“All fonts are the same,” said no web designer ever. Although your client might not notice the subtle differences between Tahoma and Arial, they are definitely there. What they will notice is how aesthetically pleasing their new website will look when you match up the perfect font with their content. If only there were online dating websites for fonts, though.
Actually — there are! Here are seven cool and easy-to-use tools to create the perfect font pairing.
1. Font Flame
Speaking of online dating for fonts, Font Flame likes to call itself the “Tinder for font pairing.” The best approach for a matchup is to drop in a random phrase using fonts pulled from the extensive Google Font Library. Font Flame then lets you pick “love” or “hate” for the pairing.
You’ll be building a “love” database that’s stored on-site and can easily be tapped for any upcoming design project. In other words, your “love” won’t get away if you’re using Font Flame!
2. Type Wolf
Type Wolf is a kind of Whitman’s Candy sampler of fonts culled from all across the web. You’ll find an easy-to-navigate site that lets you scroll through the font types and link it to selected samples. It’s a concise approach to font pairing that offers a comprehensive array of options.
3. Type Connection
Who knew pairing fonts could be so much fun? It is when you play Type Connection, the Typographic dating game.
At Type Connection, you’ll pick a main typeface from the many options and then you’ll be presented with potential “dates” (their words) for all your picks. Are you getting a sense that the web designers love dating metaphors? Well, pairing the perfect font is a lot like a marriage. You want it to be right from the jump. Type Connection can help pull it all together.
4. Just My Type
Just My Type puts their selection of font samples in colorful blocks. These pairings originate from Typekit and H&FJ. Plus, this entire project is the brainchild (or lovechild) of Daniel Eden. That’s some powerful design backing to tap into for your next site creation.
5. Type Genius
It turns out some of the best things in web design are free. That certainly holds true for Type Genius. One click opens a wide variety of starter fonts that, in turn, reveal the perfect font pair. You also get to see those two fonts in action, side by side. Using this app can certainly help you be the smartest designer in the room.
6. The Web Font Combinator
The Web Font Combinator puts aside all the “font dating” metaphors and gets right down to business. Although it might come across as a bit Skynet-like, its simplicity and ease-of-use is what makes this such a practical tool. Take it for a spin and watch how easy it is to find your next font pairing.
7. Typespiration
Do you want to know what font pairings other professional web designers have utilized? Then you’ll want to visit Typespiration. This site is composed of a wide assortment of examples all generated by designers who have put them out into the world. These examples also include the colors and CSS code. That’s going to make your cutting and pasting for insertion into your own site go a lot smoother.
Which of these font pairing tools will be the perfect fit for your talents? You might just have to give them all a trial run to make that final determination. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!
Featured image: Derek Bruff
About The Author
Eleanor Hecks is the Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine, an online publication dedicated to providing in-depth content from the design and marketing industries. When she's not designing or writing code, you can find her exploring the outdoors with her husband and dog in their RV, burning calories at a local Zumba class, or curled up with a good book with her cats Gem and Cali.
You can find more of Eleanor's work at www.eleanorhecks.com.