Purpose-built
Designed for the job of building product, so the tool does the heavy lifting instead of everyone inventing workflows. Published
The system
Fixed, everywhere
- Linear spelled as one word, capital L
- Monochrome mark in Mercury White #F4F5F8 or Nordic Gray #222326, with space around it
- Inter, with Inter Display headings
- Neutral, low-chroma grounds; chrome recedes, content leads
- Plain, brief language
The one thing that varies
Light or dark ground, and how much product UI imagery a piece carries.
How loud each format gets
Silent
QuietDeckProposal page
CalmLanding pageSocial
Warm
Loud
Loudest
Our engine's setting, built from their rules.
Every piece passes 3 checks
Logo hidden
Cover the mark. It should still read as Linear: near-monochrome neutral ground, Inter Display headline, dim chrome around one focused content area, and a few plain words.
Swap test
Put another project tool's logo on it. If the calm, the restraint and the plain copy don't feel out of place, it's generic, and it goes back.
Noise check
Remove one border, icon or color. If nothing is lost, leave it out.
Strategy
A purpose-built system for product development, where teams and agents work in one shared, structured environment (paraphrase). Observed
Momentum
Cycles, small issues and repeated launches keep teams moving without sprinting. Published
Craft and quality
Care for the smallest details; quality you feel rather than see. Published
Teams and agents
One structured environment where people and AI agents work together. Observed
Full spec
- For Published
- Product and engineering teams, from startups to larger, complex organizations including executives and managers (paraphrase).
- Problem Published
- Tools that make you their designer and maintainer, flexible workflows that turn to chaos at scale, and rituals like user stories that obscure the work (paraphrase).
- Promise Published
- A fast, calm tool that surfaces what you need when you need it and keeps momentum (paraphrase).
- Purpose Published
- Bring back the lost art of building quality software: the foundational ideas Linear is built on (paraphrase of the Method's opening).
Proof behind each pillar
- Purpose-built. More than 40,000 companies use Linear, including OpenAI, Coinbase and Ramp (About page, 2026-10-30).
- Purpose-built. The Linear Method: published principles and practices for building product.
- Momentum. The Linear Method: published principles and practices for building product.
- Momentum. A public changelog and repeated launches (build in public).
- Craft and quality. Full UI redesign shipped in about six weeks (2024).
- Craft and quality. Conversations on Quality, an interview series on how quality gets built.
- Teams and agents. More than 40,000 companies use Linear, including OpenAI, Coinbase and Ramp (About page, 2026-10-30).
Story Published
Founded in 2019 by Karri Saarinen, Jori Lallo and Tuomas Artman. Linear announced the company before the product existed, then launched again at seed, at general availability with pricing, and at Series A. It redesigned its UI in 2024, rebuilt Liquid Glass its own way for mobile in 2025, and refreshed toward a calmer, warmer interface in 2026.
Values
Build for the creators
Keep the people doing the work productive before producing perfect reports (paraphrase).
PublishedPurpose-built
Opinionated software over endlessly flexible software (paraphrase).
PublishedCreate momentum, don't sprint
A steady cadence, not a rush to the end (paraphrase).
PublishedMeaningful direction
Tie daily tasks to long-term goals (paraphrase).
PublishedAim for clarity
Use common words; projects are projects (paraphrase).
PublishedSay no to busy work
The tool works for you; remove work around work (paraphrase).
PublishedSimple first, then powerful
Easy to start, more powerful as you scale (paraphrase).
PublishedDecide and move on
Making a decision often matters more than the perfect answer (paraphrase).
PublishedCategory. Product development system (formerly issue tracking); the 2024 redesign framed the move from issue tracker to a system for product development. Published
Why them
- Opinionated, purpose-built workflows (cycles, projects, initiatives) instead of blank-slate configuration. Published
- Craft: interface detail work such as LCH theme generation, sidebar alignment and a custom glass material. Published
- Built for teams and AI agents together (agents API, AI integrations). Published
Boilerplate Observed
Linear is a purpose-built system for product development where teams and agents work together in one shared, structured environment. Founded in 2019, it is used by more than 40,000 companies, including OpenAI, Coinbase and Ramp, to plan, build and ship products.
Taglines
The product development system for teams and agents Observed
Building tools for the next era of product development Observed
Built for the future. Available today. Observed
They never claim
- No numeric performance, speed or ROI claims are published in the brand sources read here: don't invent them.
