Brand Typography
Brand typography without the jargon
Type is on nearly everything your brand makes, which makes it one of the fastest ways to look consistent — or careless. Here is how to choose brand fonts, pair two of them, set a hierarchy, and avoid a licensing trap.
Brand typography is the set of typefaces and text rules that define how your brand looks in writing — usually one heading font, one body font, and a simple size hierarchy. Because text is on almost everything you produce, getting it consistent is one of the cheapest ways to look established.
Logos and colours get the attention, but typography does more quiet work than either. It appears on your website, your invoices, your emails, your social posts — every day, everywhere. When the fonts drift, the whole brand feels slightly off, even if nobody can say why.
This guide, part of our brand guidelines pillar, keeps it practical: what different fonts signal, how to pick and pair two of them, how to set a hierarchy, and the licensing detail that trips people up.
What fonts signal
Different type, different feeling
Before picking fonts, know what they say. Serifs feel traditional and trustworthy; sans-serifs feel modern and clean; slabs feel bold and sturdy; scripts feel personal but tire the eye. Choose a style that matches how you want your brand to feel, then narrow to specific fonts.
Serif
Serifs feel established
The little feet on letters read as traditional, trustworthy, editorial. Good for brands leaning on heritage, expertise, or craft.
Sans-serif
Sans-serifs feel modern
Clean, no feet, highly legible on screens. The default for tech, startups, and anything that wants to feel current and simple.
Slab
Slabs feel bold
Thick, blocky serifs that read confident and sturdy. Strong for headlines and brands with a loud, no-nonsense character.
Script
Scripts feel personal
Handwritten or calligraphic. Warm and human in small doses; hard to read and easy to overdo. Use for an accent, never body text.
Pairing
How to pair two brand fonts
Pair fonts by choosing a legible body font first, then a heading font that contrasts without clashing — often a serif with a sans-serif, or two distinct weights of one family. Cap it at two typefaces, and test them on your real content before committing.
- 1
Start with one, add one for contrast
Pick a body font you can read comfortably at small sizes, then choose a heading font that contrasts with it — usually a serif paired with a sans-serif, or two clearly different weights.
- 2
Contrast, do not clash
The two fonts should look distinct but belong together. A safe route: one characterful heading font and one plain, neutral body font. When unsure, use a superfamily that ships both.
- 3
Cap it at two
Two typefaces is the sweet spot for a small brand — one for headings, one for body. A third only if you have a genuine reason, like a monospace for code or numbers.
- 4
Test the real content
Set an actual headline and a real paragraph, on a phone and on desktop. Fonts that dazzle in a specimen often fall apart in a full sentence of your own words.
The trap
Font licensing, in plain terms
Here is the step most small-business guides skip entirely: fonts are software, and most come with a licence that limits how you may use them. Using a font in your logo, on your site, or in a product without the right licence is a real risk — and an easy one to avoid.
For most small businesses, sticking to Google Fonts solves this cleanly: they are free, commercially licensed, and available across your website, documents, and design tools — so your type stays consistent everywhere.
Hierarchy
Set a simple type hierarchy
A type hierarchy is a small set of consistent sizes and weights — H1, H2, H3, body, caption — that signals importance and makes content scannable. Define three or four levels once and use them everywhere; that repetition is what makes pages feel organised instead of accidental.
| Level | Treatment | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| H1 — page title | Largest, boldest, one per page | Sets the single most important message; used once. |
| H2 — section heading | Clearly smaller than H1, still bold | Breaks the page into scannable sections. |
| H3 — sub-heading | Smaller again, bold or medium weight | Organises detail within a section. |
| Body | Comfortable reading size (~16px+ on web) | The default for paragraphs; prioritise legibility over style. |
| Caption / label | Smallest, often lighter or muted | Image captions, footnotes, and fine print. |
Write it down
Two fonts, a few sizes, one page
Capture your type rules where people will use them
Typography only stays consistent if the decisions are written down. Otherwise a template introduces a new font, a hire picks their own favourite, and six months later your materials no longer match.
You do not need much: the two font names, three or four sizes, and where to get them. Drop that into your style guide and your typography is documented — no manual required.
The minimum to record
Heading font: name, weight, and where to get it.
Body font: name and default reading size.
Sizes: H1 / H2 / H3 / body / caption.
Store it all in your brand style guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is brand typography?
How many fonts should a brand use?
How do I pair brand fonts?
What fonts should I use for a small business?
Do I need a licence to use a font commercially?
What is a type hierarchy?
Type sorted — bring it together
Fonts, colour, and logo only feel like one brand when they live in a single reference. Pull them into one page.
Choosing colours too?
What your palette signals, with the nuance charts skip.
Read brand colour psychology