I am kind of struggling with pairing right sans-serif typeface for body text. I need to use Foco for headlines for certain reasons. So far I didn't like anything I tried and I feel stuck. I would be glad for some advice.
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Hi. Welcome to GDSE. What fonts have you tried, and what was wrong with them, also which of the Foco fonts are you trying to pair against? Questions on pairing of fonts are quite opinion based, since there is no correct answer. You may be able to salvage this question if you perhaps edit your question to show the work you have done so far, and say what you think is wrong with it or why it doesn't meet your requirements. Also please don't just link to other web pages in your question - we like questions where we can see images, without the need to click on external links. Thanks.– Billy KerrSep 15, 2018 at 10:49
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Hello. Sorry for formating and other mistakes, I am new here. I tried to pair with Open Sans and Raleway, which didnt work. Now I use Rubik which seems to work better.– Dejv KrchstnSep 18, 2018 at 11:15
1 Answer
It is not easy to find an equivalent pair when we already have an assigned font. But there are some tricks that can be useful.
Styles
Choose font families with a large number of styles. Families usually bring four basic styles: normal, italic, bold, italic bold; useful for small designs or designs with few text. For larger projects such as a book or a corporate identity, it is advisable to foresee a greater number of possibilities in advance and avoid changing the font or altering the design of the chosen one for different highlights.
Stroke Modulation
As a starting point, the font Foco does not have stroke modulation, so we would reject all Humanist Sans Serifs that do have it (as long as the design does not require it).
Font Structure
There is a base structure in each font. The Foco's o character is elliptical, which indicates that in its normal design, the font is slightly condensed. This serves as a reference to avoid overly expanded or rounded fonts (as long as the design does not require it).
Character Structure
The lowercase a or the support stroke of the capital R usually have a particular structure in each font. The ideal situation is to find a font that formally balances with these characteristics. As an example, if possible, avoid these combinations:
On a smaller scale, but similar importance are: Q, K, k, t, y.
Design
The font Foco has as a main characteristic in its design the rounded stroke to one side. This gives it enough personality. Try not to eclipse it with a font of greater visual weight in the design or typographies with a deep historical base.
But this is also positive information, a sans serif with rounded strokes at the ends could fit.
Search
With this information, 75% of the sans serif are discarded. Helping to find a good pair:
- Searching just Sans Serif
- Discarding Humanist Sans Serif
- Avoiding expanded font designs in its base version
- Typing "aRgGMQKtky" to compare
- Avoiding fonts with too much personality in the design
- Admitting those with rounded strokes as a good option
Using Typekit, on the first searching result page this one appears, maybe there is a better one, but I would give a chance.
Or:
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Hello. Thank you very much for such detailed answer. It is extremely useful for me. I tried to pair font Rubik (google fonts) and it seems to work, at least in that particular webdesign. Can I ask you your opinion about Foco (headlines) + Rubik (body copy) combination? Thanks Sep 18, 2018 at 11:17