diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/explorer.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/explorer.less
index b82109a5a..f1900554c 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/explorer.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/explorer.less
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ max z-index: unknown;
     -webkit-perspective-origin: 50% 200%;
     -moz-perspective-origin: 50% 200%;
     perspective-origin: 50% 200%;
+    
     ul {
         background: @color-grey-1;
         padding: 0;
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/formatters.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/formatters.less
index 22c785f69..2f14e0660 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/formatters.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/formatters.less
@@ -111,15 +111,17 @@
     .border-radius(2px);
     text-transform:uppercase;
     padding:0em 0.5em;
-    border:1px solid @color-grey-3;
-    color:@color-grey-3;
+    border:1px solid lighten(@color-grey-2,30%);
+    color:lighten(@color-grey-2,30%);
     -webkit-font-smoothing: auto;
     font-size:0.80em;
     margin:0 0.5em;
+    background:white url(/static/verdantadmin/images/bg-dark-diag.svg);
     
     &.primary{
         color:@color-grey-2;
         border:1px solid @color-grey-2;
+        background:white
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/forms.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/forms.less
index a1d2e7a32..234acabf3 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/forms.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/forms.less
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ input[type=submit], input[type=reset], input[type=button], .button, button{
         position:absolute;
         right:1em;
         top:1em;
-        color:@color-grey-2;
+        color:white;
         overflow:hidden;
         .border-radius(2px);
         
@@ -299,7 +299,6 @@ input[type=submit], input[type=reset], input[type=button], .button, button{
         }
 
         .icon:before{
-            vertical-align:-1%;
             line-height:2em;
         }
         .icon:hover{
@@ -664,7 +663,7 @@ input[type=submit], input[type=reset], input[type=button], .button, button{
 
             &:before{
                 width:2.2em;
-                line-height:2.3em;
+                line-height:2.35em;
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/icons.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/icons.less
index 08f97a046..98e335c94 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/icons.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/icons.less
@@ -230,5 +230,6 @@
         width:100%;
         line-height:1.2em;
         text-align:center;
+        vertical-align:0;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/listing.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/listing.less
index 3abaf457a..c008ec9f2 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/listing.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/listing.less
@@ -141,13 +141,31 @@ ul.listing{
     }
 
     .index {
+        color:white;
         background-color:@color-header-bg;
+
         .title h2{
-            font-size:1.2em; 
+            font-size:1.2em;
+            color:white;
+            opacity:1;
+            a{
+                .transition(opacity 0.2s ease);
+            }
+            a:hover{
+                opacity:0.7;
+                color:white;
+            }
         }
         a{
             color:auto;
         }
+        .actions{
+            margin-top:1.5em;
+            
+            a{
+                color:white;
+            }
+        }
     }
 
 
@@ -230,7 +248,7 @@ ul.listing{
         padding:0 !important;
         border-left:1px dashed @color-input-border;
         &:hover{
-            background-color:@color-header-bg;
+            background-color:@color-grey-5;
         }
     }
     .children a,
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/tabs.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/tabs.less
index 950a43208..e1ffb1f91 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/tabs.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/components/tabs.less
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 .tab-nav{
     .clearfix();
-    border:1px solid @color-grey-4;
-    border-width:0 0 1px 1px;
     padding:0;
 
     li{
         list-style-type:none;
         width:48%;
         float:left;
-        border:1px solid @color-grey-4;
-        border-width:0px 1px;
-        background-color:@color-grey-5;
-        margin-right:2px;
+        padding:0;
+
+        &:before,&:after{
+            display:none;
+        }
     }
     a{
+        .transition(border-color 0.2s ease);
+        background-color:@color-grey-4;
         outline:none;
         line-height:3em;
         text-transform:uppercase;
@@ -23,21 +24,19 @@
         display:block;
         padding:0 20px;
         color:@color-grey-2;
+        border-top:0.3em solid darken(@color-grey-4,0%);
         border-bottom:1px solid transparent;
-        border-top:0.3em solid @color-grey-3;
-        margin:0 -1px;
 