No messaging framework is published. The About page frames Linear as a new kind of product tool for teams and agents; the Method supplies the principles behind the claims.
Source: linear.app/aboutlinear.app/methodlinear.app/method/introduction
Personality and voice
Plainbut not Jargon-filledPublished
Briefbut not ExhaustivePublished
Opinionatedbut not DogmaticOur reading
Calmbut not LoudPublished
Craftedbut not DecoratedPublished
A tool that sells focus and clarity has to sound focused and clear.
Full spec
- "Linear" is one word with a capital L, never "Linear app"
- Capitalize dedicated releases as proper nouns (Linear Method)
- Plain language; titles that directly state the thing
- Don't invent terms; use the common word
- Aim for brevity; write only as much as the reader needs
- Write as “we”, to “you”
- Sentence case headlines
PlainDirectCalmCraft-minded
The Method and design posts write plainly and briefly, state opinions with reasons, credit named people, and avoid jargon. Titles are sentence case (observed 2026-10-30).
- Plain language, short scannable titles
- Don't coin terms for ordinary things
- Write only as much as needed
- Quote customers verbatim instead of summarizing
- Name: Linear, one word, capital L
- Write in plain language; short, scannable titles; descriptions only as long as needed (Method).
- Don't invent terms: call projects projects (Method).
- Brevity: short specs are more likely to be read (Method).
- Quote customers directly rather than summarizing them (Method).
- Confident about opinions (user stories are 'an anti-pattern') but argues from reasons, not hype.
- Design posts are first person plural, credit named people, and talk in details rather than adjectives.
- Voice notes are our reading of the Method and design posts: Linear publishes no voice guide.
Their words
purpose-builtmomentumcraftqualityissuesprojectscyclesproduct development
Never
Linear appuser stories (as a working method)invented jargon for ordinary things
Source: linear.app/brandlinear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refreshlinear.app/method/introduction
- Don’t write 'Linear app'
- Don’t pad with adjectives or hype
- Don’t use user-story phrasing
| Naming | Linear (company and app); Linear Method |
|---|---|
| Case | sentence case (observed) |
| Person | we / you (observed) |
Not published: a voice or tone guide; banned-word list; punctuation and spelling rules.
Source: linear.app/brandlinear.app/method/introductionlinear.app/method/write-issues-not-user-storieslinear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refresh
Logo
Official files from Linear's brand-asset download on linear.app/brand. Wordmark: 400x100 viewBox; logomark 100x100. Allowed uses: wordmark wherever space allows; logomark for tight layouts and logo grids; icon for company references and chips with a corner radius. Clear space and minimum size are not published beyond 'plenty of space'.
A monochrome mark works on any ground, and the stripes read as motion without needing color.
Full spec
- Use the wordmark in all references to Linear when space allows
- Logomark for tight layouts or logo-only grids; the wordmark has stronger recognition
- Icon when referring to Linear as a company (social) or where a chip is needed, with an appropriate corner radius
- Monochrome preferred, in Mercury White or Nordic Gray
- Give the marks plenty of space, big or small; never cramped
- Don’t alter the files in any way
- Don’t imply a relationship, affiliation or endorsement by Linear
- Don’t use the graphics in your own product or company name
- Don’t combine them with other graphics without written consent
| Lockups | wordmark; logomark; icon |
|---|---|
| Color | monochrome: #F4F5F8 or #222326 |
| Clear space | not published ('plenty of space') |
| Minimum size | not published |
| Files | SVG + PNG, light and dark |
Three marks ship in the asset download: the wordmark (logomark plus 'Linear'), the logomark alone (a disc crossed by diagonal stripes), and a stylized icon for social and chip uses. All are shown in one color, white on dark or Nordic Gray on light.
Not published: clear-space measurement; minimum size; placement rules; co-branding lockups; icon corner radius value.
Source: linear.app/brand
Color
Generated, near-neutral grounds keep a dense interface calm and let content carry the color.
