✏ Issue #504: Typography for Data, Google Search Redesign, 8 Freelance Project Management Apps, Doodle Ipsum, and more…

In this in-depth investigation of typography for design systems, Michael Yom breaks down the decisions required to expand a type scheme to be truly useful. Covering purpose-driven typography — typography based on how it is actually used — this excellent primer is a brilliant starting point for anyone crafting a design system.

Lorem ipsum is dummy text that some designers use to populate designs before the real content arrives. Doodle Ipsum is a helpful tool that provides the same space-filling service for illustrations. Choose a style, customize it, then grab the code and embed the illustration on a web prototype or even your live site.

The biggest challenge you’ll face as a freelancer is project management. Juggling clients, and deadlines, can be a steep learning curve. To help you over the hurdles, we’ve put together this list of project management apps that are ideal for freelancers. With something for every style of workflow, there’s an app for everyone.

One of the primary concerns for anyone setting up an ecommerce store is getting tied into a platform that may not suit the business in the future. Medusa is an awesome new approach that mimics headless CMS to deliver a headless ecommerce platform. It’s flexible, simple to customize, and will easily scale as you grow.

Michael Scott was the world’s best boss, and he had the mug to prove it. The central character in The Office was guilty of some hilarious misfires, and in this tongue-in-cheek post, Suzanne Scacca reminds us of a few of the best — from Straight Outta Scranton to Scott’s Tots — and looks at the UX lessons that you can learn.

Backlight is an all-in-one solution for designing, sharing, and maintaining design systems. Kickstart your design with one of the templates, and rapidly build out your design system. There’s built-in support for markdown documentation, unit testing, and feedback. There’s a free-forever plan ideal for startups.

The Google Search page is iconic. Many designers credit Google’s simple, colorful logo above a simple search box with ushering in the modern web. It’s no surprise that Google has so far stuck by its winning formula, but that’s about to change as Google rolls out a surprisingly usable dark mode. Napier Lopez investigates.

Trafft is an excellent addition to the range of scheduling tools available. You can use it to book meetings, call-backs, and consultation slots. There are built-in SMS and email notifications, Google Analytics, and Zoom integrations, and the whole system is GDPR compliant. There’s a free forever plan, and paid plans start at $12 per month.