diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 9628fd94..009dd9cb 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Package: tinyplot
 Type: Package
 Title: Lightweight Extension of the Base R Graphics System
-Version: 0.6.0
+Version: 0.6.99
 Date: 2025-11-26
 Authors@R: 
   c(
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 65807b38..0a586921 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -4,6 +4,21 @@ _If you are viewing this file on CRAN, please check the
 [latest NEWS](https://grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/NEWS.html) on our website
 where the formatting is also better._
 
+## Development version
+
+### Internals
+
+- We now encourage type-specific legend customizations within the individual
+  `type_<type>` constructors. (#531 @grantmcdermott)
+
+### Documentation
+
+- Improved guidance for
+  [custom types](https://grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/vignettes/types.html#custom-types)
+  in the `Types` vignette. (#531 @grantmcdermott)
+
+### Breaking changes
+
 ## v0.6.0
 
 ### Breaking changes
diff --git a/R/bubble.R b/R/bubble.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..424ac5c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/bubble.R
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+bubble = function(settings) {
+  # Only process for points and text types
+  if (!(settings$type %in% c("p", "text"))) return(invisible())
+  
+  cex = settings$cex
+  
+  # Only process if cex is a vector matching data length
+  if (is.null(cex) || length(cex) != nrow(settings$datapoints)) return(invisible())
+  
+  clim = settings$clim %||% c(0.5, 2.5)
+  
+  bubble = TRUE
+  
+  ## Identify the pretty break points for our bubble labels
+  bubble_labs = pretty(cex, n = 5)
+  len_labs = length(bubble_labs)
+  cex = rescale_num(sqrt(c(bubble_labs, cex)) / pi, to = clim)
+  bubble_cex = cex[1:len_labs]
+  cex = cex[(len_labs+1):length(cex)]
+  
+  # catch for cases where pretty breaks leads to smallest category of 0
+  if (bubble_labs[1] == 0) {
+    bubble_labs = bubble_labs[-1]
+    bubble_cex = bubble_cex[-1]
+  }
+  names(bubble_cex) = format(bubble_labs)
+  
+  if (max(clim) > 2.5) {
+    settings$legend_args[["x.intersp"]] = max(clim) / 2.5
+    settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = sapply(bubble_cex / 2.5, max, 1)
+  }
+
+  ## fixme: can't assign pt.cex here b/c of dual legend gotcha (don't want to
+  ##   override the "normal" pt.cex too) 
+  # legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% (settings[["cex"]] %||% par("cex"))
+  
+  # Must update settings with bubble/bubble_cex/cex before calling sanitize_bubble
+  env2env(environment(), settings, c("bubble", "bubble_cex", "cex"))
+  
+  sanitize_bubble(settings)
+}
+
+sanitize_bubble = function(settings) {
+  env2env(settings, environment(), c("datapoints", "pch", "alpha", "bg", "cex", "bubble"))
+  
+  if (!bubble) return(invisible())
+  
+  datapoints[["cex"]] = cex
+  bubble_pch = if (!is.null(pch) && length(pch)==1) pch else par("pch")
+  bubble_alpha = if (!is.null(alpha)) alpha else 1
+  bubble_bg_alpha = if (!is.null(bg) && length(bg)==1 && is.numeric(bg) && bg > 0 && bg <=1) bg else 1
+
+  env2env(environment(), settings, c("datapoints", "bubble_pch", "bubble_alpha", "bubble_bg_alpha"))
+}
+
diff --git a/R/draw_legend_utils.R b/R/draw_legend_utils.R
index 46749501..fac21ae2 100644
--- a/R/draw_legend_utils.R
+++ b/R/draw_legend_utils.R
@@ -57,38 +57,29 @@ compute_legend_args = function(
   legend_args[["bty"]] = legend_args[["bty"]] %||% "n"
   legend_args[["horiz"]] = legend_args[["horiz"]] %||% FALSE
   legend_args[["xpd"]] = legend_args[["xpd"]] %||% NA
-  if (!isTRUE(type %in% c("p", "ribbon", "polygon", "polypath"))) {
-    legend_args[["lwd"]] = legend_args[["lwd"]] %||% lwd
-  }
-  if (is.null(type) || type %in% c("p", "pointrange", "errorbar", "text")) {
+  legend_args[["lwd"]] = legend_args[["lwd"]] %||% lwd
+  # special handling of pt.cex for bubble plots
+  # (fixme: can't handle ahead of time in bubble.R b/c of dual legend gotcha)
+  if (is.null(type) || type %in% c("p", "text")) {
     legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% (cex %||% par("cex"))
   }
-  # turn off inner line for "barplot" type
-  if (identical(type, "barplot")) {
-    legend_args[["lty"]] = 0
-  }
-  if (isTRUE(type %in% c("rect", "ribbon", "polygon", "polypath", "boxplot", "hist", "histogram", "spineplot", "ridge", "barplot", "violin")) || gradient) {
+  if (gradient) {
     legend_args[["pch"]] = 22
     legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
     legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
     legend_args[["seg.len"]] = legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
   }
-  if (isTRUE(type %in% c("ribbon", "hist", "histogram", "spineplot"))) {
-    legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
-  }
-  if (identical(type, "p")) {
-    legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% lwd
-  }
   if (identical(type, "n") && isFALSE(gradient)) {
     legend_args[["pch"]] = legend_args[["pch"]] %||% par("pch")
   }
+  # Special pt.bg handling for types that need color-based fills
   if (identical(type, "spineplot")) {
     legend_args[["pt.bg"]] = legend_args[["pt.bg"]] %||% legend_args[["col"]]
-  }
-  if (identical(type, "ridge") && isFALSE(gradient)) {
+  } else if (identical(type, "ridge") && isFALSE(gradient)) {
     legend_args[["pt.bg"]] = legend_args[["pt.bg"]] %||% sapply(legend_args[["col"]], function(ccol) seq_palette(ccol, n = 2)[2])
+  } else {
+    legend_args[["pt.bg"]] = legend_args[["pt.bg"]] %||% bg
   }
-  legend_args[["pt.bg"]] = legend_args[["pt.bg"]] %||% bg
   legend_args[["legend"]] = legend_args[["legend"]] %||% lgnd_labs
   if (length(lgnd_labs) != length(eval(legend_args[["legend"]]))) {
     warning(
diff --git a/R/tinyplot.R b/R/tinyplot.R
index e7aa6bd1..1073a4c9 100644
--- a/R/tinyplot.R
+++ b/R/tinyplot.R
@@ -733,6 +733,9 @@ tinyplot.default = function(
 
