diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/helpers/avatar_helper.js b/app/assets/javascripts/helpers/avatar_helper.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d3b1d0f11fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/helpers/avatar_helper.js
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import _ from 'underscore';
+import { getFirstCharacterCapitalized } from '~/lib/utils/text_utility';
+
+export const DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS = 's40';
+export const IDENTICON_BG_COUNT = 7;
+
+export function getIdenticonBackgroundClass(entityId) {
+  const type = (entityId % IDENTICON_BG_COUNT) + 1;
+  return `bg${type}`;
+}
+
+export function getIdenticonTitle(entityName) {
+  return getFirstCharacterCapitalized(entityName) || ' ';
+}
+
+export function renderIdenticon(entity, options = {}) {
+  const { sizeClass = DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS } = options;
+
+  const bgClass = getIdenticonBackgroundClass(entity.id);
+  const title = getIdenticonTitle(entity.name);
+
+  return `<div class="avatar identicon ${_.escape(sizeClass)} ${_.escape(bgClass)}">${_.escape(title)}</div>`;
+}
+
+export function renderAvatar(entity, options = {}) {
+  if (!entity.avatar_url) {
+    return renderIdenticon(entity, options);
+  }
+
+  const { sizeClass = DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS } = options;
+
+  return `<img src="${_.escape(entity.avatar_url)}" class="avatar ${_.escape(sizeClass)}" />`;
+}
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility.js b/app/assets/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility.js
index 5f25c6ce1ae..2be3c97bd95 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility.js
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility.js
@@ -75,6 +75,20 @@ export function capitalizeFirstCharacter(text) {
   return `${text[0].toUpperCase()}${text.slice(1)}`;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns the first character capitalized
+ *
+ * If falsey, returns empty string.
+ *
+ * @param {String} text
+ * @return {String}
+ */
+export function getFirstCharacterCapitalized(text) {
+  return text
+    ? text.charAt(0).toUpperCase()
+    : '';
+}
+
 /**
  * Replaces all html tags from a string with the given replacement.
  *
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon.vue b/app/assets/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon.vue
index 4ffc811e714..0862f2c0cff 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon.vue
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon.vue
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 <script>
+import { getIdenticonBackgroundClass, getIdenticonTitle } from '~/helpers/avatar_helper';
+
 export default {
   props: {
     entityId: {
@@ -16,26 +18,11 @@ export default {
     },
   },
   computed: {
-    /**
-     * This method is based on app/helpers/avatars_helper.rb#project_identicon
-     */
-    identiconStyles() {
-      const allowedColors = [
-        '#FFEBEE',
-        '#F3E5F5',
-        '#E8EAF6',
-        '#E3F2FD',
-        '#E0F2F1',
-        '#FBE9E7',
-        '#EEEEEE',
-      ];
-
-      const backgroundColor = allowedColors[this.entityId % 7];
-
-      return `background-color: ${backgroundColor}; color: #555;`;
+    identiconBackgroundClass() {
+      return getIdenticonBackgroundClass(this.entityId);
     },
     identiconTitle() {
-      return this.entityName.charAt(0).toUpperCase();
+      return getIdenticonTitle(this.entityName);
     },
   },
 };
@@ -43,8 +30,7 @@ export default {
 
 <template>
   <div
-    :class="sizeClass"
-    :style="identiconStyles"
+    :class="[sizeClass, identiconBackgroundClass]"
     class="avatar identicon">
     {{ identiconTitle }}
   </div>
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/avatar.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/avatar.scss
index 94fa7993133..dddd07c798c 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/avatar.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/avatar.scss
@@ -69,7 +69,10 @@
 .identicon {
   text-align: center;
   vertical-align: top;
+  color: $identicon-fg-color;
+  background-color: $identicon-gray;
 