         &:hover{
             color:inherit;
-            border-top-color:@color-grey-3;
+            border-top-color:@color-grey-2;
         }
     }
 
     li.active a{
+        color:@color-grey-1;
         background-color:white;
-        border-top:0.3em solid @color-grey-1;  
-        border-bottom:2px solid white;
-        margin-bottom:-1px;
+        border-top:0.3em solid @color-grey-1;      
     }
 
     /* For cases where tab-nav should merge with header */
@@ -59,10 +58,9 @@
 
 @media screen and (min-width: @breakpoint-mobile){
     .tab-nav li{
-        float:none;
         width:auto;
         padding:0;
-        display:inline-block;
+        margin-left:0.5em;
     }
 
     .tab-nav a{
@@ -71,9 +69,6 @@
 
     .modal-content .tab-nav li{
         padding:0;
-        min-width:110px;
-    }
-    .modal-content .tab-nav li{
         min-width:0;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/core.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/core.less
index 44da70efa..4ede1a630 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/core.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/core.less
@@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ img{
             font-size:0.9em;
             font-weight:400;
             white-space:nowrap;
+            text-shadow:-1px -1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);
 
             &:before{
                 margin-right:0.3em;
@@ -319,7 +320,8 @@ img{
 
     .explorer{
         position:absolute;
-        margin-top:150px; /* same as .nav-main */
+        margin-top:149px; /* same as .nav-main minus 1 pixel for border */
+        font-size:0.9em;
     }
 
 .content-wrapper{
@@ -377,12 +379,11 @@ header{
     padding-top:1.5em;
     padding-bottom:1em;
     background-color: @color-header-bg;
-    border-bottom:1px solid @color-grey-4;
     margin-bottom:2em;
+    color:white;
 
     h1, h2{
         margin:0;
-        color:white;
     }
 
     .left, .right{
@@ -403,6 +404,7 @@ header{
     }
     .search-bar input{
         width:auto;
+        border-width:0;
     }
     .right{
         text-align:right;
@@ -432,6 +434,8 @@ header{
 
 footer{
     .row();
+    .border-radius(3px 3px 0 0);
+    .box-shadow(0px 0px 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.5));
     background: @color-grey-1;
     position:fixed;
     bottom:0;
@@ -514,7 +518,7 @@ footer{
             text-overflow:ellipsis;
             overflow:hidden;
             line-height:1.6em;
-            text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 white;
+            text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.5);
         }
 
         &:after, &:before{
@@ -537,6 +541,7 @@ footer{
 
             a{
                 color:white;
+                text-shadow:none;
             }
         }         
         &:hover:after {
@@ -821,7 +826,7 @@ footer, .logo{
     }
 }
 
-/* Transitions */
+/* Transitions (resolution agnostic) */
 .content-wrapper,
 .nav-main,
 #nav-toggle,
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/home.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/home.less
index 81204c369..d6e43555c 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/home.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/home.less
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ header{
         margin-right:1em;
         padding:0;
     }
+    h1,h2{
+        color:white;
+    }
     h2{
         text-transform:none;
     }
@@ -23,8 +26,9 @@ header{
 
 .summary{
     .row();
-    background-color:@color-header-bg;
-   
+    background-color:@color-grey-5;
+    margin-bottom:2em;
+
     h2{
         .visuallyhidden();
     }
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/page-editor.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/page-editor.less
index 4ee3252a4..ba2246350 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/page-editor.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/layouts/page-editor.less
@@ -6,15 +6,10 @@
 }
 
 .objects{
-    margin-top:-1em;
-    padding-top:1em;
     background:url(@{static-root}bg-dark-diag.svg);
 }
 .object{  
-
     position:relative;
-    /*border:1px solid @color-grey-4;
-    border-width:1px 0 0 0;*/
     overflow:hidden;
     .nice-padding();
 
