User image, thumbnail, headshot initials, avatar
Portrait
ECT approvedUpdated May 21, 2026
Description
- A portrait visually represents a person, user, or organization.
- Use with the Profile component to include a title and other details in a standard format.
- Use Gravatar to generate profile avatars.
Anatomy
Anatomy
Size
The Portrait is available in XS, S, M, ML, L, XL and XXL sizes.
Variations
Content
Image
Initials
Icon
Shape
Circle (default)
Square
Colors
Use only these approved colors. Do not create custom ones.
Black (default)
Blue
Teal
Green
Lime
Orange
Red
Pink
Purple
Slate
Grey
Color mode
Light
Dark
Dos and don'ts
Do
Don't
Other names
User image, thumbnail, headshot initials, avatar.
Technical example
Requirements
Users should be able to:
- Perceive and understand the user profile and contact details.
- Navigate to and interact with any interactive elements within the profile.
- Distinguish between contact detail types.
Interactions
The profile component may contain different interactive elements, such as email links, ‘view’ buttons, or phone number links.
Keyboard interactions
If the profile component contains interactive elements:
- Tab. Moves focus from the previous interactive element on the page to the first interactive element in the profile.
- Pressing tab again movies focus to the next interactive element, if present.
- Enter or Space. If the profile contains a button, pressing ‘enter’ or ‘space’ activates the button.
- If the profile contains a link, pressing the ‘enter’ key activates the link.
Design considerations
- The name in the profile should be a heading, one heading level lower than the section of content that contains the user profile.
- Email addresses and phone numbers should be appropriately laid out to help screen reader users understand the context of the information.
- Make sure any links within the profile do not use color alone to distinguish them from surrounding text.
- Ensure consistent formatting of numbers and emails, in line with the expectations of users from different locales.
Development considerations
- Make sure that any email links contain mailto, so the user's default email client opens on link activation.
- This means users will be able to use their preferences in their email client, maximising usability and accessibility.
- User images should have nulled alt text (alt=””), so the image name and the profile name are not duplicated.
Example
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| March 2026 | Added new shape (squared). |
| October 2025 | New page created. Portrait split out from Profile. |