Which sans-serif pairs are good using typeface Foco for headlines?

Question

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.

Answer 1

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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