octodex

Some consider the Octodex to be Mona’s closet -a massive walk in closet with endless possibilities. It’s all about having a laugh. Pop culture references became a mainstay of the gallery. They were easily relatable, fun to design and added to early GitHub culture. In the end we decided to move away from that mindset and began to create our own brand story, at which point the lawyers breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The site was created by the original octocat geneticist, Cameron McEfee.

Evolution

There is a clear evolution of the octocat that can be seen in the Octodex. You can scroll through the grid of chronological posts back to the original. This visual timeline illustrates the various changes like dynamic poses, colors, story and topical subject matter.

It wasn’t long before partnerships started to form with other companies. The octocats versatility enabled us to design characters that encompassed other brands into her design. The GitHub + Android partnership was a good example.

The Octodex became popular internally and externally. Requests from hubbers and fans began to flood the Octodex repo, not only limited to illustrations but also merch. Stickers were a natural next step into the physical world, and are still the number one selling item in the GitHub Shop.

My role

I am of the many designers who has contributed to the Octodex. One cool thing about the site is it’s chronological layout. You can go back through the illustrations and see when designers were hired and how their style influenced the collective. My first submission pushed the octocat into a more dynamic pose and expression - my contribution to the dex going forward. For each of my designs I was:

• Concept Artist

• Illustrator