What fonts pair with Crimson Text?

Crimson Text works well alongside Raleway for independent book publishers where you need body typography that holds up against display content. The library has other curated combinations if you want to explore further.

What does Raleway bring to this pairing?

Raleway handles the display role here, complementing Crimson Text without competing for attention. Preview Raleway to see how it reads at your intended size.

Book

Crimson TextRaleway

Q: Where does the Crimson Text and Raleway pairing work best?

This pairing fits independent book publishers, author websites, literary journals. Crimson Text is an old-style serif drawn explicitly for book typography; Raleway is an elegant sans with thin weights designed for display use. See the use cases above for specific guidance on how to deploy Crimson Text and Raleway together.

Crimson Text was designed for book typography; Raleway handles display sizes with elegant proportions. Together they read as scholarly without feeling stuffy.

First edition. April.From the publisher

On the making of a book.

Abook is a slow object in a fast world. The decision to publish one means the decision to wait: for the writer to finish, for the editor to read, for the typesetter to set, for the printer to print, for the binder to bind, for the bookshop to open the box. The pairing belongs in that timeline.

By the publisher

Bound.

Set in Raleway, with body in Crimson Text.

The hardback first edition runs four thousand copies, printed and bound to last. The paperback follows nine months later. The translation rights are sold a year after that. We publish four hardbacks per spring and four per autumn. We have done so for twenty-three consecutive seasons.

“The reader who buys the hardback in spring will be reading it in autumn. Design for that reader.”

From the publishing house

Catalogue note

A note on the cover

The jacket is designed by the same hand that designed the previous twenty-two seasons. It is not a house style. It is what happens when one person is trusted with a question for long enough.

Spring list. Hardbacks.

1,247

subscribers this week

$42.10

average order value

98.6%

on-time delivery

Numerals matter. Raleway’s figures sit cleanly alongside Crimson Text in tabular contexts and reading text both. You can use them in dashboards, annual reports, and pricing tables without retreating to a separate face.

Try your own text

Selected Essays

Twenty-three pieces on craft, attention, and the long shape of a working life. Edited and introduced by the author.

Crimson TextRaleway Compare with other fonts →

The pairing, in detail

A side-by-side study of Crimson Text and Raleway.

Two fonts, line by line. Designer, foundry, year, classification, weights, and the background that explains why they read together the way they do. The Crimson Text font pairing with Raleway is one of the curated combinations on this site, drawn from a library of over two hundred Google Fonts.

Crimson Text

Full font page →

Designer: Sebastian Kosch
Foundry: Not on record
Released: Not on record
Origin: Not on record
Category: Serif
Classification: Not on record
Weights: 3 weights plus italic
Styles: Not on record
Background: Not on record
License: SIL Open Font License

Raleway

Full font page →

Designer: Matt McInerney
Foundry: Not on record
Released: 2010
Origin: Not on record
Category: Sans Serif
Classification: Elegant sans serif
Weights: 9 weights plus italic
Styles: Not on record
Background: Originally designed as a single thin weight, later expanded to a full family.
License: SIL Open Font License

On a finished product

Crimson Text and Raleway on a business card.

A real-world specimen of the pairing in print. The wordmark uses Crimson Text for its display character; the contact details use Raleway for reading scale.

studioapplied

studio applied.

interior architecture, set design and scenography

by Elona

+44 7700 483 921

hello@studioapplied.co.uk

14 Redchurch Street

Shoreditch, London

E2 7DP

United Kingdom

Why this pairing works

Crimson Text is an old-style serif drawn explicitly for book typography; Raleway is an elegant sans with thin weights designed for display use. The pairing reads as a contemporary library - traditional reading face below, modern wayfinding above.

If you want to dig deeper into how to combine type, the best Google Fonts guide and the typography rules page cover the principles in detail. Both Crimson Text and Raleway are free Google Fonts under the SIL Open Font License.

Best uses for Crimson Text and Raleway

Where this pairing actually ships in real design work:

Independent book publishers Crimson Text for the prose, Raleway for chapter heads.
Author websites Raleway for the author name, Crimson Text for excerpts.
Literary journals Raleway for the masthead, Crimson Text for stories.
Long-form essays Raleway for the title, Crimson Text for the body.
Book club sites Raleway for navigation, Crimson Text for selected reading.

Want to see this pairing on a real product? Apply it to business cards with Crimson Text for the name and Raleway for the role and contact, or test it on custom stickers for brand applications.

Related pairings

Other curated pairings that share the same design intent:

Frequently Asked Questions

Use this font in real projects.

Apply your selected font across print, packaging and design.

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Saddle Stitch Books

Crimson Text&Raleway