editorial

Playfair Display and Nunito Sans font pairing

Serif headings with a sans serif body.

Background
Issue 07 · Field notes
The art of saying less

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 Nunito Sans, while the headline uses Playfair Display. 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

A classic contrast: Playfair Display's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Nunito Sans's clean shapes keep body text easy to scan on screens. Nunito Sans ships in 9 weights, so you can build captions, buttons and emphasis without adding another family.

HPlayfair Display

Playfair Display is a free serif typeface designed by Claus Eggers Sørensen, added to Google Fonts in 2011. It comes in 6 weights with matching italics, and is a variable font with a weight axis.

More pairings for Playfair Display →

BNunito Sans

Nunito Sans is a free sans serif typeface designed by Vernon Adams, Jacques Le Bailly, Manvel Shmavonyan and Alexei Vanyashin, added to Google Fonts in 2016. It comes in 9 weights with matching italics, and is a variable font with YTLC, optical size, width and weight axes.

More pairings for Nunito 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=Playfair+Display:wght@700&family=Nunito+Sans:wght@400;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
CSS
h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: 'Playfair Display', serif;
  font-weight: 700;
}

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

More pairings with Playfair Display

A field guide to good ideas

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

HPlayfair DisplayBOswaldeditorial→

A classic contrast: Playfair Display's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Oswald's clean shapes keep body text easy to scan on screens.

Make something people love

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

HPlayfair DisplayBDM Sanseditorial→

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

More pairings with Nunito Sans

Notes from the studio

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

HFrauncesBNunito Sanseditorial→

A classic contrast: Fraunces's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Nunito 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.

HCinzelBNunito Sanseditorial→

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

Stories worth reading slowly

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

HNunito SansBCormorant Garamondmoderneditorial→

A modern twist on the classic: Nunito Sans keeps headings crisp and contemporary, while Cormorant Garamond's serifs guide the eye along longer lines of text.

Frequently asked questions

Do Playfair Display and Nunito Sans go well together?

A classic contrast: Playfair Display's serifs give headlines an editorial, trustworthy voice while Nunito Sans's clean shapes keep body text easy to scan on screens. Nunito Sans ships in 9 weights, so you can build captions, buttons and emphasis without adding another family.

Which font should be used for headings?

Use Playfair Display for headings at weight 700, and Nunito Sans for body text at weight 400. You can swap them in the pairing tool to compare.

Are Playfair Display and Nunito Sans free?

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