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Illustration is an eye-catching medium that tells a story in a way that photography, technical diagrams, and icons cannot. Illustrations work well across applications, like presentations, web pages, animations, and motion graphics. We use illustrations to tell conceptual, open stories and describe nuanced ideas in an authentic way.

Illustration of a man at his computer with an illustrated background metaphorically representative of an open hybrid cloud environment
Active, not passive.

Red Hat’s illustration style implies movement and activity. Illustrated people are realistic and dynamic, not oversimplified or static.

Intentional, not superficial

Our style is refined and thoughtfully designed to complement the complex nature of our products. They’re approachable, but not cartoonish or childlike.

Informative, not decorative.

Red Hat® illustrations are more than eye-catching. They should complement and enhance the message they’re paired with and tell a story about our technology or our customer’s business.

Open, not closed.

With diverse people and diverse thoughts, the best ideas come from everywhere. We include a broad range of people and environments that go beyond the traditional enterprise technology cliches.

Types of Illustration

Red Hat has two types of illustrations: mini-spot illustrations and spot illustrations. Mini-spot illustrations are 1-color and work well in smaller spaces. Spot illustrations use a larger color palette and represent more complex concepts or narratives.

Minispot illustrations
Spot illustrations

Mini-spot illustrations

Mini-spot illustrations convey a single concept to support a headline or copy. They are slightly more complex than icons, and they always use our 1-color red palette with a dot texture.

Global Fortune 500 mini-spot illustration social card example

Mini-spot illustrations work well in smaller spaces that might be too large for, or require more detail than, an icon alone.

T-shirt with mini-spot illustration artwork

Mini-spot illustrations also work well in instances where colors are limited.

Mini-spot illustration

Do this

Use mini-spot illustrations as provided.

Mini-spot illustration being distorted and filled in with other colors

Do not do this

Do not distort, combine, add colors to, or modify existing mini-spot illustrations.

Mini-spot illustration at a legible size

Do this

Use mini-spot illustrations at a size where all of the details are legible.

Mini-spot illustration being used in place of an icon in a social card

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Do not use mini-spot illustrations in place of icons.

Mini-spot illustration

Do this

Use a mini-spot illustration as an independent element to tell a complete story.

Mini-spot illustration layered with standard icons

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Do not layer or combine multiple types of illustrations or icons into one visual.

three mini-spot illustrations used on a presentation slide

Do this

Be consistent with the type of illustration you’re using in a given application.

Two mini-spot illustrations and one spot illustration being used on a presentation slide

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Do not unintentionally use more than one type of illustration per application.

Spot illustrations

Spot illustrations help to convey complex ideas or stories at a larger scale than mini-spot illustrations. They use a stylized color palette, rather than a realistic one, built from our core colors and colors are added from our extended color wheel if necessary.

Cloud/Kubernetes illustration in Red Hat's core colors
Core color illustrations

Illustrations that are created from our core color palette are ideal for most brand illustrations. We use colors with strong contrast to create depth and dimension.

Automation playbook illustration using colors from Red Hat's extended color wheel
Extended color illustrations

Illustrations that are created using our extended color wheel are ideal for bold illustrations that draw attention. They always use red as an accent, which ensures that illustrations still look like Red Hat.

Spot illustration

Do this

Use spot illustrations as provided.

Spot illustration being distorted

image

Do not distort, combine, add colors to, or modify existing spot illustrations.

Spot illustration at a legible size

Do this

Use spot illustrations at a size where all of the details are legible.

Spot illustration being used in place of an icon

image

Do not use spot illustrations in place of icons.

Spot illustration

Do this

Use a spot illustration as an independent element to tell a complete story.

Spot illustration layered with standard icons and mini-spot illustrations

image

Do not layer or combine multiple types of illustrations or icons into one visual.

Three spot illustrations used on a presentation slide

Do this

Be consistent with the type of illustration you’re using in a given application.

Two spot illustrations and one mini-spot illustration being used on a presentation slide

image

Do not unintentionally use more than one type of illustration per application.

Representation in illustrations

Considering diversity, equity, and inclusion is a significant part of our process for creating illustrations. We make sure our illustrations are reviewed by others—designers, peers, and Red Hat Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion communities. To be intentional and thoughtful, we allow time to research, listen, and adjust. With our illustrations, we aim to uplift those who have been marginalized for their appearance, ability, or identity. 

Our illustrations depict a diverse community by reflecting the world as it truly exists. We use photos of real people as a source for our illustrations—not our own ideas of people–to prevent unintentional biases and stereotypes.

4 examples of diverse representation within Red Hat's illustration style