Full spec
- Wordmark in Mercury White on dark, Nordic Gray on light
- Keep grounds neutral; the brand blue is for backgrounds only
- Light and dark both supported
- Neutrals with little blue chroma; warm but crisp, never muddy
- Don’t color the wordmark
- Don’t use saturated color for chrome
- Don’t invent a hex for the brand blue
| Mercury White | #F4F5F8 / RGB 244 245 248 |
|---|---|
| Nordic Gray | #222326 / RGB 35 35 38 |
| Theme inputs | base, accent, contrast (LCH) |
| Brand blue | not published |
The guide publishes two colors, Mercury White #F4F5F8 and Nordic Gray #222326, as light and dark accents for the monochrome wordmark. It describes the primary brand color as a subtle desaturated blue reserved for backgrounds, without a value. Product themes are generated in LCH from base, accent and contrast; the 2026 refresh moved the default themes from a cool blue-ish gray toward a warmer, less saturated gray. linear.app renders on a near-black ground (observed 2026-10-30; values in the anatomy step).
Not published: the primary brand blue's hex; accent or status colors; color proportions.
Source: linear.app/brandlinear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refreshlinear.app/now/styling-linear-for-the-future-stylex
Typography
The product development system for teams and agents
One neutral, highly legible family suits a dense tool; the display cut adds character only where headings need it.
Full spec
| Their face | Use | License | Open stand-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter Display | Headings, for expression with readability | Open (SIL OFL 1.1) | |
| Inter | All other text | Open (SIL OFL 1.1) | |
| Berkeley Mono | 12px uppercase eyebrows, figure labels, dates and code in product mock-ups | Proprietary (US Graphics Company); stand-in IBM Plex Mono, SIL OFL 1.1 | IBM Plex Mono Berkeley Mono is commercial. IBM Plex Mono has the identical 0.600em advance, ink within 4% and x-height within 0.4% (calibration in kit.typography.mono). |
- Headings: Inter Display
- Everything else: Inter
- Sentence-case headings (observed)
- Don’t mix in other sans families
- Don’t set long text in the display cut
| Headings | Inter Display (published) |
|---|---|
| Text | Inter (published) |
| Licence | SIL OFL 1.1 (open) |
| Site weights | 400 / 510 / 590 (observed) |
Inter throughout. The 2024 redesign set headings in Inter Display for expression and kept regular Inter for the rest. On linear.app the face loads as Inter Variable with headings at weights 510-590 and tight negative tracking (observed 2026-10-30). The Method page's large title uses a serif, Tiempos Headline (observed 2026-10-30), an editorial exception.
Not published: type scale; weights per role; leading and tracking; a mono face; use of the Tiempos serif.
Source: linear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/brandlinear.app/method
Graphic elements
Do wordmark (or logomark in tight layouts) in one color only, Mercury White #F4F5F8 on dark or Nordic Gray #222326 on light, with generous empty space around it, big or small. One mark per surface.
Monochrome mark with room to breathe · every logo placement
Do navigation and supporting chrome a few notches dimmer than the main content; compact tabs with rounded corners; fewer, smaller icons; borders rounded and low contrast so structure is felt rather than seen.
Chrome recedes, content leads · interfaces, product shots and UI-like layouts
Do neutral grays derived from base, accent and contrast in LCH, with little blue in the calculation for a timeless, neutral look; the 2026 refresh shifted toward a warmer, less saturated gray that stays crisp.
Generated neutral themes · grounds and surfaces in light and dark
Do each section shows a real-looking slice of the app (thread, board, timeline, agent panels, diff) on #0F1011 panels with 1px white-8% borders, grain and a corner glow, bleeding off one edge and fading into the #08090A ground. One illustration per section.
Product UI is the illustration · hero and every feature section
Do #F7F8F8 headlines, #D0D6E0 leads and small titles, #8A8F98 body and links at rest, #62666D arrows, eyebrows and legal; emphasis comes from stepping up the ramp, never from colour.
Four-step grey text ramp · all copy on dark
Specimens use sample copy, not Linear’s.
Every element is tuned to recede so the work leads; depth comes from light, not ornament.
Full spec
- Structure felt, not seen: fewer separators, softer contrast, rounded edges
- Dim navigation relative to content
- Glass (mobile): blur, subtle gradient, specular highlight; solid outlines under Increase Contrast
- Don’t add separators without reason
- Don’t use refraction on dense UI
- Don’t decorate for its own sake
The design posts describe the graphic system through the interface: an inverted-L chrome around the main view, compact rounded tabs, few low-contrast rounded borders, and, on mobile, a custom glass material with blur, gradient and a moving specular highlight but no refraction.
Not published: border widths; radius values; shadow or elevation values.