     # type-specific settings
     bubble        = FALSE,
+    bubble_pch    = NULL,
+    bubble_alpha  = NULL,
+    bubble_bg_alpha = NULL,
     ygroup        = NULL,  # for type_ridge()
 
     # data points and labels
@@ -767,9 +770,7 @@ tinyplot.default = function(
     null_ylim     = is.null(ylim),
     # when palette functions need pre-processing this check raises error
     null_palette  = tryCatch(is.null(palette), error = function(e) FALSE),
-    was_area_type = identical(type, "area"),  # mostly for legend
-    x_by          = identical(x, by), # for "boxplot", "spineplot" and "ridges"
-
+    x_by          = identical(x, by), # for "boxplot", "spineplot" and "ridge"
 
     # unevaluated expressions with side effects
     draw          = substitute(draw),
@@ -884,10 +885,10 @@ tinyplot.default = function(
   ## bubble plot -----
   #
   
-  # catch some simple aesthetics for bubble plots before the standard "by"
-  # grouping sanitizers (actually: will only be used for dual_legend plots but
-  # easiest to assign/determine now)
-  sanitize_bubble(settings)
+  # Transform cex values for bubble charts. Handles size transformation, legend
+  # gotchas, and aesthetic sanitization.
+  # Currently limited to "p" and "text" types, but could expand to others.
+  bubble(settings)
 
 
   #
@@ -910,12 +911,14 @@ tinyplot.default = function(
   #
   ## aesthetics by group -----
   #
+  
   by_aesthetics(settings)
 
 
   #
   ## make settings available in the environment directly -----
   #
+
   env2env(settings, environment())
 
 
@@ -983,11 +986,6 @@ tinyplot.default = function(
 
     has_sub = !is.null(sub)
 
-    if (isTRUE(was_area_type) || isTRUE(type %in% c("area", "rect", "hist", "histogram"))) {
-      legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = par("lwd")
-      legend_args[["lty"]] = 0
-    }
-
     if (!dual_legend) {
       ## simple case: single legend only
       if (is.null(lgnd_cex)) lgnd_cex = cex * cex_fct_adj
diff --git a/R/type_area.R b/R/type_area.R
index c9ba59fb..13f96bfc 100644
--- a/R/type_area.R
+++ b/R/type_area.R
@@ -24,6 +24,14 @@ data_area = function(alpha = alpha) {
         # ribbon.alpha comes from parent scope, so assign it locally
         ribbon.alpha = ribbon.alpha
 