+  // Sizes
   &.s16 { font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.33; }
   &.s24 { font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.8; }
   &.s26 { font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.33; }
@@ -82,6 +85,15 @@
   &.s110 { font-size: 40px; line-height: 108px; font-weight: $gl-font-weight-normal; }
   &.s140 { font-size: 72px; line-height: 138px; }
   &.s160 { font-size: 96px; line-height: 158px; }
+
+  // Background colors
+  &.bg1 { background-color: $identicon-red; }
+  &.bg2 { background-color: $identicon-purple; }
+  &.bg3 { background-color: $identicon-indigo; }
+  &.bg4 { background-color: $identicon-blue; }
+  &.bg5 { background-color: $identicon-teal; }
+  &.bg6 { background-color: $identicon-orange; }
+  &.bg7 { background-color: $identicon-gray; }
 }
 
 .avatar-container {
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/variables.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/variables.scss
index 08755b4b545..56940a7564a 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/variables.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/framework/variables.scss
@@ -486,6 +486,18 @@ $note-icon-gutter-width: 55px;
 */
 $zen-control-color: #555;
 
+/*
+* Identicon
+*/
+$identicon-red: #ffebee;
+$identicon-purple: #f3e5f5;
+$identicon-indigo: #e8eaf6;
+$identicon-blue: #e3f2fd;
+$identicon-teal: #e0f2f1;
+$identicon-orange: #fbe9e7;
+$identicon-gray: $gray-darker;
+$identicon-fg-color: #555555;
+
 /*
 * Calendar
 */
diff --git a/app/helpers/avatars_helper.rb b/app/helpers/avatars_helper.rb
index 43d92bde064..d48dae8f06d 100644
--- a/app/helpers/avatars_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/avatars_helper.rb
@@ -15,22 +15,12 @@ module AvatarsHelper
   end
 
   def project_identicon(project, options = {})
-    allowed_colors = {
-      red: 'FFEBEE',
-      purple: 'F3E5F5',
-      indigo: 'E8EAF6',
-      blue: 'E3F2FD',
-      teal: 'E0F2F1',
-      orange: 'FBE9E7',
-      gray: 'EEEEEE'
-    }
-
+    bg_key = (project.id % 7) + 1
     options[:class] ||= ''
     options[:class] << ' identicon'
-    bg_key = project.id % 7
-    style = "background-color: ##{allowed_colors.values[bg_key]}; color: #555"
+    options[:class] << " bg#{bg_key}"
 
