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 GitHub Primer: Separate lists, tabs and sidebars with fine rules and hold spacing to a small token set
- Type
- Set in GitHub Primer's manner (Use one plain sans for body and labels; build hierarchy through weight and color), 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 GitHub Primer's material (Start from neutrals; reserve blue for links and semantic colors for success, warning and danger); 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 #F6F8FA, #0969DA, #24292F and admit one accent from #FBFAFD, #7B58CF, #18171D.
Where they fight
- GitHub Primer and GitLab Pajamas both belong to Platform Screen Languages, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- GitHub Primer Adding borders and tiny controls to look like GitHub only creates a cramped admin screen when the work has no clear priority.
- 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 GitHub Primer (style, 2017–) and their accent from GitLab Pajamas (style, 2018–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing GitHub Primer exists for: developer SaaS and admin tools that must hold many states and actions on one screen, or keeping information density and accessibility consistent across product teams. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from GitHub Primer - Neutral surfaces with blue links and restrained status colors - Octicons paired with short action labels - Thin borders separating lists, tabs and sidebars - Consistent steps of type and spacing even at high density Composition: Separate lists, tabs and sidebars with fine rules and hold spacing to a small token set. Type and lettering: Use one plain sans for body and labels; build hierarchy through weight and color. ## 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 #F6F8FA, carry the structure in #0969DA and #24292F, 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 - GitHub Primer 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 - GitHub Primer: Adding borders and tiny controls to look like GitHub only creates a cramped admin screen when the work has no clear priority. - 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
- GitHub Primer 2017– / Style / Platform Screen Languages
GitHub's design system for turning dense development workflows into shared rules for color, type, icons, spacing and components. It favors flow over decoration, keeping many states and actions in a small area without giving up accessibility or responsive behavior.
- 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.
Share this composition:https://indexstyle.org/compose?ids=github-primer+gitlab-pajamas