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% par("lwd")
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
             "datapoints",
             "ymax",
diff --git a/R/type_barplot.R b/R/type_barplot.R
index 2d3dd4d4..9211ea90 100644
--- a/R/type_barplot.R
+++ b/R/type_barplot.R
@@ -199,6 +199,14 @@ data_barplot = function(width = 5/6, beside = FALSE, center = FALSE, FUN = NULL,
         xaxs = "r"
         xaxt = if (xaxt == "s") "l" else xaxt
         yaxs = "i"
+        
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
           "datapoints",
           "xlab",
diff --git a/R/type_boxplot.R b/R/type_boxplot.R
index 898858a0..d46fe330 100644
--- a/R/type_boxplot.R
+++ b/R/type_boxplot.R
@@ -133,6 +133,13 @@ data_boxplot = function() {
         ymax = datapoints$ymax
         by = if (length(unique(datapoints$by)) > 1) datapoints$by else by
         facet = if (length(unique(datapoints$facet)) > 1) datapoints$facet else facet
+        
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
             "x",
             "y",
diff --git a/R/type_bubble.R b/R/type_bubble.R
deleted file mode 100644
index 53e3977e..00000000
--- a/R/type_bubble.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-sanitize_bubble = function(settings) {
-  env2env(settings, environment(), c("datapoints", "pch", "alpha", "bg", "cex", "bubble"))
-  if (bubble) {
-    datapoints[["cex"]] = cex
-    bubble_pch = if (!is.null(pch) && length(pch)==1) pch else par("pch")
-    bubble_alpha = if (!is.null(alpha)) alpha else 1
-    bubble_bg_alpha = if (!is.null(bg) && length(bg)==1 && is.numeric(bg) && bg > 0 && bg <=1) bg else 1
-  }
-
-  bubble_pch = if (bubble) bubble_pch else NULL
-  bubble_alpha = if (bubble) bubble_alpha else NULL
-  bubble_bg_alpha = if (bubble) bubble_bg_alpha else NULL
-
-  env2env(environment(), settings, c("datapoints", "bubble_pch", "bubble_alpha", "bubble_bg_alpha"))
-}
diff --git a/R/type_density.R b/R/type_density.R
index d4bd9b23..979b9d3a 100644
--- a/R/type_density.R
+++ b/R/type_density.R
@@ -149,16 +149,24 @@ data_density = function(bw = "nrd0", adjust = 1, kernel = "gaussian", n = 512,
         
         # flags for legend and fill
         dtype = if (!is.null(bg)) "ribbon" else "l"
-        dwas_area_type = !is.null(bg)
 
         type = dtype
-        was_area_type = dwas_area_type
         by = if (length(unique(datapoints$by)) == 1) by else datapoints$by
         facet = if (length(unique(datapoints$facet)) == 1) facet else datapoints$facet
+        
+        # legend customizations (only for filled density plots)
+        if (!is.null(bg)) {
+            settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+            settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+            settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% par("lwd")
+            settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% 0
+            settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+            settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        }
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
             "ylab",
             "type",
-            "was_area_type",
             "ribbon.alpha",
             "datapoints",
             "by",
diff --git a/R/type_glm.R b/R/type_glm.R
index 579e3681..63f015b5 100644
--- a/R/type_glm.R
+++ b/R/type_glm.R
@@ -61,6 +61,15 @@ data_glm = function(family, se, level, type, ...) {
         })
         datapoints = do.call(rbind, dat)
         datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$facet, datapoints$by, datapoints$x), ]
+        
+        # legend customizations - same as ribbon but add line through square
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% par("lty")
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, "datapoints")
     }
     return(fun)
diff --git a/R/type_histogram.R b/R/type_histogram.R
index 52adf080..5d504d22 100644
--- a/R/type_histogram.R
+++ b/R/type_histogram.R
@@ -145,7 +145,6 @@ data_histogram = function(breaks = "Sturges",
             ylab = ifelse(datapoints$freq[1], "Frequency", "Density")
         }
 
-        # browser()
         x = c(datapoints$xmin, datapoints$xmax)
         y = c(datapoints$ymin, datapoints$ymax)
         ymin = datapoints$ymin
@@ -154,6 +153,15 @@ data_histogram = function(breaks = "Sturges",
         xmax = datapoints$xmax
         by = if (length(unique(datapoints$by)) == 1) by else datapoints$by
         facet = if (length(unique(datapoints$facet)) == 1) facet else datapoints$facet
+        
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% par("lwd")
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
             "x",
             "y",
diff --git a/R/type_lm.R b/R/type_lm.R
index 9bf4a627..7a09cf75 100644
--- a/R/type_lm.R
+++ b/R/type_lm.R
@@ -57,6 +57,15 @@ data_lm = function(se, level, ...) {
         })
         datapoints = do.call(rbind, dat)
         datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$facet, datapoints$by, datapoints$x), ]
+        
+        # legend customizations - same as ribbon but add line through square
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% par("lty")
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, "datapoints")
     }
     return(fun)
diff --git a/R/type_loess.R b/R/type_loess.R
index eea85e6b..c0c5aeee 100644
--- a/R/type_loess.R
+++ b/R/type_loess.R
@@ -51,6 +51,15 @@ data_loess = function(span, degree, family, control, se, level, ...) {
         })
         datapoints = do.call(rbind, datapoints)
         datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$facet, datapoints$by, datapoints$x), ]
+        
+        # legend customizations - same as ribbon but add line through square
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% par("lty")
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, "datapoints")
     }
     return(fun)
diff --git a/R/type_pointrange.R b/R/type_pointrange.R
index 90290354..c98b61d5 100644
--- a/R/type_pointrange.R
+++ b/R/type_pointrange.R
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ draw_pointrange = function() {
 
