Academy / Graphic design basics
Lesson 4 of 6 · 5 min
Fonts and how to pair them
Quick recallLight gray text sits on a white background. What is the main problem?Think of your answer, then open.
There is not enough difference between light and dark. Contrast between light and dark is what makes words readable.
Fonts have a voice. Round and thick sounds friendly, thin and tall sounds fancy, heavy and square sounds strong. Choose by voice, then keep the number small.
Three rules for a pair
- Make them different. A serif headline with a plain body looks planned. Two fonts that are almost the same look like a mistake.
- Only one is loud. The headline has the personality, the body stays quiet.
- Stop at two. Bold and regular give you plenty inside one font.
Script and hand drawn fonts are for a word or two, never a paragraph.
Try it: write your headline and see it in different font pairs.
Do it
- Click your main line, then the font name in the bar. The Font panel opens on the left.
- Pick a headline font with the voice your job needs.
- Click your smaller text and give it a calm font.
- Look at Fonts in this design. Two is the goal.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
You have a serif headline. Which body font gives the clearest pair?
Show the answer
A clean sans serif. A pair works when the two are clearly different and one leads.
Where do you use a display or script font?
Show the answer
For a word or two. Display fonts are made for effect. They are hard to read in long text.
A small label in capitals looks cramped. What helps?
Show the answer
A little more letter spacing. A bit of extra letter spacing makes small capitals easier to read.
In this course
- 1What your design must sayEvery design has one job. How to name it before you open the editor, and how the Goal filter finds a template for it. · 4 min
- 2What people see firstHierarchy is a clear order of big, medium and small. Test it with a blur, then set it in Design. · 5 min
- 3Colors that work togetherContrast comes first, then few colors. Test your eye on eight pairs, then put your brand colors on a design in one click. · 5 min
- 4Fonts and how to pair themTwo fonts are enough. Judge six pairs with your own headline, then set yours in Design. · 5 min
- 5Space and alignmentEmpty space is part of the design, things that belong together stay close, and one clean edge makes a post look planned. · 5 min
- 6Pictures that earn their placeChoose a photo that supports the job, crop it so the right part shows, and give several photos one look. · 5 min