5 GitHub repos for your next design project

A GitHub repository can contain very different things: a font family, a set of SVG icons or actual code for a website. Once you know which one you’re looking at, it becomes much easier to use the resource without downloading an entire project you don’t need.

These five repositories cover fonts, icons, interface components, illustrations and patterned backgrounds. We’ll use them to plan a small resource-library page: a heading, three resource cards and an empty state for when a search returns nothing.

You can browse every repository publicly. For a static design, you need a design tool that accepts the downloaded files. For the working website parts, you need a compatible development project and a way to preview it locally. Hosting, paid software and AI coding usage are separate costs.

First, choose your route

If you’re designing in Figma or Canva, start with fonts, SVG icons and illustration files. A React component or CSS class will not behave like an image when you paste it into a design canvas.

If you’re building with Claude Code, open an existing project or create a small practice project first. Ask Claude to inspect its framework and package manager before installing anything. The goal is to add the smallest useful piece and inspect the result after each change.

1. Google Fonts: download the family you need

Repository: google/fonts. Start with the Poppins specimen to see the font in context, then open the Poppins folder for its files and OFL licence.

For our resource page, use regular body text and semibold headings. You don’t need every italic and weight to try that combination. For a desktop design app that supports local fonts, install the downloaded font through your operating system and reopen the app if needed. In a browser design tool, use the built-in font family or follow that tool’s custom-font upload instructions and plan requirements. Installing a font on your computer does not automatically make it available in Canva or every browser app. In a web project, ask Claude to add only the required local files and connect them using the project’s font-loading method.

Keep the licence with redistributed files. Poppins uses the SIL Open Font License; check the actual licence for any other family rather than assuming the entire repository uses one set of terms.

Check: look at a full paragraph, numerals and a long resource title. If the browser shows a fallback font, inspect the requested file path and weight mapping before changing the design.

2. Lucide: make the icon family consistent

Repository: lucide-icons/lucide. Use the icon browser to find a search icon, an arrow and a download icon. The project provides SVGs and packages for supported frameworks.

For a static design, download the selected SVGs and keep them at a consistent size and stroke width. For a web project, use the package that matches the framework, then import the specific icons you need. Avoid mixing several icon families because you happen to prefer one search icon elsewhere.

In our example, use icons to clarify actions. A download icon belongs with a download link, and a search icon belongs with the search field. Keep visible labels where an icon alone could be ambiguous.

The repository licence includes ISC terms and notices for Feather-derived icons. Preserve the relevant notices when distributing source assets.

Check: all icons should feel like the same family, align with the adjacent text and stay understandable at their final size.

3. shadcn/ui: customise working components

Repository: shadcn-ui/ui. These are website components whose source you add to your project and can change. They are useful for a working card, form or menu, rather than as a flat graphics pack.

Open the installation documentation and follow the path that matches your framework. Then inspect the Card preview. Build one resource card before making three: title, short description, category and a descriptive link.

Ask Claude to use your existing project conventions and inspect dependencies before applying the setup. Don’t paste an installation command from a different framework and hope the page will sort itself out.

Customise spacing, typography and colour to match the rest of your design. A component is a starting point, so you still need to test keyboard interaction and mobile layout in the finished page. The repository uses an MIT licence.

Check: a long title should wrap cleanly, the card should not overflow a phone screen and the link should go to the actual resource.

4. IRA Design: compose an illustration with a purpose

Repository: ira-design/ira-illustrations. The live site provides a more visual starting point for characters, objects and backgrounds, including outline and gradient styles.

For our resource library, use an illustration only in the empty state. Pick one outline scene and place a useful message beside it: “No matching resources. Try a shorter search.” The image helps the state feel considered, while the copy explains what to do.

Use SVG when your design tool supports it and you want scalable artwork; use PNG when you need a simpler image import. Choose pieces from one style so the scene feels coherent. Check the MIT licence and retain the required notice when distributing the assets.

Check: the illustration should support the message without pushing the recovery action below the screen. If recolouring an SVG breaks it, return to the original and make a smaller edit.

5. pattern.css: add a quiet background

Repository: bansal/pattern.css. This is a CSS library for repeating backgrounds such as dots, grids and stripes. It belongs in a webpage, not in your font or image folder.

Read the README’s installation and pattern-class instructions. In the practice page, try a small dotted area behind the header, with the actual text on a solid surface. Use the documented class, such as pattern-dots-sm, after the stylesheet is loaded.

If you want a static version for a slide, render your example in a browser and export an image from that design. The repository is not a ready-made PNG pack. Its README declares an MIT licence.

Check: if nothing appears, confirm the stylesheet is loaded and the element has visible dimensions. If the pattern makes the page busy, reduce its area or remove it. Texture is optional.

Use Claude to build the first version

Paste this in Claude Code inside your practice project. It creates a real first pass rather than another list of suggestions.

Build a small resource-library page in this project. First inspect the framework, current dependencies and run instructions.

Use Poppins regular/semibold, Lucide icons and a compatible shadcn/ui Card. Use the official repositories linked below as documentation. Add an IRA outline illustration only to the empty state. Try pattern.css only in a small header area if it fits cleanly.

Resources to display: [paste 3 real names, URLs and descriptions].
Design: cream background, dark readable text, restrained warm-orange emphasis, generous spacing.

Implement a search field and three resource cards. Search should filter the supplied names and descriptions. Include an empty state with a clear recovery action. Preserve existing project conventions and licence notices. Do not invent resource URLs or install a second framework.

Run the available build checks, preview at desktop and phone widths, and report exactly what you verified. List anything you could not test. Do not deploy.

Official links: [paste the five repository links from this guide].

Start by downloading one font pair of weights and three icons, or by building the first card if you already have a web project. You’ll know the exercise worked when every asset has a clear job, the page can be used at phone size and you can explain where each piece came from. That makes the repository useful beyond the initial bookmark.