 data_pointrange = function(dodge, fixed.dodge) {
   fun = function(settings, ...) {
-    env2env(settings, environment(), c("datapoints", "xlabs"))
+    env2env(settings, environment(), c("datapoints", "xlabs", "cex"))
 
     if (is.character(datapoints$x)) {
       datapoints$x = as.factor(datapoints$x)
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ data_pointrange = function(dodge, fixed.dodge) {
     }
 
     x = datapoints$x
+    
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% (cex %||% par("cex"))
+    
     env2env(environment(), settings, c(
       "x",
       "xlabs",
diff --git a/R/type_points.R b/R/type_points.R
index 781d8741..16e66663 100644
--- a/R/type_points.R
+++ b/R/type_points.R
@@ -43,8 +43,11 @@ type_points = function(clim = c(0.5, 2.5), dodge = 0, fixed.dodge = FALSE) {
 }
 
 data_points = function(clim = c(0.5, 2.5), dodge = 0, fixed.dodge = FALSE) {
-  fun = function(settings, cex = NULL, ...) {
-    env2env(settings, environment(), c("datapoints", "cex", "legend_args"))
+  fun = function(settings, ...) {
+    env2env(settings, environment(), "datapoints")
+
+    # Store clim for bubble() function
+    settings$clim = clim
 
     # catch for factors (we should still be able to "force" plot these with points)
     if (is.factor(datapoints$x)) {
@@ -69,36 +72,13 @@ data_points = function(clim = c(0.5, 2.5), dodge = 0, fixed.dodge = FALSE) {
       datapoints = dodge_positions(datapoints, dodge, fixed.dodge)
     }
 
-    bubble = FALSE
-    bubble_cex = 1
-    if (!is.null(cex) && length(cex) == nrow(datapoints)) {
-      bubble = TRUE
-      ## Identify the pretty break points for our bubble labels
-      bubble_labs = pretty(cex, n = 5)
-      len_labs = length(bubble_labs)
-      cex = rescale_num(sqrt(c(bubble_labs, cex)) / pi, to = clim)
-      bubble_cex = cex[1:len_labs]
-      cex = cex[(len_labs+1):length(cex)]
-      # catch for cases where pretty breaks leads to smallest category of 0
-      if (bubble_labs[1] == 0) {
-        bubble_labs = bubble_labs[-1]
-        bubble_cex = bubble_cex[-1]
-      }
-      names(bubble_cex) = format(bubble_labs)
-      if (max(clim) > 2.5) {
-        legend_args[["x.intersp"]] = max(clim) / 2.5
-        legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = sapply(bubble_cex / 2.5, max, 1)
-      }
-    }
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% settings$lwd
 
     env2env(environment(), settings, c(
       "datapoints",
       "xlabs",
-      "ylabs",
-      "cex",
-      "bubble",
-      "bubble_cex",
-      "legend_args"
+      "ylabs"
     ))
   }
 }
diff --git a/R/type_polygon.R b/R/type_polygon.R
index fb0f9bde..3d01814f 100644
--- a/R/type_polygon.R
+++ b/R/type_polygon.R
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 type_polygon = function(density = NULL, angle = 45) {
   out = list(
     draw = draw_polygon(density = density, angle = angle),
-    data = NULL,
+    data = data_polygon(),
     name = "polygon"
   )
   class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
@@ -24,6 +24,18 @@ type_polygon = function(density = NULL, angle = 45) {
 }
 
 
+data_polygon = function() {
+  fun = function(settings, ...) {
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+    settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+    settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+  }
+  return(fun)
+}
+
+
 draw_polygon = function(density = density, angle = 45) {
     fun = function(ix, iy, icol, ibg, ilty = par("lty"), ilwd = par("lwd"), ...) {
         polygon(
diff --git a/R/type_polypath.R b/R/type_polypath.R
index 29742787..dbceacff 100644
--- a/R/type_polypath.R
+++ b/R/type_polypath.R
@@ -21,27 +21,40 @@
 #' )
 #' @export
 type_polypath = function(rule = "winding") {
-    draw_polypath = function() {
-        fun =  function(ix, iy, icol, ibg, ilty, ilwd, dots, ...) {
-            polypath(
-                x = ix,
-                y = iy,
-                border = icol,
-                col = ibg,
-                lty = ilty,
-                lwd = ilwd,
-                rule = rule
-            )
-        }
-        return(fun)
-    }
-
     out = list(
-        draw = draw_polypath(),
-        data = NULL,
+        draw = draw_polypath(rule = rule),
+        data = data_polypath(),
         name = "polypath"
     )
     class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
     return(out)
 }
 
