Font Matrix – See and Pair Typefaces Like Never Before

🤘 Pairing Typefaces like a Pro – Online Course: 💌 Pimp my Type Newsletter with weekly font recommendations: 📰 In-depth article with plenty of images 🎙 My conversation with Indra Kupferschmid: The Font Matrix is a different way of seeing typefaces. Knowing about it earlier would have saved me a lot of time and guessing, when it comes to choosing, but especially to combining typefaces. It is based on the work of Indra Kupferschmid, and helped me to finally make more sense of type categorizations. Now, I want to share with you what I have learned with it. In this video and article, I’ll explain to you: 👉 what the Font Matrix is, 👉 how you can apply it in your work as a designer, and 👉 become faster and more confident in your type combinations. TL;DW: Try to describe typefaces based on their form model (dynamic, rational, or geometric), if they are contrasting or not, and if they have serifs or not. Combine typefaces that have the same form model or are very different. Avoid similar appearances with diverse form models. Take this all with a grain of salt, don’t forget to have fun and discover 😉. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:20 Can you mix any Sans-Serif with any Serif typeface? 01:11 Blue Pill or Red Pill? 02:30 Welcome 03:29 Common font pairing advice doesn’t work 04:04 Challenges with type classifications 04:57 A 3-layered system for describing type 05:20 Layer 1: Skeleton – Form Model 07:22 Layer 2: Flesh – Contrast & Serifs 08:29 The Font Matrix reveals 08:58 Finding harmonious font pairs 10:12 Play the form model game 11:48 Layer 3: Skin – Finer Differentiations 12:22 Online course on pairing typefaces 13:12 What’s a humanist sans-serif? 13:39 Limitations of the Font Matrix 14:33 Outtakes in the bathtub #typography #pairingfonts