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I'm far from knowledgeable about fonts, and I'm dealing with a real beast; Bookman Old Style Bold.

I've been looking for hours but I can't seem to find a sans-serif that balances well with it.

I have to use Bookman for the company name on a business card, but I can choose another font for all other text.

Could anyone help me with this please, what should I be looking for in a sans-serif font to pair it with Bookman?

Additionally, because it's for a business card it needs to be easy to read at small sizes (<9pt), so what do I need to look for in the font I choose regarding that as well?

Also, one of the reasons I chose to ask here is because I'm aware there are some typography experts from an older generation that use this site, and I'm hoping maybe one of them has already encountered this task, considering the age of Bookman.

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I think a nice sans-serif, thin line font would complement the bold, thick lettering that Bookman is giving. My suggestion is Avenir LT Std, or a Century Gothic:

enter image description here

The large x-height is in reference to legibility usually, but it also affords a bit more space with the kearning because of the shape of the letter forms.

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  • yw. that info should go in the question too then. the more the community has, the better. ...on another note... an image/picture on a business card?? Might I suggest that you suggest a cleaner design for a card?? Also, avenir as a style has many many variants and the heavy is almost as thick as bookman.
    – Phlume
    Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 13:14
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You're looking for a large x-height, open shapes, and a warm demeanor. To keep it simple and readily available I'd recommend one of these:

  • Frutiger
  • Myriad
  • Open Sans
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    Bookman has a very tall x-height so it helps to coordinate with that. Though it's shapes are strictly "open" it does have a sort of friendly, casual style to it. Openness in a sans builds on that.
    – plainclothes
    Commented Feb 21, 2014 at 19:22
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Try Gotham - probably Book weight - large x-height, open shapes, not too obscure and won't look dated for a few years.

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    Thanks for the contribution and welcome to GraphicDesign!
    – Zach Saucier
    Commented Feb 26, 2015 at 3:11

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