+
+data_polypath = function() {
+  fun = function(settings, ...) {
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+    settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+    settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+  }
+  return(fun)
+}
+
+
+draw_polypath = function(rule = "winding") {
+    fun =  function(ix, iy, icol, ibg, ilty, ilwd, dots, ...) {
+        polypath(
+            x = ix,
+            y = iy,
+            border = icol,
+            col = ibg,
+            lty = ilty,
+            lwd = ilwd,
+            rule = rule
+        )
+    }
+    return(fun)
+}
+
diff --git a/R/type_rect.R b/R/type_rect.R
index 173e021b..dd77cf35 100644
--- a/R/type_rect.R
+++ b/R/type_rect.R
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 type_rect = function() {
   out = list(
     draw = draw_rect(),
-    data = NULL,
+    data = data_rect(),
     name = "rect"
   )
   class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
@@ -35,6 +35,20 @@ type_rect = function() {
 }
 
 
+data_rect = function() {
+  fun = function(settings, ...) {
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% par("lwd")
+    settings$legend_args[["lty"]] = settings$legend_args[["lty"]] %||% 0
+    settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+    settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+  }
+  return(fun)
+}
+
+
 draw_rect = function() {
     fun = function(ixmin, iymin, ixmax, iymax, ilty, ilwd, icol, ibg, ...) {
         rect(
diff --git a/R/type_ribbon.R b/R/type_ribbon.R
index 2ea08028..e303a93a 100644
--- a/R/type_ribbon.R
+++ b/R/type_ribbon.R
@@ -154,6 +154,13 @@ data_ribbon = function(ribbon.alpha = NULL, dodge = 0, fixed.dodge = FALSE) {
         # ribbon.alpha comes from parent scope, so assign it locally
         ribbon.alpha = ribbon.alpha
 
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+
         vars_to_copy = c("x", "y", "ymin", "ymax", "xlabs", "datapoints", "ribbon.alpha")
         if (!is.null(by)) vars_to_copy = c(vars_to_copy, "by")
         if (!is.null(facet)) vars_to_copy = c(vars_to_copy, "facet")
diff --git a/R/type_ridge.R b/R/type_ridge.R
index c8a171b1..24133f7f 100644
--- a/R/type_ridge.R
+++ b/R/type_ridge.R
@@ -409,6 +409,13 @@ data_ridge = function(bw = "nrd0", adjust = 1, kernel = "gaussian", n = 512,
       col = col,
       alpha = alpha
     )
+    
+    # legend customizations
+    settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+    settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+    settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+    settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+    
     env2env(environment(), settings, c(
       "datapoints",
       "yaxt",
diff --git a/R/type_spineplot.R b/R/type_spineplot.R
index 7edcb192..36ea2d78 100644
--- a/R/type_spineplot.R
+++ b/R/type_spineplot.R
@@ -279,6 +279,14 @@ data_spineplot = function(off = NULL, breaks = NULL, xlevels = xlevels, ylevels
           x_by = x_by,
           y_by = y_by
         )
+        
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.lwd"]] %||% 0
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
           "x", "y", "ymin", "ymax", "xmin", "xmax", "col", "bg", "datapoints",
           "by", "facet", "axes", "frame.plot", "xaxt", "yaxt", "xaxs", "yaxs",
diff --git a/R/type_text.R b/R/type_text.R
index 425bf81e..f0774be9 100644
--- a/R/type_text.R
+++ b/R/type_text.R
@@ -85,8 +85,12 @@ type_text = function(
 }
 
 data_text = function(labels = NULL, clim = c(0.5, 2.5)) {
-  fun = function(settings, cex = NULL, ...) {
+  fun = function(settings, ...) {
     env2env(settings, environment(), "datapoints")
+    
+    # Store clim for bubble() function
+    settings$clim = clim
+    
     if (is.null(labels)) {
       labels = datapoints$y
     }
@@ -102,35 +106,7 @@ data_text = function(labels = NULL, clim = c(0.5, 2.5)) {
       datapoints$y = as.numeric(datapoints$y)
     }
 
-    bubble = FALSE
-    bubble_cex = 1
-    if (!is.null(cex) && length(cex) == nrow(datapoints)) {
-      bubble = TRUE
-      ## Identify the pretty break points for our bubble labels
-      bubble_labs = pretty(cex, n = 5)
-      len_labs = length(bubble_labs)
-      # cex = rescale_num(c(bubble_labs, cex), to = clim)
-      cex = rescale_num(sqrt(c(bubble_labs, cex)) / pi, to = clim)
-      bubble_cex = cex[1:len_labs]
-      cex = cex[(len_labs + 1):length(cex)]
-      # catch for cases where pretty breaks leads to smallest category of 0
-      if (bubble_labs[1] == 0) {
-        bubble_labs = bubble_labs[-1]
-        bubble_cex = bubble_cex[-1]
-      }
-      names(bubble_cex) = format(bubble_labs)
-      if (max(clim) > 2.5) {
-        legend_args[["x.intersp"]] = max(clim) / 2.5
-        legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = sapply(bubble_cex / 2.5, max, 1)
-      }
-    }
-
-    env2env(environment(), settings, c(
-      "datapoints",
-      "cex",
-      "bubble",
-      "bubble_cex"
-    ))
+    env2env(environment(), settings, "datapoints")
   }
   return(fun)
 }
diff --git a/R/type_violin.R b/R/type_violin.R
index d9e3db2a..f1d7969d 100644
--- a/R/type_violin.R
+++ b/R/type_violin.R
@@ -207,6 +207,13 @@ data_violin = function(bw = "nrd0", adjust = 1, kernel = "gaussian", n = 512,
 
