The Big Book of Font Combinations: Hundreds of Typeface Pairing Ideas for Graphic Design & Typography Enthusiasts

The Big Book of Font Combinations: Hundreds of Typeface Pairing Ideas for Graphic Design & Typography Enthusiasts

by Douglas N Bonneville

Overview

So many font combinations. So little time.

The BBOFC is an expansive collection of carefully crafted typeface pair samples. The font pairings in BBOFC will inspire you and give you back time you need for your design projects. Use the combination examples straight out of the BBOFC in your next project, with other typeface software, or use them as a springboard for your own creativity. However you use the BBOFC, it’s bound to inspire and is a trustworthy companion to consult for all kinds of design projects and general study of typography.


  • 370 packed pages of combination ideas
  • Dozens and dozens of the most popular typefaces of all time
  • Uses many of the top classic typefaces you already own
  • Affordable, practical, inspirational


Typefaces you know and love:

Our independent research, coupled with several other sources, yielded a matrix of the most popular fonts in graphic design history. We took dozens of the top typefaces and combined them amongst themselves, yielding over 350 typeface pairings. These ideas are yours for the taking, ready to implement with little fuss if need be. They are also a great starting place for creating your own combinations with typefaces you may own that are not in the BBOFC. Either way, you have a great head start with the BBOFC.

Think of the BBOFC like this: it’s a sketchbook with some ideas filled in for you. The final masterpiece is up to you.

Fantastically faster than fiddling with fonts:

In order to try fonts on your system, you have 1) find the font in your font manager, 2) activate the font, 3) go back to your design app, 4) re-select the text, 5) wade through the font list until you find what you just activated, and finally 6) re-adjust the point size. To create a typeface pairings, you have to do this twice, if not multiple times, to get what you are after. The BBOFC can greatly reduce if not eliminate this cycle for some projects.

A titanic typeface tutoring tour-de-force:

With so many classic typefaces for graphic designers to peruse, it’s impossible to spend time with the BBOFC and not learn something new about a typeface you my already know well. And what about those other classic typefaces you’ve heard about, read about, seen in passing, but never got up close and personal with or have seen in unexpected pairings? The BBOFC is a great tutor because the first page of each font chapter is focused on just one classic typeface. Perfect!

Why do I want The Big Book of Font Combinations?

If you love typography and typefaces, you will love this book. It is a working historical record of incredibly influential typefaces from many critical times in graphic design history. It is very easy to enjoy the pleasure of seeing so many wonderful typefaces in relaxed conversation with each other on the sample pages. There is no UI to fiddle with, no flaky font substitution or activation from font manager programs or buggy software or fickle fonts to slow down the inspiration process. Just use the table of contents to get to a typeface chapter, or simply peruse. Enjoy!

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780960043903
Publisher: Bon Communications
Publication date: 02/28/2019
Pages: 374
Sales rank: 1,129,689
Product dimensions: 8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Douglas Bonneville has been a graphic designer since 1992. Starting in print design and custom publishing, he moved into web design, user interface, and user experience design. Graphic design and typography resources, including "The Big Book of Font Combinations", are currently his main area of creative interest and output. He resides in Rhode Island with his wife Mary, three boys, two cats, and more guitars and pairs of reading glasses than he can count.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents I

Introduction 6

29 Principles for Making Great Font Combinations 11

Akzidenz Grotesk / Akzidenz Grotesk 14

Akzidenz Grotesk / Bembo 15

Akzidenz Grotesk / Clarendon 16

Akzidenz Grotesk / Egyptienne 17

Akzidenz Grotesk / Minion 18

Akzidenz Grotesk / New Baskerville 19

Akzidenz Grotesk / New Century Schoolbook 20

Akzidenz Grotesk / Palatino 21

Akzidenz Grotesk / Warnock 22

Antique Olive / Antique Olive 23

Antique Olive / Helvetica 24

Antique Olive / Minion 25

Antique Olive / New Baskerville 26

Antique Olive / Palatino 27

Antique Olive / Souvenir 28

Antique Olive / Warnock29

Arno / Arno 30

Arno / Akzidenz Grotesk 31

Arno / Franklin Gothic32

Arno / Frutiger 33

Arno / Helvetica 34

Arno / Univers 35

Avant Garde / Avant Garde 36

Avant Garde / Berkeley37

Avant Garde / Caslon 38

Avant Garde / New Baskerville39

Avant Garde / Palatino 40

Avant Garde / Warnock 41

Avenir / Avenir 42

Avenir / Caslon 43

Avenir / Goudy Old Style 44

Avenir / New Baskerville 45

Avenir / Palatino 46

...Bell Gothic, Bembo, Berkely, and 40+ more combinations through p370

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