Font choice guidelines, and my preferences

Sans-serif fonts are more readable on screen.
Serif fonts are more readable in print.

Some fonts, were designed to be used on-screen, eg Arial, Verdana, Georgia. They typefaces don't look so good in large sizes or in print because of their design. On the other hand, many classic fonts that were designed for print don't look good on-screen eg Times New Roman.

Some font characterisations:

Humanist fonts have subtle curves and look "friendly." The letter structure letters is are based on hand-drawn letterforms - eg if you draw an "O" with a pen, it isn't completely round. Good for healthcare, charities or cases when you want to look "human".

Some examples: Gill Sans, Palatino.


Geometric typefaces have letter structures based upon geometry. They may have a completely round "O," or strong contrasts of thick and thin. They end to being very modern and fashionable. They'd be good for content that is maths or engineering, or fashion related.

examples:
Bodoni - which was built by geometrically rationalizing serif letterforms
Futura and Rockwell, which are both geometric typefaces.


Realist typefaces are in the middle. They have more abrupt curves, and a sense of rationality and stability.

Examples:
Helvetica, which has a a sense of being visually inert – almost "invisible."
Arial (which is based upon Helvetica)
Georgia



A good way to identify fonts is to look at the lowercase "n":
Gill Sans (Humanist) has a gentle curve.
Futura (Geometric) has a nearly symmetrical curve, .
Helvetica (Realist) has a more abrupt curve. It's as if the shoulder is a piece of metal that has been bent to the designer's will.


Pairing fonts
Rule of thumb: Choose no more than two - one serif, and one sans-serif

Either either be very similar, or very different from one another.

Free fonts

One good source:   https://www.pixelsurplus.com/  (watch for free for personal and commercial use).  Some of my favourites

Adrenaline - a playful, modern, script font.  Good for logos, prints, quotes, magazine headers and clothing

Briberra  hand lettering script font with stylistic alternates & swashes, good for designs and branding, Includes multi lingual characters, supports PUA available in OTF and TTF formats.   To add an underline to any word just type underscore + number (from 1 to 5). eg  Brib_3erra in the main preview.
Build - solid geometry and medium bold weight, inspired by German editorial design and their solid fonts. From https://www.pixelsurplus.com/freebies/build-free-sans-serif-typeface

Empire

Fifita -  geometric (ie rounded) sans-serif font family with strong features and clean line structure.  Has 150+ ligature glyphs.   Good for body text and titles.


Forward, handcrafted typeface with a vintage feel and Regular, Rough & Rounded styles and italics for each version!   Inlcudes some alternate characters.   Good for vintage branding, apparel, labels, badges & lockups.
Maveryk - a chunky font with some roughness and uneven edges (feels hand drawn).  Good for headlines, labels branding - anything needing a strong vintage or industrial look.   Free version is uppercase only.

Cidehouse C9EHCK NAME) - free is uppercase only, quite narrow

Reman Script - monoline script, smooth hand-drawn signature style, large loopy capitals. Use with simple sans serif fonts, or brands or logos.

Restless - has natural flowing characters made with brush texture in a signature style and a loose baseline.  Good for casual looks, quotes, signature logos, greeting cards,
Savage - aggressive and choppy, hand drawn feel. Use for creepy, spooky, horror, , rock 'n roll, etc.

Stay Classy - simple handwritten script.  Contemporary style.   Looks good with all-caps serif fonts.


WT Bradford - inspired by display, sign-writing and packaging from the early 1900's, Useful for displays, signs, label designs, badges, logos, prints, apparel - with an old time / Americana feel.   Free version https://www.pixelsurplus.com/freebies/wt-bradford-free-font