         by = if (length(unique(datapoints$by)) == 1) by else datapoints$by
         facet = if (length(unique(datapoints$facet)) == 1) facet else datapoints$facet
+        
+        # legend customizations
+        settings$legend_args[["pch"]] = settings$legend_args[["pch"]] %||% 22
+        settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] = settings$legend_args[["pt.cex"]] %||% 3.5
+        settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] = settings$legend_args[["y.intersp"]] %||% 1.25
+        settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] = settings$legend_args[["seg.len"]] %||% 1.25
+        
         env2env(environment(), settings, c(
             "datapoints",
             "by",
diff --git a/inst/tinytest/_tinysnapshot/custom_type_log.svg b/inst/tinytest/_tinysnapshot/custom_type_log.svg
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af40ee85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inst/tinytest/_tinysnapshot/custom_type_log.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' ?>
+<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink' width='504.00pt' height='504.00pt' viewBox='0 0 504.00 504.00'>
+<g class='svglite'>
+<defs>
+  <style type='text/css'><![CDATA[
+    .svglite line, .svglite polyline, .svglite polygon, .svglite path, .svglite rect, .svglite circle {
+      fill: none;
+      stroke: #000000;
+      stroke-linecap: round;
+      stroke-linejoin: round;
+      stroke-miterlimit: 10.00;
+    }
+    .svglite text {
+      white-space: pre;
+    }
+    .svglite g.glyphgroup path {
+      fill: inherit;
+      stroke: none;
+    }
+  ]]></style>
+</defs>
+<rect width='100%' height='100%' style='stroke: none; fill: #FFFFFF;'/>
+<defs>
+  <clipPath id='cpMC4wMHw1MDQuMDB8MC4wMHw1MDQuMDA='>
+    <rect x='0.00' y='0.00' width='504.00' height='504.00' />
+  </clipPath>
+</defs>
+<g clip-path='url(#cpMC4wMHw1MDQuMDB8MC4wMHw1MDQuMDA=)'>
+<circle cx='466.49' cy='244.80' r='2.70' style='stroke-width: 0.75;' />
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+<text x='472.52' y='230.40' text-anchor='middle' style='font-size: 12.00px; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='54.67px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>factor(am)</text>
+<text x='477.29' y='248.93' style='font-size: 12.00px; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='6.67px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>0</text>
+<text x='477.29' y='263.33' style='font-size: 12.00px; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='6.67px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>1</text>
+</g>
+<defs>
+  <clipPath id='cpMC4wMHw0MjguMDl8MC4wMHw1MDQuMDA='>
+    <rect x='0.00' y='0.00' width='428.09' height='504.00' />
+  </clipPath>
+</defs>
+<g clip-path='url(#cpMC4wMHw0MjguMDl8MC4wMHw1MDQuMDA=)'>
+<text x='243.56' y='34.47' text-anchor='middle' style='font-size: 14.40px; font-weight: bold; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='131.16px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>Custom: type_log()</text>
+<text x='243.56' y='485.28' text-anchor='middle' style='font-size: 12.00px; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='12.00px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>wt</text>
+<text transform='translate(12.96,244.80) rotate(-90)' text-anchor='middle' style='font-size: 12.00px; font-family: "Liberation Sans";' textLength='23.34px' lengthAdjust='spacingAndGlyphs'>mpg</text>
+</g>
+<g clip-path='url(#cpMC4wMHw1MDQuMDB8MC4wMHw1MDQuMDA=)'>
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diff --git a/inst/tinytest/test-type_custom.R b/inst/tinytest/test-type_custom.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..92f00868
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inst/tinytest/test-type_custom.R
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+source("helpers.R")
+using("tinysnapshot")
+
+# type_log
+f = function () {
+
+  # based on the "redux" example in the types vignette
+  type_log = function(base = exp(1)) {
+    data_log = function() {
+      fun = function(settings, ...) {
+        datapoints = settings$datapoints
+        datapoints$x = log(datapoints$x, base = base)
+        datapoints$y = log(datapoints$y, base = base)
+        datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$x), ]
+        settings$datapoints = datapoints
+        settings$type = "p"
+      }
+      return(fun)
+    }
+    out = list(
+      data = data_log(),
+      draw = NULL,
+      name = "log"
+    )
+    class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
+    return(out)
+  }
+
+  tinyplot(mpg ~ wt | factor(am), data = mtcars,
+           pch = "by",
+           type = type_log(),
+           main = "Custom: type_log()")
+}
+expect_snapshot_plot(f, label = "custom_type_log")
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/vignettes/types.qmd b/vignettes/types.qmd
index a248e9c1..f5962bcf 100644
--- a/vignettes/types.qmd
+++ b/vignettes/types.qmd
@@ -166,59 +166,35 @@ tinyplot(Temp ~ Wind | Month, data = aq, facet = "by", type = "lm")
 
