How to Pair Fonts Like a Pro: The 3-Font Formula

Your guide to pairing serif, sans serif, and script fonts

You’ve chosen your colors, designed a beautiful layout, and curated a perfect collection of images. But something about your design still feels… off.

You swap one font. Then another. Before you know it, you’re 17 tabs deep in Google Fonts, second-guessing everything and wondering if you’re just overthinking it. (Spoiler: you’re not.)

As designers, we’ve all been there.

Font pairings matter—a lot. Fonts do so much more than fill space. They communicate tone, personality, and content hierarchy. The right font pairing can elevate your entire design. But the wrong one can throw everything off, no matter how beautiful the rest of your design is.

So yes, font pairings can make or break your design. No pressure, right?

If you’re struggling to find the perfect mix: deep breath. We’ve got you covered. Whether you’re building a Showit website, creating a brand identity, or designing a lead magnet, this post will walk you through our simple 3-font formula: one serif, one sans serif, and one script.

It’s our go-to for creating designs that feel polished, professional, and perfectly balanced. And now, it’s yours, too! 

Ready? Let’s dive in. 

What is Font Pairing, and Why Does It Matter?

Font pairing is the art and science of combining two or more fonts that complement each other and your brand identity. Fonts help communicate personality and what your reader should read first, second, and third (AKA content hierarchy). 

We always follow the “Rule of Three” when pairing fonts: one serif, one sans serif, and one script (or accent) font.

Why Use Three Fonts?

Using three distinct font styles lets you assign a specific role to each one. This lays the foundation for a design that feels balanced and user-friendly. For example, no one wants to read a huge block of the same text. Breaking it up with different fonts and headlines makes it easy for readers to skim and navigate. 

Here’s How the “Rule of Three” Breaks Down

Serif Fonts: These fonts have small “feet” or strokes at the ends of each letter (AKA the serif). They’re a great choice for headlines: timeless, classic, and easy to read in digital and print.

Free Google Fonts we love: Playfair Display, Cormorant Garamond, Crimson Pro

Sans Serif Fonts: Sans serif fonts are—as you may have guessed—serif fonts without feet or stokes. They’re often used for website body copy, navigation menus, or minimalist layouts because they’re great for readability with smaller fonts and on screens. Think of them as the crisp, clean contrast to a serif’s traditional vibe.

Free Google Fonts we love: Lato, Work Sans, DM Sans

Script Fonts: These fonts mimic handwriting or calligraphy for a touch of personality and visual flair. They’re best used sparingly—for logo text, quotes, or design highlights—where you want to add a special touch. 

Free Google Fonts we love: Allura, Great Vibes, Pacifico

Font Pairing in Action 

Let’s say you’re designing a Showit website for a wedding planner. You might use:

• Editor’s Note (serif) for elegant headings
• Work Sans (sans serif) for clean, readable body copy
• California Palms (accent script) for accents like testimonials 

Together, these fonts create a design that feels romantic, elevated, and easy to navigate.

Need extra help choosing fonts for your website? Check out our Complete Guide to Website Fonts.

Choose Fonts That Complement Instead of Compete  

If your fonts are clashing or your layout feels too “samey,” chances are your font choices are too similar. Contrast is key when pairing fonts. The art of font pairing is less about choosing ones that “match” and more about making sure they contrast in a thoughtful way.

Mix, Don’t Match  

One of the most common mistakes designers make? Doubling up on fonts from the same classification—like using two serif fonts in the same layout. Even if the fonts are individually beautiful, they can end up looking like a mismatch or a design oversight when used together.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid this mistake:

• Don’t pair fonts from the same family (e.g., two serifs or two sans serifs) unless they have clear visual contrast.
  
• Look for variation in shape and proportion. A round, open sans serif pairs well with a more structured serif.
  
• Pay attention to font weight. Mixing a bold headline font with a lighter body font can help create hierarchy and depth.

Font Pairing in Action 

Let’s say you’re working on a digital brochure and you try pairing Playfair Display with Libre Baskerville (both serif fonts). While each is beautiful on its own, together they compete for the same role. The result? A design that feels visually muddy and lacks structure.

Now swap Libre Baskerville for Lato—a sans serif that adds clean, modern contrast to Playfair’s elegant style. The layout immediately feels more defined.

See how choosing fonts from the same classification can make your design feel flat? Creating contrast between styles helps define your content hierarchy—and makes your message more effective.

