Pair display and body fonts

A distinctive display face for headlines, a refined one for text.

From frontend-design: pair a distinctive display font with a refined body.

Pairing matrix

Pick a cell. Arrow keys move between cells.

Display × body
PreviewPaired

Field notes · Issue 14

The quiet economics of a corner bakery

Every morning at four, the ovens come on before the street lights go off. Flour costs rose eleven percent this year, yet the price of a loaf moved only once, and the owner can tell you exactly why.

Margins in bread are thin; margins in coffee are not. The croissant is the argument that gets you through the door, the flat white is the business model that keeps the lights on.

Type your own

Type a headline and paragraph. Swap roles to compare.

:root {
  --font-display: "Fraunces", Georgia, serif;
  --font-body: "Source Serif 4", Charter, serif;
}
h1, h2, h3 { font-family: var(--font-display); }
body { font-family: var(--font-body); }

Why it matters, pros and cons

Why it matters

Quirks are character in a headline and friction in a paragraph.

Pros

  • Hierarchy comes from the face itself
  • Long text stays easy to read
  • Changing the voice is a two-line diff

Cons

  • Each family is another download and layout shift risk
  • Dense product UI reads better with one family
  • Display faces often lack tabular figures