playful · friendly

Dancing Script and Plus Jakarta Sans font pairing

Handwriting headings with a sans serif body.

Background
Issue 07 · Field notes
Ideas that travel well

Good pairings feel inevitable. Great ones set the tone before a single word is read.

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A strong pairing creates clear hierarchy while feeling like one consistent voice across every page. This paragraph is set in Plus Jakarta Sans, while the headline uses Dancing Script. Numbers like 0123456789, punctuation “quotes” — and ampersands & — reveal a lot about how two typefaces get along.

Contrast, then harmony

Look for contrast in structure and harmony in proportion: similar x-heights, compatible widths and a shared sense of rhythm. Bold text and italic text should feel natural, too.

Why this pairing works

Dancing Script adds a human, hand-made touch to short headlines and accents; Plus Jakarta Sans keeps everything else clear and legible. Plus Jakarta Sans ships in 7 weights, so you can build captions, buttons and emphasis without adding another family.

HDancing Script

Dancing Script is a free handwriting typeface designed by Impallari Type, added to Google Fonts in 2011. It comes in 4 weights, and is a variable font with a weight axis.

More pairings for Dancing Script →

BPlus Jakarta Sans

Plus Jakarta Sans is a free sans serif typeface designed by Tokotype, added to Google Fonts in 2022. It comes in 7 weights with matching italics, and is a variable font with a weight axis.

More pairings for Plus Jakarta Sans →

Use this pairing on your website

HTML — paste in <head>
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Dancing+Script:wght@400&family=Plus+Jakarta+Sans:wght@400;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
CSS
h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: 'Dancing Script', cursive;
  font-weight: 400;
}

body {
  font-family: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 1.6;
}

More pairings with Dancing Script

Built for the long run

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A good pairing feels like one voice.

HDancing ScriptBManropeplayfulfriendly→

Dancing Script adds a human, hand-made touch to short headlines and accents; Manrope keeps everything else clear and legible.

Everything starts with a sketch

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A good pairing feels like one voice.

HDancing ScriptBMulishplayfulfriendly→

Dancing Script adds a human, hand-made touch to short headlines and accents; Mulish keeps everything else clear and legible.

Where craft meets code

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A good pairing feels like one voice.

HDancing ScriptBQuicksandplayfulfriendly→

Dancing Script adds a human, hand-made touch to short headlines and accents; Quicksand keeps everything else clear and legible.

More pairings with Plus Jakarta Sans

Stories worth reading slowly

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A good pairing feels like one voice.

HPT SerifBPlus Jakarta Sanseditorial→

A classic contrast: PT Serif's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Plus Jakarta Sans's clean shapes keep body text easy to scan on screens.

Notes from the studio

Typography sets the tone before a single word is read. A good pairing feels like one voice.

HBitterBPlus Jakarta Sanseditorial→

A classic contrast: Bitter's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Plus Jakarta Sans's clean shapes keep body text easy to scan on screens.

Frequently asked questions

Do Dancing Script and Plus Jakarta Sans go well together?

Dancing Script adds a human, hand-made touch to short headlines and accents; Plus Jakarta Sans keeps everything else clear and legible. Plus Jakarta Sans ships in 7 weights, so you can build captions, buttons and emphasis without adding another family.

Which font should be used for headings?

Use Dancing Script for headings at weight 400, and Plus Jakarta Sans for body text at weight 400. You can swap them in the pairing tool to compare.

Are Dancing Script and Plus Jakarta Sans free?

Yes — both are open-source fonts on Google Fonts and free for personal and commercial use.