Need font inspiration? Check out a few of our favorite roundup posts:

• Top 10 Most Popular Sans Serif Fonts
• The Best Free Google Fonts We Love
• The Best Script Fonts for Websites

Style Your Fonts Like a Pro

You’ve chosen your fonts. Now it’s time to style your fonts. When we say “style,” we’re talking about adjustments to things like letter case, kerning (or spacing), and formatting. These adjustments seem small, but can have a big impact on how your design is perceived.

Styling is especially useful when you want to add variety without switching fonts. This is often the case for designers working within brand guidelines with limited font options, or when you need to guide the reader’s attention through the layout and content hierarchy.

Styling Tips to Elevate Your Design 

Mix Cases
Try pairing lowercase body text with all caps headers. This creates contrast, draws the eye to important elements, and adds a bold, modern touch.

Play With Kerning
Adjust the spacing between letters to shift the tone. Tighter kerning is great for bold, punchy headers, while looser kerning creates a more elevated, elegant feel—especially in minimalist layouts. You can also increase kerning slightly in small text (like body copy or eyebrow headers) to improve readability.

Use Italics Intentionally
Italics can add emphasis without needing a new font. Use them for quotes, testimonials, or short phrases that need to stand out without stealing the show.

Font Styling in Action 

Imagine you’re designing the cover of a lead magnet. Try this:

• Title: Montserrat (sans serif) in bold, all caps with increased letter spacing to grab attention. 
• Subtitle: Add contrast with Lora (serif) in regular-weight italics to complement the headline without stealing attention.

These styling techniques can elevate your designs without needing to swap fonts all the time. You can work smarter with the fonts already in your digital library. 

Create Contrast With Font Size and Weight

If your design feels busy, or like everything’s competing at once, you might have a contrast issue. Font size and weight impact hierarchy, guide the reader’s eye, and make your content easier to scan.

The solution? Easy. Adjust font size and weight to reduce the noise. This helps the most important content stand out.

Tips for Better Visual Hierarchy

Big + Bold for Headers
Use large, bold fonts to grab attention immediately. Think page titles, hero sections, or major headings that anchor your layout.

Medium + Regular for Body
This is your paragraph sweet spot—clean, comfortable to read, and sized for flow. Avoid making body text too small or too light, especially for longer content blocks.

Light + Small for Details
Smaller fonts in lighter weights are ideal for captions, dates, fine print, or link text. These elements should still be legible, but they don’t need to demand attention. 

Font Pairing in Action 

Let’s say you’re designing the hero section of a sales page. You might use:

• Oswald Bold (sans serif) in large, uppercase letters for the main headline.
  
• Source Sans Pro Regular for a supporting paragraph that explains your offer.
  
• Source Sans Pro Light in a smaller size for the fine print or disclaimer text. 

The contrast in both size and weight creates clear visual hierarchy—so your audience knows exactly what to read first, second, and third. 

Conclusion: Font Pairing Checklist 

Like most design decisions, learning to pair fonts takes some trial and error. But once you get a feel for what works, it becomes second nature.

Start simple. Use the three-font formula. And trust your eye—if it feels off, it probably is.

Font pairing is part creativity, part strategy. And the best combo for your project isn’t always obvious at first—and that’s okay. Learning how to test and evaluate your font choices will help you spot what’s working (and what needs tweaking) before you hit publish.

Do Your Fonts Pair Nicely?

Here’s a quick checklist to help you evaluate your font pairings:

• Does the pairing feel intentional and cohesive?
  If your fonts look too similar (or wildly different for no reason), your design might feel off-balance or unfinished.
  
• Is the hierarchy clear at a glance?
  Can users instantly tell what’s most important? Your headings, subheads, and body text should each have a defined role and visual weight.
  
• Is it easy to read on all screen sizes?
  That elegant script might look stunning on desktop—but totally unreadable on mobile. Test your font trio across desktop, tablet, and mobile before publishing.

When in doubt: test, tweak, and repeat until your fonts feel just right.

Ready to give it a try? Let us know your favorite font pairings in the comments, or tag us in your designs on Instagram. We’d love to see what you create!

Our Favorite Font Pairing Resources

There are so many great places to discover and test fonts. Here are a few of our go-to spots:

• Google Fonts – Free and easy to use in Canva, Showit, and WordPress.
• FontPair – Great for testing out different Google Font combos.
• Jen Wagner Co. – We’ve licensed several of Jen’s fonts for our templates (they’re all beautiful).
• Creative Market – Affordable options for stylish fonts.
• MyFonts – A massive library of both classics and new releases.
• Adobe Fonts – Perfect if you’re already using Adobe tools. (Note: These aren’t compatible with Showit.)