Howdy! Welcome to our new ongoing Favorite Font of The Month blog series! Each month we will feature a free Google font and break down the best ways to use it, which fonts work well with it, and other helpful information that will be handy to typography novices and font pros alike. 

Kicking things off this month is Google Font, Red Hat Display. Red Hat Display is a sans serif font that comes in 8 styles and has a natural softness due to its rounded letterforms. 

FYI: A sans serif font is any font that doesn’t have “feet”, or serifs, that extend from each letterform. 

Sans serif fonts in general work well across all mediums for any industry, but Red Hat Display, in particular, would work best for businesses in the fashion and health and wellness industries. Its rounded letterforms come across as chic and sophisticated especially within the context of an apparel or accessories brand. Its geometric softness also lends itself to an organic and sleek look, which would work particularly well for a supplement brand within the wellness realm, for example.

Red Hat Display could be used for headlines, body copy or both which makes creating a visual hierarchy in your design with only one font a breeze. For example, your headline text could use the Bold font-weight and the body copy could be in the Regular weight. There is enough contrast between those two styles to easily decipher between what is a key element and what is secondary information.

FYI: In terms of design, “font-style” and “font-weight” are interchangeable. Either way is acceptable!

If you want to branch out and use another font with Red Hat Display to create your visual hierarchy, we’ve got you covered. Pairing fonts together is not only a functional way to communicate different information to visitors, but also brings a certain style and feeling to your site. It’s like swapping your accessories to completely change your outfit look. However, just like accessories, not every font pair is the right fit while others really hit the nail on the head to give that perfect style you’re going for in your design. Now let’s show off how versatile Red Hat Display can be when you pair it with a few of our favorite stylish fonts. 

Libre Baskerville

First up is Libre Baskerville. It’s one of our favorites to pair with a geometric sans serif font like Red Hat Display. It adds a level of sophistication while the Red Hat Display mellows out the look by bringing a casual look to the table. If you’re looking for a warm look with a splash of modern for your text design, this is your perfect pair. 

Russo One

Next, we chose Russo One. Now we wouldn’t normally encourage pairing two sans serif fonts together (just use one sans serif in different weights like I mentioned earlier for a cleaner look!), but we can’t help how stylish this font pairing feels for technology and hardware industries. Russo One is so blocky and stylized that there is a very clear distinction between it and Red Hat Display making it tech and tool savvy.

Zilla Slab

For our last font combo, we chose Zilla Slab to pair with Red Hat Display, but flipped where they are used. In this combo, Red Hat Display makes for a better headline text instead of the body copy due to its crisp, clean look to contrast with the slab serif font which tends to lean toward a casual, more approachable look. This look is ideal for industries including pet supplies and children’s toys and apparel to give a welcoming type feel.

And that wraps up this month’s favorite font of Red Hat Display and how it can give a unique look for many industries. It’s easy to read, versatile,and a great font to keep in your toolbox. Check back next month as we explore a new font and dive into its potential.