 It is easy to add custom types to **tinyplot**. Users who need highly customized
 plots, or developers who want to add support to their package or functions, only
-need to define three simple functions: `data_<type>()`, `draw_<type>()`, and
-`type_<type>()`.
-
-In this section, we explain the role of each of these functions and present a
-minimalist example of a custom type. Interested readers may refer to
-the **tinyplot** [source code](https://github.com/grantmcdermott/tinyplot)
-to see many more examples, since each **tinyplot** type is itself implemented as a
-custom type.
-
-The three functions that we need to define for a new type are:
-
-1. `data_<type>()`: Data function factory.
-    - Must take two arguments:
-        - `settings` is a special internal environment containing useful parameters that can be read or modified by `tinyplot` functions, including `datapoints`, `by`, `facet`, `xlab`, `ylab`, `xlim`, `ylim`, `palette`, and many more (see below)
-        - `...`
-    - Defines the data that will be passed on to the plotting functions (including any necessary transformations). Note that this function should modify the `settings` environment in-place; it does not need to return anything
-2. `draw_<type>()`: Drawing function factory.
-    - Accepts information about data point values and aesthetics.
-        - Inputs must include `...`
-        - The `i` prefix in argument names indicates that we are operating on a subgroup of the data, identified by `facet` or using the `|` operator in a formula.
-        - Available arguments are: `ibg`, `icol`, `ilty`, `ilwd`, `ipch`, `ix`, `ixmax`, `ixmin`, `iy`, `iymax`, `iymin`, `cex`, `dots`, `type`, `x_by`, `i`, `facet_by`, `by_data`, `facet_data`, `flip`
-    - Returns a function which can call base R to draw the plot.
-3. `type_<type>()`: A wrapper function that returns a named list with three elements:
-    - `draw`
-    - `data`
-    - `name`
+need to define their own `type_<type>()` function. Let's start with a simple
+example to see how this works in practice.
 
