5. How do I choose paring fonts ?

“It really does boil down to a judgment call. Usually, pairing type is done to create contrast, so, as DavidR points out, a good general rule is to not pick two fonts that are so similar they can be confused for each other at a glance.”
Hello,
I've come across this thread I found it really interesting but too short !
When I have to chose type for a project, I always rely on my feelings and lots of testing, wating for the love/hate Alchemy to happen and decide for me.
This method, mostly based on luck, is often time consuming, and I often found myself needing to ask for help on the forums.
Some kind of typographica best paring fonts 2007 would be great, but Give a man a fish...
I know that it's very subjective, but I'd love to learn more about how you experts decide to mix fonts.
Is there some kind of Do and Don't basic procedure ?
Any help or advice will be muchly appreciated.
Very basic:
- do not mix 2 typefaces from the same family: bodoni + didot, garamond + bembo, futura + gotham...
- do not mix 2 typefaces with a strong personality: antique olive + vendome, sansa + cooper black...
- do not mix 2 script types: mistral + bello, machiarge + kinescope...
- do not think that to look "modern" you HAVE to take recent types: you might look incredibly modern by pairing a gill sans with a baskerville, if done correctly.
- try to superimpose your faces to check if their x-height and kerning fit together, it helps giving a feeling of homogeneity.
- the odd couple sans-serif (titles-text) is very basic, though very efficient. in case of a doubt, stick to it. get away from it if you absolutely know what you are doing.
- check out the families of types containing serif and sans under the same name: fedra, meta, frutiger (new!), rotis... the problem: most of these types are actually rooted in a consensus, they are not expressing much. It's cool for a bank report or an informative brochure, but might be weak for a magazine.
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The Easy Guide to Pairing Fonts
If you fail on any step, go back to step 1.
Step 1: Do you really need to pair fonts for this project?
Step 2: Pick two fonts. Do they look cool together?
Step 3: Will these two fonts allow you to meet the requirements of the task at hand?
Step 4: Start setting type.
Really, don’t overthink this stuff. If it looks good, do it. If it looks like crap, don’t.

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I often find myself using the "brute-force" approach. It's a disgraceful and barbaric process, but I find it very effective.
When simple reasoning and historical accuracy approaches fail to produce a desired result:
1. Select the primary typeface
2. Enable your core font collections that you think might have something relevant to the task.
3. Set the second line/paragraph.
4. Select the first font on the list, then rapidly scroll through the choices with the down button, looking at the changes on the screen, and backing up whenever you think you've seen something match. Copy the successful matches to the side, and proceed all the way to the end of the list. Once there, start scrolling up to the beginning. I usually repeat this 2 or three times, at different speeds, getting about 5-6 choices, that can then be compared and discarded until you find the best one.
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