrast is the key in font pairing. Another way to achieve a high contrast effect would be to achieve ample difference in the point size of the different fonts. The difference in text size helps create a hierarchy of text which allows moving from a group of text to another in an order. An example of using text for instance with a 24 point font size and comparing it with an 18 point font text right next to it achieves very little contrast. The lack of contrast makes it difficult to differentiate and read the texts on their own merit.

The order of reading the information when defined clearly using a form of visual hierarchy in the design increases user attention. Using big headers before articles are a method used by newspaper and informatics websites quite commonly and has a great effect of diverting reader attention.

4. Contrasting the font weights.

Continuing the topic of creating contrast and avoid discord, using varied font weights is another useful method. It helps create a visual hierarchy as achieved with font size. A clear difference of font width and boldness allows easy hierarchy continuity. Combining fonts like Didot with Rockwell fails to achieve the desired results as both the fonts have a heavy style to it. They simply don’t work together. A perfect example of contrasting font weights to create visual appeal would be to use fonts like Roboto Black along with Roboto Light. The idea behind is to use fonts which are similar and yet different. The contrast in size or weight helps to establish a clear distinction among them. Mixing two loud fonts with their own distinct characteristics creates a lot of discord in the text.

5. Assigning distinct roles to individual fonts.

A useful tip to follow while creating professional grade design is to stick to consistency. A way to maintain consistency would be to assign a specific role to each font that are used all across the document or body. An example of the same would be to use the same font as header throughout the document, another for body all across. This create a sense of consistency in font pairing which creates ease of reading for the reader. Using the same font for text throughout allows reader to differentiate the content. It also creates a clean and simple layout for reader which is very luring.

6. Not mix different moods.

Another very useful and important aspect when pairing fonts would be to understand their individual personality and the overall mood. It is imperative to never mix fonts which do not have similar character and personality about them. An example of the same would be to pair Impact and MTF Cool Kid. Impact is bold and blocky while MTF Cool Kid is a simple, childlike and a playful design. The fonts just do not appeal together as they are fundamentally very different from each other.

Another non perfect match example would be using Airstream and Nexa rust Slab. Airstream which is a beautiful decorative type of font just doesn’t gel well with Next Rust Slab, a display font.

7. Mixing distinct font types with the neutral types.

If we use a font which has a character of itself with a distinct sense of style, the ideal way would be to pair it with a rather neutral form of font. This helps balance the overall effect of the font. If we pair two distinct styles together, the unique elements of both tend to get washed over by the other and it fails to impress. For example when we use script font like Blackjack, it would be best to pair it with a rather moderate font like the Montserrat Light, which creates a beautiful design. However, the same when paired with another script font like say a Milkshake, would create chaos as both fonts tend to draw a lot of attention to themselves.

8. Avoiding discordant type of combinations.

As we discussed earlier, a common problem in order to get the right contrast would be to stay clear of discord. The difference is very minute but the visual appeal is immense. Contrast tends to create a sense of visual harmony which attracts reader while discord is just chaotic and tends to repel readers away. A technical rule to follow while choosing fonts to create contrast would be to choose fonts which at a glance would seem different but technically are proportional. For example choosing fonts which are proportionate in terms of height and weight.

An example of the same would include using Futura font with the non-proportionate Times New Roman as they do not follow the technical parameters and too much contrast in their widths.

9. Using fonts sourced from the same typeface.

Using fonts from the same type face can save a lot of our time. It helps produce just the type of font contrast we are looking for and is very popular with marketing campaigns. An examples of using same typeface would be to use Helvetica Black as a header for your text and then use Helvetica for the body of the text. This has enough contrast and flow about it and creates a nice aesthetic. Another example of the same would be to use Raleway Black Head as the header of the text and Raleway thin for the body. Same family fonts tend to get along just fine.

10. Sticking to two or maximum three kinds of typefaces.

Now that we know using typefaces and providing contrast works well, you could be hard pressed to use multiple typefaces to find the right combination. While it is easy to get carried away and experiment away trying various different typefaces into one, the results could be disastrous. Therefore, a safe bet would be to stick to a typeface count of two or three types at a time. Sometimes simple is always better and keeps things organized. A safe combination of using classic style sans serif with the serif in a two typeface combination can create up to types of different font styles to work with. Customizing the same with italic, bold and normal would create additional variation.

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