6 Free Baller Brand Fonts And How To Pair Them Like A Pro
3 things I don’t do?
Match fonts of the same exact style, like two serif fonts that are the same weight.
Put an italic or a script with a handwritten font.
Make all of the typography have all the same treatment, such as everything in all caps.
Why?
Because there needs to be some visual hierarchy and not so much competition between your chosen fonts and elements.
(If this is not making any sense at all, keep scrollin’, cause you’re in the right place…)
That’s really why I wanted to make this post in the first place: To help you out with typography pairing tips even more so than giving away all my best kept secrets for fonts 😉
>>>Wanna learn how to make your entire brand consistent? -> Grab my free checklist! <-
There are so many great typography designers and font suites out there it’s INSANE.
I lovvveee a good font designed by a talented artist, and I always think it’s worth the investment to pay for it.
That said, it took me a while before I started purchasing fonts for my brand suites, because it is an extra cost for the client. If I use a font that I purchased in one of my designs, the client then has to purchase it too, to gain rights and access to it.
Which makes sense that you’d really need to love it to purchase for your own use. Plus, if you’re purchasing for yourself, it can be a lot of pressure if you are not 100% sure it’s what you want.
So for this post, I’ll show you what’s possible with the completely free options that are out there.
Que the baller fonts I’ve chosen below: All of them are Google Fonts.
Why?
Because I love that Google Fonts offer the most versatility and integration with other apps like Canva, WordPress, and obviously Google Docs, etc. – basically, a lot of the things you might use as you get your business going.
Why does this matter?
There’s nothing more frustrating than purchasing a beautiful brand suite, only to have to choose alternate fonts because the typography that was chosen doesn’t integrate well with the apps you’re using.
(I’m a HUGE fan of brand consistency, and using your *actual* brand fonts in any and every place is just one of the ways to achieve this.)
So in my book, if you can find a suite of typography to use for your brand that is pretty and has the ability to integrate with all of these other apps you’re using, it’s a win-win.
6 Baller Free Google Fonts
#01: YESEVA ONE
You can grab it here.
Type: Serif
Weight: Heavy
Styles: Regular
#02: PRATA
Get it here.
Type: Serif
Weight: Medium
Styles: Regular
#03: NANUM MYEONGJO
Get this one here.
Type: Serif
Weight: Thin
Styles: Regular, Bold, Extra Bold
#04: STAATLICHES
You can get it here.
Type: Sans Serif/Display
Weight: Thick
Styles: Regular
#05: SYNCOPATE
Snatch it up, here.
Type: Sans Serif/Display
Weight: Medium
Styles: Regular, Bold
#06: DORSA
Download it here.
Type: Serif
Weight: Medium
Styles: Regular
Typography Pairing Do’s & Don’ts
DO
- Pair thick- with thin-weighted fonts
- Pair serif with sans serif
- Try all caps
- Try all lowercase
- Try out italics, bold, thin (and whatever else comes with the type suite!)
DON’T
- Put two thick-weighted fonts together, they compete visually
- Put two thin-weighted fonts together, they compete visually
- Pair a script or italic with each other, they usually compete
3 Pro Tips
01: PURPOSEFULLY SELECT YOUR FIRST FONT
This first choice should likely be the font you plan to use the most (think body copy). Do you want a serif, sans serif, or script font for body copy? Generally speaking, you’ll want a serif typeface for paragraphs and wordy things like posts. After you make this first choice, you’ll be able to select other fonts to pair and compliment it well.
For example, let’s say we started off with Yeseva One as our first choice. Keep that in mind as we move on.
02: WATCH FONT WEIGHT
Is that first pick thin, thick, or somewhere in-between? Keep the weight in mind as you try to pick your second font. Intentionally choose an opposite weight for your second typography suite.
Using Yeseva One as our example, I’d pair it with Dorsa, since Yeseva One is a thicker typeface while Dorsa is thinner – this way, the visual appeal is there.
03: CHECK YOUR STYLES
Not all font families are created equal, and not all of them include more than one style (bold, italic, thin, etc).
If you’re searching for a headline font, you may only need one style. However, if you’re searching for a font for body copy, you’ll probably want something that includes bold and italic styles.
Keeping with our examples, they both actually only have one style (regular), so I think the pairing lends itself to Dorsa as the headline font and Yeseva One as the body copy font.
Is font pairing starting to make a bit more sense? I hope so! If you take the time to notice even just the weight and styles, you’ll be able to start pairing fonts like you’ve been at it for a while.
My Font Pairings
Now, I’ll show you how I’d pair the 6 fonts featured in this post, using the tips I’ve already mentioned:
Pairing 1
Pairing 2
Pairing 3
Your Turn
Alright, it’s your turn to try this whole font-matching thing out.
How?
Open a google doc or Canva template to play around.
You don’t need anything fancy, and you can source and download fonts from Google Fonts – or even just use whatever fonts are available in the app you’re using (Google Docs, Canva, Adobe Express, etc.)!
No pressure, just for fun. It doesn’t have to end up good – it could actually be terrible and it will be just fine.
The more practice you get, the better you’ll become and start to recognize what looks good together.
Want more tips on font pairings? Head over to my post about how to choose your brand fonts!
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