 ### A minimal example
 
-Here is a minimal example of a custom type that logs both `x` and `y` and
-plots points. Note how we use `env2env()` to extract variables from the `settings`
-environment, modify them, and copy the modified values back:
+Here is a minimal example of a custom `type_log()` that logs both `x` and `y`
+before plotting points.
 
 ```{r}
-#| layout-ncol: 2
 type_log = function(base = exp(1)) {
 
+  # data tranformation function
   data_log = function() {
     fun = function(settings, ...) {
-      # Extract datapoints from settings environment
+      # extract raw datapoints from settings environment
       datapoints = settings$datapoints
 
-      # Transform the data
+      # transform (log) the data
       datapoints$x = log(datapoints$x, base = base)
       datapoints$y = log(datapoints$y, base = base)
       datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$x), ]
 
-      # Assign (inject) modified datapoints back to settings
+      # re-assign modified datapoints back to settings
       settings$datapoints = datapoints
     }
     return(fun)
   }
 
+  # drawing function
   draw_log = function() {
     fun = function(ix, iy, icol, ...) {
       points(
@@ -230,45 +206,165 @@ type_log = function(base = exp(1)) {
     return(fun)
   }
 
+  # return object (list)
   out = list(
+    data = data_log(),
     draw = draw_log(),
+    name = "p" # fallback behaviour same as "p" type (e.g., legend defaults)
+  )
+  class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
+  return(out)
+
+}
+```
+
+To use, simply pass to `type = type_log(<args>)` as per as normal.
+
+```{r}
+#| layout-ncol: 2
+tinyplot(mpg ~ wt | factor(am), data = mtcars,
+  type = type_log(), main = "Ln (natural logarithm)")
+
+tinyplot(mpg ~ wt | factor(am), data = mtcars,
+  type = type_log(base = 10), main = "Log (base 10)")
+```
+
+### How it works
+
+As illustrated by our minimal example, custom **tinyplot** types require three
+key functions:
+
+1. **`type_<type>()`**: The main wrapper function that users will call. It
+   should accept any type-specific arguments that users will need to adjust the
+   final plot (e.g., here: `base`). More importantly, it _must_ return a list
+   of class `"tinyplot_type"` and contain three elements:
+    - `data`: A data transformation function (see below)
+    - `draw`: A drawing function (see below)
+    - `name`: The name of the underlying plot type (this can be anything, but
+      think of it as a convenient way to inherit default/fallback behaviour from
+      an existing plot type)
+
+2. **`data_<type>()`**: A function factory that returns a data transformation
+   function:
+    - **Required arguments**: `settings` and `...`
+    - `settings` is an environment containing plot data and parameters,
+       including `datapoints` (a data frame with `x`, `y`, `by`, etc.),
+       `legend_args` (a list of legend customizations), and many other internal
+       parameters (see [Appendix: Available settings](#appendix-available-settings)
+       below for a complete list).
+    - Should modify `settings` in-place (e.g., `settings$datapoints = ...`)
+    - Does not need to return anything
+
+3. **`draw_<type>()`**: A function factory that returns a drawing function:
+    - **Required arguments**: `...`
+    - **Available arguments**: `ix`, `iy`, `ixmin`, `ixmax`, `iymin`, `iymax`,
+      `icol`, `ibg`, `ipch`, `ilty`, `ilwd`, `icex`, and others
+    - The `i` prefix indicates data for a single group (when using `|` grouping
+      or facets)
+    - Should call base R graphics functions (e.g., `points()`, `lines()`,
+      `polygon()`) to render the plot
+
+The key insight is that `data_*()` transforms the data once, while `draw_*()`
+is called repeatedly for each group or facet.
+
+### Pro tip: Re-use existing plot types
+
+Rather than code up all of the internals for a custom type from scratch, users
+are strongly encouraged to re-use the scaffolding for existing types. One of the
+easiest ways to do this---which we use repeatedly in the main **tinyplot**
+codebase---is by "delegating" to an existing type at the end of the
+`data_<type>` function. Again, this is perhaps easier seen than explained, so
+consider an alternate version of our previous `type_log()` function.
+
+```{r}
+type_log_redux = function(base = exp(1)) {
+
+  # data tranformation function
+  data_log = function() {
+    fun = function(settings, ...) {
+      datapoints = settings$datapoints
+
+      datapoints$x = log(datapoints$x, base = base)
+      datapoints$y = log(datapoints$y, base = base)
+      datapoints = datapoints[order(datapoints$x), ]
+
+      settings$datapoints = datapoints
+
+      # re-assign/delegate to "p" type
+      settings$type = "p"
+    }
+    return(fun)
+  }
+
+  # return object (list)
+  out = list(
     data = data_log(),
+    draw = NULL, # NULL => fall back to default type (now "p") drawing function
     name = "log"
   )
   class(out) = "tinyplot_type"
   return(out)
+
 }
+```
+
+The key differences from our original `type_log` function are:
+
+- `settings$type = "p"` (re-assign the type at the end of `data_log()`)
+- `draw = NULL` (drop the dedicated `draw_log()` function entirely; will fall back to `draw_points()` internally now)
 
+This "redux" version is obviously shorter than our original version, since we
+can skip the custom `draw_log()` section. But re-using existing **tinyplot**
+scaffolding brings added benefits beyond code concision. In particular, it
+guarantees that all of the functionality from an existing `type` will be made
+available to your custom type. For example, in our first `type_log()` function
+we didn't account for the fact that users might want to adjust groups by other
+aesthetics (e.g, `pch`), whereas we get this for free in `type_log_redux()`.
+
+```{r}
+#| layout-ncol: 2
 tinyplot(mpg ~ wt | factor(am), data = mtcars,
-  type = type_log(), main = "Ln")
+  pch = "by",
+  type = type_log(), main = "type_log")
 
 tinyplot(mpg ~ wt | factor(am), data = mtcars,
-  type = type_log(base = 10), main = "Log 10")
+  pch = "by",
+  type = type_log_redux(), main = "type_log_redux")
 ```
 
+Moral of the story: be lazy and re-use existing **tinyplot** scaffolding
+wherever possible; especially drawing functions.
+
 ### More examples
 
 The **tinyplot**
 [source code](https://github.com/grantmcdermott/tinyplot/tree/main/R)
 contains many examples of type constructor functions that should provide a
-helpful starting point for custom plot types. Failing that, the **tinyplot**
-team are always happy to help guide users on how to create their own types and
-re-purpose existing **tinyplot** code. Just let us know by
+helpful starting point for custom plot types. Each built-in **tinyplot** type
+is itself implemented as a custom type, so you can see real-world examples of
+varying complexity. For example, take a look at the
+[`type_points.R`](https://github.com/grantmcdermott/tinyplot/blob/main/R/type_points.R) or
+[`type_area.R`](https://github.com/grantmcdermott/tinyplot/blob/main/R/type_area.R)
+code. (The latter provides an example where we delegate to the `type_ribbon`
+drawing code.)
+
+Beyond that, the **tinyplot** team are always happy to help guide users on how
+to create their own types. Just let us know by
 [raising an issue](https://github.com/grantmcdermott/tinyplot/issues)
 on our GitHub repo.
 
+## Appendix: Available settings {#appendix-available-settings}
 
-### Available settings
-
-To see what parameters are available in the `settings` environment, we can create
-a simple `type_error()` that stops with the names of all available settings:
+To see what objects and parameters are available in the `settings` environment,
+we can create a simple `type_error()` function that stops with the names of all
+available settings:
 
 ```{r}
 #| error: true
 type_error = function() {
   data_error = function() {
     fun = function(settings, ...) {
-      stop(paste(names(settings), collapse = ", "))
+      stop(paste(sort(names(settings)), collapse = ", "))
     }
     return(fun)
   }