I couldn’t find this on Dan’s website, so I copied it from my email:

Reading time: around 2 minutes

I get a good deal of messages from people asking me questions about design. I try to answer as many as I can, but I’m unable to get to all of them. So, here’s a roundup of my answers to some of the most common questions I receive.

What typeface should I use?

****Neue Haas, GT America, or Pangram Sans. Gothics, grotesks, and geometric sans are so are in right now.

Should I use a grid?

Yep. 12 columns.

How much should I charge for my work?

****Start at $25/hour. Once you feel like your work is worth more than you’re making, double it. Keep doubling until you get to a rate that clients won’t pay, then value price.

What’s wrong with my portfolio?

****It doesn’t say what you want from the viewer. Ditch the meaningless “I create bold experiences for a new world” copy at the top and replace it with something more direct like “I’m looking for a senior designer job at a publishing company” or “I’m looking for new clients who make sustainable vehicles” or something equally specific. If you want something, you gotta ask for it.

Do I need a design system?

If you work at an enterprise, yes; you’re probably reinventing the wheel more than you should. If you work at a startup, no; your time is probably best used creating more value for your customers and your investors.

I work at an enterprise and am reinventing the wheel more than I should. I need a design system. Where should I start?

1. Audit all of your company’s digital products.
2. Pick a component that appears in 60% of those products.
3. Create one abstracted version that uses some element (typography, color, radius, hierarchy, etc.) from every version you found.
4. Put that component in a central repository/library.
5. Refactor every library/codebase that uses that component to include your new version and issue pull requests.
6. Beg, borrow, and steal to get teams to accept your pull requests.