Type Categories, part 09: Serif/Sans Serif
Have you ever thought: “I’m using such-and-such text face and I need a companion font for captions, headlines, callouts, and the like. Which sans will work best?” This is a pretty common question, and you must consider it when you design. Issues of type compatibility should remain on the forefront of your mind. If you have extensive knowledge of type you can probably create a nice coupling between a serif and a sans serif. But, combining typefaces is more of an art than a science. There are so many aspects to keep in mind to avoid an unholy union — proportion, x-height, weight, and pedigree, to name a few. Unless you’ve studied type extensively, you’ll probably just be making your best guess. Here are two different solutions to ensure you’re using compatible typefaces together.
The 1st option is to use a Serif/Sans Serif Type family:
A very recent development in typography (especially if you consider type history), this style enlarges the notion of a type family to include both serif and sans serif alphabets, and often stages between the two. Take advantage of a full-featured family with serif and sans versions tailored by the type designer to work together. We’ve shown three examples below.
Serif/sans serif, circa 1990
Examples shown: Rotis, Scala and Stone. Here are some other type familes, not an exhaustive list by any means, but a place to start if you’re looking for a serif/sans serif:
Base 9
Base 12
Absara
Freight
Nexus
Thesis
Celeste
Quadraat
Eureka
Versa
Legacy
Charlotte
Fedra
The 2nd option would to be to use this handy-dandy chart:
Shown here are a selection of popular typefaces and their compatibility with other faces. A variety of display typestyle choices are listed across the top, and text choices down the side. To determine compatibility, cross-reference from the horizontal category to the vertical. The number at the intersection determines the degree of compatibility. A “1″ indicates it’s safe to mix. A “2″ should be handled with caution, and a “3″ should be avoided. This chart is only intended as a general guideline, and is not intended to be absolute. There are situations where these suggestions may not hold completely true. Happy type pairing!
This post concludes our 9-part series on Type Categories. We hope it’s been useful and informative. A new regular series is in the works, so if you have anything you’d like us to cover, shoot us a note ([email protected]) and we’ll consider it. Thanks for following along.
Information cited from: A Type Primer by John Kane, The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, Font Shop newsletter, and a Typophile forum.
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i bookmarked this page.
i am digging that chart. i think i’ll make it into wallpaper for my homeoffice.
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