mrs mona lisa Octocat

In 2018 GitHub purchased a stock image of a crying “Octopuss”. The character was originally created by Simon Oxley, a freelance illustrator based out of Europe.

Mona became an iconic representation of GitHub. Her unique silhouette, organic curves, and whimsical design gave a soft edge to a sometimes intimidating and dry technology.

She not only showed up on site headers and merch, but also made an appearance when something went wrong (i.e. the 404 pages). Again, this put a fun twist on an unexpected situation.

Who Is She?

Mona is a technology misfit.  She’s bridging the gap between two worlds by making the transition to the future less intimidating.  She's literally stuck between land and water, the past and the future. She represents the pull we all feel towards new things and a brighter tomorrow.

Born of two contrasting creatures, she’s the biological representation of dichotomy.  On the one hand you have a creator. An imaginative and artistic inventor. A nonconformist (think brainiac punk rocker).  Her cerebral nature and malleable exterior make her easily adaptable to any situation, maybe too adaptable at times.  

On the other, a jester.  Someone who lives in the moment.  Fun yet mischievous. Quick and witty.  She’s curious, which could be her greatest strength or weakness...to be determined.  

The Evolution

Mona’s design has evolved over time and for good reason. Bringing her in the 3D world for items like figurines, plush dolls and statues required some slight changes. One advantage to working in two dimensions is that you can cheat the eye, but the aforementioned projects pushed us to make some hard choices. In the end she’s morphed into a appealing, charismatic, and posable character.

The GitHub Animation Team developed the necessary foundational elements, such as character/expression sheets, turnarounds and construction documentation. This ensures our illustrations are on model and consistent.

The Future

We’ve consistently told the GitHub product story through Mona. We weaved in various product symbols, tools and workflows into her Universe. The goal is to tell a story that is in parallel with the company’s brand as a whole. One example is her sidekick, Hubot - a chat ops bot that the company created and has used for years. He’s part of our workflow so he’s part of her world. Backstories and brand guidelines produce endless possibilities of where this brand story can go next.

My Role

As the first animator at the company, I created a brandy story for all character-related graphics. I was instrumental in developing Mona’s story, then collaborated with the team to build the visuals. I built a team of incredible 10 artists that were the core of our design production.

Some titles I held along the way:

• Project Lead

• Writer

• Concept Artist

• Illustrator