11th Grade — Type Classification & Pairing Fonts

⏰ Do Now — Start Here

Would you ever put a handwriting-style script font in a legal contract? Why or why not?

🎯 Today's Big Question

How do designers choose and pair fonts that work well together?

📈 By the End of Today, You Will Be Able To

Classify typefaces into major categories: serif, sans-serif, script, display/decorative, and monospace.
Explain the general rule of pairing a display font for headlines with a simple font for body text.
Test 3 font pairings on a sample layout and justify the strongest choice.

🧰 What You'll Need

Printed font classification sheet
Sample layout template with a headline + body text placeholder
Google Fonts printouts or device access

📋 Your Plan for Today

Day 1: Type Classification

Do Now (5 min): would you put a script font in a legal contract? Why or why not? Mini-lesson (15 min): classify typefaces into the 5 major categories with real examples.
Sorting activity (20 min): sort a mixed set of font samples into the correct categories.
Share (5 min).

Day 2: Pairing Fonts

Do Now (5 min): recall the 5 type classification categories from memory.
Mini-lesson (10 min): the general rule of pairing a display font for headlines with a simple font for body text.
Pairing lab (25 min): test 3 different font pairings on the same sample layout and write a short justification for your strongest pairing.
Share (5 min).

🖥️ Today's Slide Deck

Short, on-the-board pacing slides — project these to follow along. (The full details are in the handout above, not here.)

Day 1

⬇️ Open / download this slide PDF

Day 2

⬇️ Open / download this slide PDF

📚 Key Words

Serif / Sans-Serif: Serif fonts have small strokes at letter ends; sans-serif fonts do not.
Script: A typeface that mimics handwriting or calligraphy.
Display / Decorative Font: An expressive, attention-grabbing font meant for headlines, not long text.
Font Pairing: Choosing 2 (rarely more) typefaces that contrast enough to create hierarchy, but still feel cohesive.

✅ What Your Finished Work Should Include

Sorting activity + pairing lab scored with a rubric: correct classification, and a genuine (not just "I liked it") justification for the chosen pairing.

Exit Ticket: Name your strongest font pairing from today and explain, using vocabulary from today, why it works.

📊 Before You Leave

Quick, anonymous class check-in -- takes less than a minute.

Class Check-In

📁 Portfolio Update — Once a Week

Once a week (e.g. every Friday, or your class's last meeting of the week), add your best finished or in-progress work to a running portfolio folder with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, what skill or standard it shows. This becomes your formal Google Sites portfolio in Unit F -- keep it current all year so you're not scrambling right before your PBAT and portfolio review.

✍️ Example description for your Google Sites portfolio (fill in YOUR blanks -- don't just copy this):

For this piece, I made ______________ (name what you made) for “Type Classification & Pairing Fonts.” This project asked: “How do designers choose and pair fonts that work well together?” I used Serif / Sans-Serif by ______________ (explain how you used it in THIS piece). The hardest part was ______________, and I solved it by ______________. I'm proud of ______________ because ______________.

🎓 ACP Exam Prep

This lesson connects to the Photoshop Adobe Certified Professional exam: Domain 1: Working in the Design Industry

🔗 Want to Learn More?

🚀 The Extra Mile

Cross-Class Connection: The same categorization-and-classification logic Biology uses to sort species into families.

Career Connection: Font pairing is tested directly on the ACP exam and a daily decision in Web Design and Advertising & Marketing.

Go further -- turn this into a portfolio piece:

Build a "font pairing lookbook" (five successful pairings with real examples) as a reusable reference tool for future projects. Start here: build the one pairing you already trust as your first lookbook page, then find four more once that layout works.
Redesign a real flyer that uses too many fonts, cutting it down to one well-paired combination. Start here: count how many fonts the flyer currently uses and write that number at the top of your notes before you delete a single one.