5 Type Scales I Use in 2026 (And the One I Quietly Dropped)

Major-third 1.250 stays my default for product UI because it scales without drama Perfect-fourth 1.333 carries marketing pages where the headline must do real work Augmented-fourth 1.414 fits dashboards where six type levels need clear hierarchy Golden ratio 1.618 reads beautiful in editorial but breaks below 14px body Type scale is the quietest decision in a design system and the loudest one at scale. Pick wrong and every component fights you for the next two years. I have shipped four products