10 of My Favorite Google Fonts and How to Use Them

Before proceeding, there’s another kind of font category you need to understand. Some fonts are considered “reading” fonts, and others are considered “display” fonts.

I will break down the discussion into the two categories, listing the Top 5 Serif fonts and the Top 5 Sans Serif. The emphasis here will be on fonts that are used primarily for display, as opposed to those that are used primarily for reading.

Based on classical proportions, Cinzel is a typeface inspired by first-century Roman inscriptions. It exudes authority and elegance and is often used in the context of law, religion, marriage or established society, merging a contemporary feel onto it.

Based on the work of Giambattista Bodoni in the late 18th century, the extreme combination of thick and thin strokes gives Bodoni Moda a flavor of elegance and creativity.

Bodoni is popular in logos, headlines, and decorative text. It’s also a staple of the fashion industry. It can be difficult to read and is seldom used where there is heavy text.

Garamond is perhaps the most versatile font. In fact, a German publication, FontShop Germany, after exhaustive research, ranked Garamond the second most popular font in the world. It has widespread use in web design as well as in textbooks.

It is most famous as the former font of the Google logo.

Although this font is old enough to be a favorite of the famous printer, Benjamin Franklin, today this easily-readable Google font is popular in journals, books, and especially as a corporate typeface.

While all other digital Caslons revivals are based on 18th Century specimens by William Caslon I and William Caslon II, Libre Caslon is based on hand lettering artist Caslon’s interpretations typical of 1950s advertising.

In many ways, Arvo breaks the mold for Serif fonts. Most other Serifs have an artistic, elegant, even slightly delicate appearance, but Arvo’s sturdy feet (sometimes referred to as “Slab Serif”) give Arvo a powerful, bold, and confident impression.

It’s often used in titles, headlines, and headers because it stands out brilliantly, but its clarity makes it also useful as text.

Along with Roboto and Open Sans, IBM Plex is a Google font equivalent to Helvetica and Helvetica Neue.

IBM was spending more than one million dollars a year licensing Helvetica, then after fifty years, they decided to commission their own typeface. With Mike Abbink leading its design and development, their new typeface was called IBM Plex. Thankfully, IBM decided to release it for free with no restrictions.

IBM Plex is simple and clear yet extremely versatile, perfect for use on Minimalist designs, both as display and text.

Jost feels most like Futura thanks to its sharp points and narrow widths. It works well in both headings and body text, but at heavier weights, it’s a less successful replacement. It was originally created by Owen Earl at indestructible type*, inspired by 1920s German sans-serifs.

With nine weights and italics, this is a sound choice for most display use cases. Set in all-caps and light or medium weights, Jost emulates the omnipresent Futura.

Named in honor of the printer who lived much earlier, Benjamin Franklin, Franklin is a 19th-century Sans Serif (the terms Gothic or Grotesque are earlier words for Sans Serif) It is most famous for its use in industrial design. Libre Franklin is an interpretation and expansion of this 1912 Morris Fuller Benton classic. Simple and sleek, it is often used in headlines and in advertising design as well but seldom as text.

Istok Web is the Google font version of Frutiger, a “humanist” font, meaning intentionally designed to stress clearness and legibility to the human eye. Some have described Frutiger as “the best choice for legibility in any situation”, while others have called it “the best general typeface ever.”

Istok Web is an original typeface, in development since 2008. It is used as small print and yet is very popular for signage and logo-making.

Source Sans Pro can be used wherever an “edgy” or even futuristic look is preferred. It was Adobe’s first open-source typeface family, designed by Paul D. Hunt. It is a sans-serif typeface that works well in user interfaces.

Mixing Fonts

Generally, you want more than one font on a webpage but more than three look busy and confusing. Designers have their own favorite combinations, but here are some general rules of thumb:

• Create contrast but avoid conflict: Contrast can include style, size, weight, spacing, or color. Avoid using fonts together that are too similar. But keep an eye out for how well the contrasts blend. Do the two styles complement one another or clash?
• Mix Serif and Sans Serif: This works best when you pair each font with one of a different size as well.
• Use fonts from the same family: This is easy and effective. Just mix the different weights, cases, sizes, etc. of the same font to create contrast without conflict.

Every designer has their own favorite fonts and font combinations, and choosing the most appropriate is a highly developed art and science.

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