Combining type has often proved vexing for early designers in the same way that combining flavors might be vexing for early chefs. Proficiency will come with experience and you’ll begin to rely on a few tried and true combinations, but you’ll need a place to start. Like with many things, you have your go-to's: Those jeans you look great in. That song-list that always lifts your spirits. That combo of wine and chicken risotto that is always a crowd pleaser. What's your type go-to?
In your earliest type classes, you might have been presented with a list of approved or safe typefaces. These are like the USRDA is to nutrition: this is the amount of vitamin-C will prevent scurvy, but might not lead to optimum health. In the same way, those dozen or so faces might not get you in trouble (and they're a great place to start), but they probably won’t turn heads either. At this point, you need to begin to do your own investigation and find your own solutions to create your own plan for optimum typographic health. We’re not saying that you’ll never use Garamond and Univers again, but it’s likely that you might find combinations that evoke more of the type of style and emotions that you’re after with a bit of investigation. Also, this list does not take context into account. In many cases, you'll want to choose type based on context in the same way you choose an outfit for a party... what type of party is it? Not every party is a white-Tshirt-and-jeans type of party (that's you, Helvetica.). However, few parties are costume parties, so be careful of faces that are too decorative—or costume-y.
[You might even consider a categorical "pick-one-from" approach to type selection...]
Some simple tips
- When approaching any combination consider the topic and the feeling you want to generate at the most basic level: happy, aggressive, elegant... and choose type that will help to carry that sentiment.
- Generally type from the same families don’t work well together any more than food from the same family works well in a meal: chicken, turkey and duck don’t pair well at dinner... they’re all pretty much the same flavor. Chicken, bacon and steak might be a better combo. A combination of Helvetica, Univers and Myriad would be the former. Serifa, Avenir and Univer59 would be the latter.
- Consider the provenance (history) of the type you’re using: Who designed it and when? In the above combination: Serifa, Avenir and Univer59… all are designed by Adrian Frutiger. While not designed as a triad, two are geometric (and on of those is a slab serif—which contrasts with the sans serif) and the third is a squared condensed. The three together have nice contrasting qualities that work together. You could even add an italic, script or “handwriting” style to this as a 4th element if necessary.
- Look for faces that have a wide range of weights for maximum efficiency. Instead of adding another typeface, maybe you just need a different weight or variant.
- Be wary of the faces that come for free on your computer (even Myriad) Why? Because they’re fairly common. It’s like that great song before you started to hear it everywhere and at all of the wrong times and now you’re sick of it (and everyone else is, too). You’ll need to find newer and fresher ingredients.
- Be wary of any typeface that has too much personality. You don’t want a “costume” typeface for your brochure any more than you want a costume outfit to wear to work.
- While there's no "rule" about how many typefaces are too many, think of it like pieces of jewelry or squirts of cologne/perfume... five can be too many of either, right? For type, of course, it depends on the context and what you need to get done. Sometimes one face can go a long way and sometimes you need a bit of extra, alternative emphasis. In the end, don't let a rule guide you. "Rules" are really principles... there to help you make general decision—not to predetermine your fate. Consider the whole and consider the context along with the communications challenge. If design were an if-this-then-that equation, we wouldn't need designers, right? It's still a bit of an art.
- Don't let another designer do the creative work for you in the form of type design. You do the amazing design with more subtle faces. So, you’ll never use Bleeding Cowboys and others that are overdesigned... these also tend to be "costume-y".
- Don’t let someone else grunge up your type. Do that yourself.
Find new inspiration
You will need to search outside of class for inspiration. Here are a few places to start...
Books...
- Explorations in Typography: Typographer Carolina DeBartolo has assembled a selection of faces for use and also turned them into a poster for easy reference. The original book also had a paired website where different combinations could be tried.
- The Big Book of Font Combinations: The Big Book of Font Combinations: Typically anything starting with "The Big Book of" isn't very good, but this one is an exception.
Some good web resources, too:
- http://www.typography.com/techniques/
- http://www.creativebloq.com/typography/20-perfect-type-pairings-3132120
- http://www.designforfounders.com/font-pairing/
- http://blog.typekit.com/2012/05/23/type-study-pairing-typefaces/
- https://www.justmytype.co
And Pinterest is full of stuff, too...
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