The illustration that started it all. This flat graphic style is outdated now, but still has a special place in our hearts—you’ll most likely find this style as vintage GitHub stickers. New work is not produced in this style unless intended to be a throwback.
The Octocat
Part cat, part octopus, Mona is a pioneer of the Octocat species and is our official mascot. To the average person, Mona is just a cartoon character. But to the developer community, Mona is an icon.
In general, Mona starts to appear the closer that we get to speaking about the open source community.
Copilot
The newest addition to the Octocat Universe, Copilot represents the latest in AI tech.
In general, Copilot starts to appear the closer we get to talking about the GitHub Copilot product specifically, and AI in general.
Hubot
Based on our open source chat bot, Hubot is Mona’s robot sidekick and most loyal contributor. He can be programmed to perform any task but is not made with the latest AI and might become a bit snarky if his instructions are not explicit. While Copilot may be the brains, Hubot is the muscle.
In general, Hubot shows up when the surrounding content is regarding automation and productivity.
When to use mascots
When it comes to using mascots in brand applications, less is more.
Our mascots shouldn't just be space-fillers. Overuse can be distracting and annoying, and underuse can create missed opportunities for surprise and delight. Balance and thoughtful intent are imperative. Preserve the magic of our beloved characters by using them sparingly, and only when the context is appropriate. The following do's and dont's provide some general guidance on what is or is not appropriate context, however all public-facing usage of Mascots must be approved by GitHub’s Brand & Marketing Design team.
Do
Community. Inspirational messaging for our community of superfans is the #1 audience for mascots.
Product. Illustrations can be used to support product marketing if the narrative can be metaphorical or inspirational.
Education. Character graphics can be a powerful engagement tool for students, as long as Octocats aren’t doing the teaching.
Events. Our events are aimed at the dev community and superfans.
Merch. A portion of our shop merch should include character-based designs, for the superfans out there.
Celebration. Internal and external celebratory events can call for Octocats.
Marketing sites. Only if they help tell the story, never just as eye candy or space filler.
Easter eggs. Discoverable surprise content in product or in marketing sites is a great place for octocats.
Social media. With approval from Brand Studio.
Swag. With approval from Brand Studio.
Office Art. Home is where the Octocat is.
Email/Blog Posts. Only if content is appropriate and helps tell a story, and never as space filler.
Don’t
Money. Our characters are used to inspire and entertain, they never sell products. The closer you get to the topic of money the less mascots are involved.
Security. It’s imperative that we project a message of dependability when discussing security. Companies want to know their code is secure and humans should be the ones to reassure.
Enterprise Offering. When selling to Enterprise, we should be leaving the Octocats at the door and let the product take center stage.
Earth issues. Octoctats don’t need to show up when discussing politics, crises, protests, etc. Leave that work to the humans.
As Clippy™ Octocats shouldn’t show up when you are using the product as a tool, and should never interrupt users’ workflow.
Customer support. Hubbers should always be the face and point of contact for our users.
Training/education. Octocats may be used in marketing for education programs, but only humans should do the teaching.
Logos. Octocats should not be used as a logo for a sub team or brand.
Alternate octocat styles
While working with our current brand design system, octocats should be added in the style seen at the top of this page. However, there are a handful of alternate styles that we use for specific use cases.
The Octocat 2.0 style
Our current Octocat model, used in illustrations, animations, and stickers. This version of Mona is more emotive and functional in 3D space and the style most common for stickers or narrative illustrations.
Monamoji
Monamoji are the Octocat custom emoji set, used for reaction gifs and as custom emoji. These should be reserved for community engagement, and should not be used when speaking as the voice of GitHub.