-    content_tag(:div, class: options[:class], style: style) do
+    content_tag(:div, class: options[:class]) do
       project.name[0, 1].upcase
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/avatar_helper_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/avatar_helper_spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2f80678ae7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/javascripts/avatar_helper_spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import { TEST_HOST } from 'spec/test_constants';
+import { getFirstCharacterCapitalized } from '~/lib/utils/text_utility';
+import {
+  DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS,
+  IDENTICON_BG_COUNT,
+  renderAvatar,
+  renderIdenticon,
+  getIdenticonBackgroundClass,
+  getIdenticonTitle,
+} from '~/helpers/avatar_helper';
+
+function matchAll(str) {
+  return new RegExp(`^${str}$`);
+}
+
+describe('avatar_helper', () => {
+  describe('getIdenticonBackgroundClass', () => {
+    it('returns identicon bg class from id', () => {
+      expect(getIdenticonBackgroundClass(1)).toEqual('bg2');
+    });
+
+    it(`wraps around if id is bigger than ${IDENTICON_BG_COUNT}`, () => {
+      expect(getIdenticonBackgroundClass(IDENTICON_BG_COUNT + 4)).toEqual('bg5');
+      expect(getIdenticonBackgroundClass((IDENTICON_BG_COUNT * 5) + 6)).toEqual('bg7');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('getIdenticonTitle', () => {
+    it('returns identicon title from name', () => {
+      expect(getIdenticonTitle('Lorem')).toEqual('L');
+      expect(getIdenticonTitle('dolar-sit-amit')).toEqual('D');
+      expect(getIdenticonTitle('%-with-special-chars')).toEqual('%');
+    });
+
+    it('returns space if name is falsey', () => {
+      expect(getIdenticonTitle('')).toEqual(' ');
+      expect(getIdenticonTitle(null)).toEqual(' ');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('renderIdenticon', () => {
+    it('renders with the first letter as title and bg based on id', () => {
+      const entity = {
+        id: IDENTICON_BG_COUNT + 3,
+        name: 'Xavior',
+      };
+      const options = {
+        sizeClass: 's32',
+      };
+
+      const result = renderIdenticon(entity, options);
+
+      expect(result).toHaveClass(`identicon ${options.sizeClass} bg4`);
+      expect(result).toHaveText(matchAll(getFirstCharacterCapitalized(entity.name)));
+    });
+
+    it('renders with defaults, if no options are given', () => {
+      const entity = {
+        id: 1,
+        name: 'tanuki',
+      };
+
+      const result = renderIdenticon(entity);
+
+      expect(result).toHaveClass(`identicon ${DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS} bg2`);
+      expect(result).toHaveText(matchAll(getFirstCharacterCapitalized(entity.name)));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('renderAvatar', () => {
+    it('renders an image with the avatarUrl', () => {
+      const avatarUrl = `${TEST_HOST}/not-real-assets/test.png`;
+
+      const result = renderAvatar({
+        avatar_url: avatarUrl,
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toBeMatchedBy('img');
+      expect(result).toHaveAttr('src', avatarUrl);
+      expect(result).toHaveClass(DEFAULT_SIZE_CLASS);
+    });
+
+    it('renders an identicon if no avatarUrl', () => {
+      const entity = {
+        id: 1,
+        name: 'walrus',
+      };
+      const options = {
+        sizeClass: 's16',
+      };
+
+      const result = renderAvatar(entity, options);
+
+      expect(result).toHaveClass(`identicon ${options.sizeClass} bg2`);
+      expect(result).toHaveText(matchAll(getFirstCharacterCapitalized(entity.name)));
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility_spec.js
index 33987574f00..d60485b1308 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/lib/utils/text_utility_spec.js
@@ -112,4 +112,21 @@ describe('text_utility', () => {
       expect(textUtils.splitCamelCase('HelloWorld')).toBe('Hello World');
     });
   });
+
+  describe('getFirstCharacterCapitalized', () => {
+    it('returns the first character captialized, if first character is alphabetic', () => {
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized('loremIpsumDolar')).toEqual('L');
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized('Sit amit !')).toEqual('S');
+    });
+
+    it('returns the first character, if first character is non-alphabetic', () => {
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized(' lorem')).toEqual(' ');
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized('%#!')).toEqual('%');
+    });
+
+    it('returns an empty string, if string is falsey', () => {
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized('')).toEqual('');
+      expect(textUtils.getFirstCharacterCapitalized(null)).toEqual('');
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon_spec.js
index 647680f00f7..0719800c682 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/vue_shared/components/identicon_spec.js
@@ -25,19 +25,12 @@ describe('IdenticonComponent', () => {
       vm.$destroy();
     });
 
-    describe('identiconStyles', () => {
-      it('should return styles attribute value with `background-color` property', () => {
+    describe('identiconBackgroundClass', () => {
+      it('should return bg class based on entityId', () => {
         vm.entityId = 4;
 
-        expect(vm.identiconStyles).toBeDefined();
-        expect(vm.identiconStyles.indexOf('background-color: #E0F2F1;') > -1).toBeTruthy();
-      });
-
-      it('should return styles attribute value with `color` property', () => {
-        vm.entityId = 4;
-
-        expect(vm.identiconStyles).toBeDefined();
-        expect(vm.identiconStyles.indexOf('color: #555;') > -1).toBeTruthy();
+        expect(vm.identiconBackgroundClass).toBeDefined();
+        expect(vm.identiconBackgroundClass).toBe('bg5');
       });
     });
 
@@ -58,7 +51,7 @@ describe('IdenticonComponent', () => {
       expect(vm.$el.nodeName).toBe('DIV');
       expect(vm.$el.classList.contains('identicon')).toBeTruthy();
       expect(vm.$el.classList.contains('s40')).toBeTruthy();
-      expect(vm.$el.getAttribute('style').indexOf('background-color') > -1).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(vm.$el.classList.contains('bg2')).toBeTruthy();
       vm.$destroy();
     });