Font pairing

Pick a heading font, pick a body font that goes with it, and see the pair on a poster, an app screen and a logo. Every preview uses a free Google Font, so you can use what you see.

13 well-known fontsPreviewed with free Google Fonts
See the pairOn a poster, an app screen and a logo
Code to pasteHTML link, CSS and Tailwind v4
Where it came fromHistory and who uses it, sourced

Heading font

Trajan with Source Sans 3

Preview uses Cinzel, the closest free match.

Some roads only go one way.

The Long Way Home

Two brothers, one borrowed car and a thousand miles of coast between them and the funeral. In cinemas this spring.

TitleTaglineBody text

Body font

Pairings for Cinzel, and why they work.

Use it

Both fonts are free under the licences on Google Fonts. Add the link to your page head, then set the families in CSS or in a Tailwind v4 theme.

HTML

<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Cinzel:wght@400;700&family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;700&display=swap">

CSS

h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: 'Cinzel', serif;
  font-weight: 400;
}

body {
  font-family: 'Source Sans 3', sans-serif;
}

Tailwind v4

@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Cinzel:wght@400;700&family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;700&display=swap");
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --font-heading: 'Cinzel', serif;
  --font-body: 'Source Sans 3', sans-serif;
}

/* Then use the font-heading and font-body classes. */

About Trajan

Roman inscription capitals, and the movie poster font.

History

Carol Twombly designed Trajan for Adobe in 1989.[1]
It is based on the Roman square capitals carved at the base of Trajan's Column in Rome.[1]
It has capitals only, because the Romans did not use lowercase letters on monumental inscriptions. Trajan Pro put small caps in the lowercase slots.[1]
It shipped with early releases of Photoshop, which made it an everyday tool for 1990s poster designers.[2]
Its overuse earned it the name "the Arial of movie posters".[2]

Who uses it

Posters for The Bodyguard, Scent of a Woman and At Play in the Fields of the Lord[2]
The Bones and All (2022) logo, based on Trajan with added weight[3]
Many film posters, TV shows and book covers[1]

Sources

Trajan on its own page