Source: linear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refreshlinear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/now/linear-liquid-glass
Iconography
Icons should help recognition without competing for attention.
Full spec
- Use icons where they aid recognition, sparingly
- Small sizes in chrome
- No colored backgrounds behind team icons
- Don’t add icons to every row
- Don’t use filled color plates
Icons identify projects, issues, initiatives and statuses at a glance. The 2026 refresh cut their number, shrank them and removed colored team-icon backgrounds.
Not published: icon grid; stroke weight; sizes; icon library name.
Illustration
Showing the product itself is the proof.
Full spec
- Prefer real interface imagery over illustration
- Don’t invent an illustration style and present it as Linear's
No illustration style is published. Linear's marketing and posts show product UI renders, often dark and softly lit, rather than illustration (observed 2026-10-30).
Not published: illustration style; characters; diagram style.
Source: linear.applinear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refresh
Photography
Full spec
- Don’t present stock photography as on-brand
Not published: photography style; treatment; crops.
Motion
Nav link colour and background, header border/background changes
Pill buttons: border, background-color and colour on hover
Motion as physical feedback, not decoration.
Full spec
- Subtle, physical feedback on touch
- Light and blur respond to movement
- Don’t add decorative animation
No motion values are published. The posts describe motion qualitatively: on mobile, touched elements lift slightly, over-scroll distorts the view, scroll edges blur progressively, and highlights shift with movement.
Not published: easing curves; durations.
Interface & layout
The page, band by band
Navigation
Hero
Logo row
Statement
Benefits
Intake and integrations
Planning and monitoring
AI and automations
Build, review, and ship
Changelog
Customer quotes
Prefooter CTA
Footer
Buttons
Full spec
The app uses an inverted-L chrome (sidebar plus top bar) controlling the main view, with structured layouts for list, board, timeline, split and fullscreen. The redesign aligned labels, icons and buttons across sidebar and tabs and leaned on Apple standards for a native feel. The brand page centers a single narrow column on a dark ground (observed 2026-10-30).
Measured from linear.app's Measured on https://linear.app/ at 1440x900 and 390x844 with Playwright computed styles, hover probes and 2x captures, 2026-10-30; guide values from https://linear.app/brand.
Spacing
| Measure | Desktop | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Page margin | 80px | 24px |
| Section padding | 128px | 40px |
| Hero text width | max 1280px, centered | full width |
| Card gap | 8px | 8px |
| Navigation | 73px | 73px |
Type, at size
Prefooter H2
Inter Display · 72px (phone 38) · line 1 · tracking -1.584px · weight 510
Hero H1
Inter Display · 64px (phone 38) · line 1 · tracking -1.408px · weight 510
Section H2 / statement
Inter Display · 48px (phone 24) · line 1 · tracking -1.056px · weight 510
Quote
Inter · 32px (phone 24) · line 1.125 · tracking -0.704px · weight 400
Section lead
Inter · 24px (phone 15) · line 1.33 · tracking -0.288px · weight 400
Body / small title
Inter · 15px · line 1.6 · tracking -0.165px · weight 400
Prefooter button
Inter · 16px · line 2.75 · weight 510
Attribution
Inter · 14px · line 1.5 · tracking -0.182px · weight 400
Nav / footer link
Inter · 13px · line 1.5 · weight 400
Mono eyebrow / date
Berkeley Mono · 12px · line 1.4 · weight 400
- Density
- Information-dense, with supporting chrome dimmed so the work area leads
- Motion
- not published as values
- Buttons
- not published
Page anatomy
How Linear’s own landing pages are built, observed on linear.app, 2026-10-30. The full measurements are in spec.md.
- Navigation
- Fixed translucent near-black bar: wordmark left; six text links right-aligned (Product and Resources open mega-menus), a 1px vertical divider, Log in text pill and a light Sign up pill. Phone: wordmark, Log in, Sign up and a hamburger.
- Hero
- Left-aligned two-line 64px headline and a 15px muted lead on the left with a small "New Loops ->" link on the right of the same baseline, then a full-width product app frame (live DOM, use the capture) sitting on a stage that fades from #08090A to a pale grey glow at its bottom edge.
- Statement
- A three-line 48px statement: the first sentence in #F7F8F8, the rest in #8A8F98, left-aligned, no media.
- Benefits (FIG 0.1-0.3)
- Three equal columns split by 1px hairlines; each has a mono FIG label, a centred isometric line drawing, a 15px/510 title and a 15px muted two-line description.
