Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Carbon Design System: Anchor dense modules to a 2x grid and keep navigation, work and detail zones distinct
- Type
- Set in Carbon Design System's manner (Use IBM Plex with compact labels and a clearly stepped hierarchy), and let GitLab Pajamas's lettering (Use GitLab Sans for interface copy and GitLab Mono for branches, commit IDs and code, centered on weights 400 and 600) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Carbon Design System's material (Build with neutral layers, fine borders and blue only for interaction); bring in exactly one thing from GitLab Pajamas (Model depth with neutrals, reserve purple for brand affinity, and assign blue, red and green to stable action and status meanings).
- Colour
- Build on #F4F4F4, #0F62FE, #161616 and admit one accent from #FBFAFD, #7B58CF, #18171D.
Where they fight
- Carbon Design System and GitLab Pajamas both belong to Platform Screen Languages, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Carbon Design System Plex and blue do not make a product Carbon. Density, states and grid behavior must follow the same system.
- GitLab Pajamas Orange and the tanuki do not make a screen Pajamas. Preserve hierarchy when code, status and discussion share the same view.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Carbon Design System (style, 2015–) and their accent from GitLab Pajamas (style, 2018–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Carbon Design System exists for: enterprise software with many states and permissions, or keeping analytics, operations and forms coherent across products. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Carbon Design System - IBM Plex and strong type hierarchy - White or deep-gray work surfaces - Dense tables, filters and side navigation - Blue reserved for action and focus Composition: Anchor dense modules to a 2x grid and keep navigation, work and detail zones distinct. Type and lettering: Use IBM Plex with compact labels and a clearly stepped hierarchy. ## Accent comes from GitLab Pajamas, used sparingly - GitLab Sans paired with GitLab Mono for code - Layered structure built from left navigation and application chrome - Dense issue, merge-request and pipeline lists - White or charcoal surfaces with purple as brand focus Let one material quality come from it: Model depth with neutrals, reserve purple for brand affinity, and assign blue, red and green to stable action and status meanings. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #F4F4F4, carry the structure in #0F62FE and #161616, and let a single accent come from #7B58CF. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: technique, trust, calm. ## Where they fight - Carbon Design System and GitLab Pajamas both belong to Platform Screen Languages, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable. ## What goes wrong - Carbon Design System: Plex and blue do not make a product Carbon. Density, states and grid behavior must follow the same system. - GitLab Pajamas: Orange and the tanuki do not make a screen Pajamas. Preserve hierarchy when code, status and discussion share the same view. ## Across the four Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture. ## Constraints - Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. - Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work. - Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Carbon Design System 2015– / Style / Platform Screen Languages
IBM's system for data-heavy enterprise products, combining a strict grid, IBM Plex type and compact components so complex work remains legible.
- GitLab Pajamas 2018– / Style / Platform Screen Languages
GitLab's screen language connects code, issues, review, CI/CD and security inside one DevSecOps product through GitLab Sans and Mono, persistent navigation, dense lists and a purple-inflected neutral palette.
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