BonFX

Typography & Graphic Design Blog

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Blog
  • Books
    • The Preposterously Huge Book of Google Font Combinations
    • The Big Book of Font Combinations (Classic Fonts Edition)
  • About
  • Contact
  • Store
You are here: Home / Typography / Fonts that go with Century Gothic

Fonts that go with Century Gothic

May 25, 2015 by Douglas Bonneville

Fonts that go with Century Gothic

If you do a google search for “what fonts go with…”, you’ll see Futura, Century Gothic, Bebas, and a few other suggestions pop up in the auto-suggest tool. We just did a post on fonts that look great with Futura, and now we are continuing on to Century Gothic.

Century Gothic is similar in some fundamental ways to Futura, but has some very unique differences that clearly set it apart. For instance, notice how the terminals of the letter “C” (and other letters) differ from each other in this illustration (which I reconstructed from an uncredited source on Pinterest):

Century Gothic vs Futura: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

The perpendicular cut of Futura seems to make it feel more “serious”, where Century Gothic feels a bit less formal. If you compare Century Gothic and Futura in a variety of settings, you’ll see that to a large degree they can be used interchangeably. So, let’s see what fonts work with Century Gothic, pulling from a list of classic typefaces we keep handy, and see what kind of look and feel we can get going.

But first, a quick poll on what you really need:

Pick one answer, see the results, and then keep reading:

Would an entire book dedicated to detailed, multi-page Century Gothic font combination ideas be useful?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

If you are interested in what books we either make or might make for font combinations, the best thing to do is subscribe to the newsletter (either to the right or down below if you are on your mobile device).

Drink from your favorite Font Mug

5 Fonts that go with Century Gothic

1. Century Gothic and Bodoni

Century Gothic and Bodoni: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

This combination looks like it would work best in a display context, like a poster or a flyer. It’s got a strong sense of classic authority because of the nature of Bodoni, but it also has a modern friendliness to it. Century Gothic is commanding and friendly, but not to the point of being casual or warm. It seems like this would be a great combination to use in a poster for modern classical music concert.

2. Century Gothic and Caslon

Century Gothic and Caslon: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

Here is a combination we can do a lot more body copy with. Bodoni is not a body font for any length of text for sure. So when we move on to Caslon, we are in a context of a lot more text. They work together but it’s not a great match, but it can work in the right context. Caslon is definitely a more formal typeface with narrow glyph widths, which creates contrast with the wide-set stance of Century Gothic. I could see this combination working in a context where there is a lot of serious-subject copy, like financial or legal disclosures, where there might be a large number of section headers. The section headers in Century Gothic would be bold, easily scannable in a long document you might be flipping through, and would efficiently guide you and drop you off in the right section of serious-business content set in Caslon.

3. Century Gothic and Minion

Century Gothic and Minion: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

This is a pretty friendly combination, and the two typefaces here seem to have a happy rapport between them. I could see this working really well in a user manual that needed to be a little copy heavy, but have a friendly feel to it at the time. It feels more modern and less serious than the Century Gothic / Caslon combo, though Minion and Caslon share the same typeface classification. Minion is a recent take from the 1990’s on classic Renaissance-era typefaces, like Caslon.

4. Century Gothic and New Baskerville

Century Gothic and New Baskerville: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

At first glance, a Century Gothic and New Baskerville combination looks very similar to a Century Gothic and Minion combination. I’d say some of the same commentary applies. But New Baskerville definitely feels a notch or two friendlier and homier. It turns out that Baskerville was the basis for the popular typeface Mrs. Eaves, who if living would no doubt have set out tea and crumpets for us by now.

5. Century Gothic and Souvenir

Century Gothic and Souvenir: Fonts that go with Century Gothic

This combination has me thinking of the famous painter-pesonality Bob Ross and his “happy little clouds”. But not so much for his campy presentation and rigid formula-style painting. But for his friendly persona (complete with a warm and fuzzy halo of hair) that was the front to an art supply instruction and supplies business that persists to this day. Century Gothic is all business, with a smile. Souvenir is a botox-smile sliding  you a business card.


Yo, Font-Addict! Make sure to check out The Big Book of Font Combinations. Go grab a copy from Amazon or B&N, or grab the DISCOUNTED ebook PDF digital download version (40% OFF the hardcover retail price!) from the BonFX Store, and stare at all 350+ examples of informative font combinations for web and print. You know you want to!


In Conclusion

Once again, I can state that it’s a fact that subjectivity rules the day when it comes to creating workable font combinations. After the technical side of choosing a typeface, there is the subjective art of deciding what to do with it and other typefaces and how to mix them. Your eye has to be the guide. But look at good typography a lot, and it will be easier to recognize the good (and the bad) in your typographic choices when you make them.

Filed Under: Typography

About Douglas Bonneville

Douglas has been a graphic designer since 1992, in addition to software developer and author. He is a member of Smashing Magazine's "Panel of Experts" and has contributed to over 100 articles. He is the author of "The Big Book of Font Combinations", loves cats, and plays guitar.

Drink from your favorite Font Mug

HOW TO MAKE INSPIRED FONT COMBINATIONS (without spending all day clicking things).


Font Combinations Book  

On Sale Now at
Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Or get the PDF eBook version, INSTANT ACCESS, 40% off Retail, now at the BonFX Store

Subscribe to the BonFX Newsletter

Keep tabs on the latest typography and design books and apps from BonFX. If you subscribe today, we'll also send you the classic "Typography Primer" from Adobe!

Recent Inspirations

  • The Preposterously Huge Book of Font Combinations January 13, 2021
  • Rainer Maria Rilke January 2, 2021
  • Three secrets to ignite inspiration December 22, 2020
  • How to “Draw Out” Your Creativity November 27, 2020
  • Finding Your Voice as an Artist: The Paradox of Originality October 18, 2020
  • Artist Frederick Franck on Seeing September 15, 2020
  • How to Move Beyond Creative Blocks August 10, 2020
  • Claude Bernard: The Only Way to Learn July 25, 2020
  • Ornate Leaf Sculpture and Crochet Art by Susanna Bauer June 18, 2020
  • Negative Space: Saying A Lot With Nothing May 25, 2020
  • How to choose from among all your great ideas June 17, 2019
  • What you see is not always what you are looking at June 14, 2019
  • The Key to Unleashing Your Natural Creativity June 14, 2019
  • An Artist According to Mondrian June 14, 2019
  • Henry Miller: Forget Yourself June 14, 2019

Copyright © 2021 · BonFX

  • Blog
  • Books
    • The Preposterously Huge Book of Google Font Combinations
    • The Big Book of Font Combinations (Classic Fonts Edition)
  • About
  • Contact
  • Store