- Feature section: Intake and integrations
- Two-column header (48px two-line title left, 24px lead + Learn more right), a full-width product illustration that bleeds past the container, then a Features row of plus-links.
- Feature section: Planning and monitoring
- Same header pattern; illustration is a roadmap timeline (left) under a "Cycle time by agent" scatter chart card (right half).
- Feature section: AI and automations
- Same header; illustration is a row of four 400x560 agent chat panels (Cursor, Linear, ChatPRD) that fade out at both ends.
- Feature section: Build, review, and ship
- Same header; illustration is an issue list panel overlapped on the right by a split code-diff panel.
- Changelog
- 48px title, a 1px timeline rule with four dots, four equal entry columns (title, two-line excerpt, mono date), then View all ->. Desktop only.
- Customer quotes
- Two coloured quote cards side by side inside a 1px #23252A outline: a wide OpenAI card (pastel blue-violet with a huge white logo watermark) and a narrow Ramp card (lime), then a proof line with Customer stories ->.
- Prefooter CTA
- Centred 72px two-line closing line and two centred pills.
- Footer
- Hairline-topped dark footer: logomark alone at left, five link columns, legal row underneath. No copyright, address or phone line is printed on the homepage (checked 2026-10-30).
Source: linear.app/now/how-we-redesigned-the-linear-uilinear.app/now/behind-the-latest-design-refreshlinear.app/brand
In use
Full spec
How our engine applies Linear's system to each format. Our recipe from their published rules, not something Linear publishes. Level = how much beyond the neutral ground and type a format carries.
Our setting for each format
| Format | Loudness | Must appear | What varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page | Build it the way linear.app is built (kit.spec.page, from the anatomy step): neutral ground, monochrome wordmark top left with space around it, Inter Display sentence-case headline, Inter body, product UI imagery, dim chrome, few low-contrast borders | light or dark ground; which sections and how much UI imagery | |
| Deck | Neutral ground, monochrome mark, Inter Display headings, one idea per slide in plain words | dark or light; product screenshots | |
| Proposal page | Neutral ground, Inter, plain brief copy, sourced claims only | one product image | |
| Social | Icon with a corner radius as the avatar; monochrome mark; plain headline | product UI crop |
Ads
Rules
Do
- Linear, one word, capital L; not 'Linear app'
- Wordmark by default; logomark in tight layouts; icon for company and chip uses
- Monochrome Mercury White or Nordic Gray
- Plenty of space around marks
Don’t
- alter the supplied files
- imply affiliation or endorsement
- use the marks in another product's name
- combine marks with other graphics without consent
Source: linear.app/brand
Steal this kit
Your name and logo, Linear’s system.
Comes with you
- Color roles and how much of each
- Type pairing, with open fonts
- Voice rules the writing check enforces
- Icon, photo, illustration and motion recipes
- The strategy frame, to fill with yours
Stays yours
- Your name and logo
- Your proof: numbers, customers, quotes
- Your purpose and claims. Theirs aren’t yours to make
Use this kit for my brand Use this brand in Claude
Hand it to a developer
- spec.mdEvery value and rule
- tokens.cssCSS variables
- tokens.jsonDesign tokens (DTCG)
- kit.jsonWhat our engines read
Your brand next
Get your brand audit Put your brand in Claude What goes in a brand book
What Linear doesn’t publish
- The primary brand color (a subtle desaturated blue): no hex published.
- Any accent, status or UI color beyond Mercury White and Nordic Gray: not published (site colors come as observed in the anatomy step).
- Logo clear space, minimum size, placement and co-branding: not published beyond 'plenty of space'.
- Icon corner radius for the chip/social icon: not published.
- Type scale, weights per role, leading and tracking: not published; only Inter Display for headings and Inter for text.
- A mono face: not published.
- The Tiempos Headline serif on the Method page is observed only; its role is not published.
- Motion easing and durations: not published.
- Icon grid, stroke and sizes: not published.
- Illustration and photography guidance: not published.
- Layout grid, spacing and breakpoints: not published.
- Voice and tone guide: not published; voice here is read from the Linear Method and design posts.
- Whether the supplied InterVariable.woff2 includes the Display optical size: assumed, not checked.
Each value is marked published, observed, our reading or our recipe, with its source. Checked 2026-10-30. Not affiliated with Linear.