Helvetica Serif Pairings
Curated by the Monotype Studio
A large type family like Helvetica Now makes designing with a hierarchy easy because of the variety of weights and widths. You can distinguish headlines, subheads, and body copy. Even with that variety available, you may need something to further shift the tone of your typography. Often after choosing a sans serif workhorse of a typeface, the next question is: “what serif can I pair it with?”
It’s a subjective practice. Observe how others successfully pair typefaces, try it yourself, and use your best judgement. To get you started, I’ve collected a few harmonious pairing suggestions for Helvetica Now.
Monotype Walbaum
Walbaum is one of our latest serif restorations. It is richer and warmer than a typical Bodoni or Didot Modern serif. The underlying skeleton and proportion pairs well with Helvetica, while the softness contrasts nicely.
A full breadth of optical sizes ensures its performance in print and screen. We even have decorated styles and ornaments. There are 6, 12, 18, 60 and 96 point masters.
It’s elegant and charming in ways that other Didone designs aren’t.
Monotype Century Schoolbook
Century Schoolbook is a stalwart serif design and a perennial favorite for long-form text and publishing. This clear and sturdy Clarendon-style serif will fit right in with Helvetica Now Text because of its closed apertures, modern proportions, and comfortable spacing. As a bonus, it’s available in Cyrillic and Greek sets as well.
Linotype Didot
Linotype Didot is our best version of the French Modern classic Didot. It has very high contrast and abrupt transitions which results in a crisp and sparkling design. The thin parts are notorious for falling apart in smaller sizes, so we made a special version just for text on screen (or small in print) called eText.
Another classic Helvetica pairing with a simple but powerful palette of weights: the family of 4 in regular or eText cuts, and a dedicated Headline style.
Ysobel
Ysobel is another recent design from the Monotype Studio. It’s a contemporary approach to a serif, with wedge detailing. It’s naturally narrow again, and often looks smart and sophisticated.
It might not be as loud as Walbaum or Didot, but it has an ironed confidence about it.
The normal text weights look great on screen and print, while the Display subfamily offers more weights to play with. The Display styles are narrower, tighter, and higher contrast.