@@ -65,11 +60,10 @@
 
     > h2, &.single-field label{
         -webkit-font-smoothing: auto;
-        .border-radius(2px);
         background:@color-grey-3 url(@{static-root}bg-light-diag.svg);
         text-transform:uppercase;
         padding:0.9em 0 0.9em 4em;
-        font-size:1em;
+        font-size:0.95em;
         margin:0 0 0.2em 0;
         line-height:1.5em;
         font-weight:normal;
@@ -79,6 +73,7 @@
         right:0;
         z-index:1;
         text-shadow:1px 1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.5);
+        .box-shadow(0 0 7px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.4));
 
         &:before{
             font-family:verdant;
@@ -90,7 +85,7 @@
             z-index:2;
             font-size:2em;
             top:0px;
-            line-height:1.7em;
+            line-height:1.6em;
             left:0px;
             width:1.7em;
             opacity:0.15;
@@ -100,6 +95,16 @@
         }
     }
 
+    .richtext{
+        padding-top:1em; /* to provide space for editor buttons */
+        padding-bottom:1em;
+
+        &.inEditMode{
+            padding-top:5em; /* to provide space for editor buttons */
+            padding-bottom:2em;
+        }
+    }
+
     &.single-field{
         h2, .object-help{
             display:none; /* The field label is used instead */
@@ -108,6 +113,8 @@
 
     /* Special full-width, one-off fields i.e a single text or textarea input */
     &.full{
+        padding-left:0;
+
         h2{
             display:none; /* The field label is used instead */
         }
@@ -136,10 +143,8 @@
 
         input, textarea, .richtext{
             .nice-padding();
-            .pull-padding(2);
-            font-family:Bitter, Georgia, serif;
             .border-radius(0px);
-           
+            font-family:Bitter, Georgia, serif;           
             padding-top:2em;
             padding-bottom:2em;
             font-size:1.2em;
@@ -149,6 +154,12 @@
 
         .richtext{
             padding-top:3em; /* to provide space for editor buttons */
+            padding-bottom:3em;
+
+            &.inEditMode{
+                padding-top:5em; /* to provide space for editor buttons */
+                padding-bottom:5em;
+            }
         }
 
         .error-message{
@@ -228,7 +239,7 @@
                     position:relative;
                     color:white;
                     padding:0;
-                    line-height:1.9em; /* specific height required as parent 'a' has no height */
+                    line-height:1.8em; /* specific height required as parent 'a' has no height */
                     font-size:1.4rem;
                     width:100%;
                     background-color:transparent;
@@ -243,6 +254,7 @@
     }
 }   
 
+
 /* styles applied to an element as it is being reordered */
 .preview{
     padding-top:1em;
@@ -279,6 +291,9 @@
                 padding-left:0;
                 padding-right:0;
             }
+            input, textarea, .richtext{
+                border-width:0 1px;
+            }
         }
         .multiple{
             .column(10);
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/panels/rich-text.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/panels/rich-text.less
index b3120ec17..a5359e7b2 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/panels/rich-text.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/panels/rich-text.less
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
     position:absolute;
     left:50px;
     z-index:5;
-    margin-top:3em;
-    margin-left:50px;
+    margin-top:4em;
+    margin-left:0em;
 }
 .hallotoolbar.affixed{
     position:fixed;
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
         }
     }
     &.inEditMode {
+
         .rich-text-deletable a.delete-control {
             display: block;
         }
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/variables.less b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/variables.less
index 872169144..486aac27c 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/variables.less
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/css/variables.less
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 @color-grey-5: #fafafa;
 
 @color-thead-bg: @color-grey-5;
-@color-header-bg: @color-teal;
+@color-header-bg: #ff6a58;
 @color-fieldset-hover: @color-grey-5;
 @color-input-border: @color-grey-3;
 @color-input-focus: #f4fcfc;
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-dark-diag.svg b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-dark-diag.svg
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ec7a14a60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-dark-diag.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
+<svg width="5px" height="5px" viewBox="0 0 5 5" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
+    <defs>
+        <style type="text/css">
+            <![CDATA[
+                rect {
+                    fill: #000;
+                    fill-opacity:0.1;
+                }
+            ]]>
+        </style>
+    </defs>
+    <g>
+        <rect x="0" y="4" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="1" y="3" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="2" y="2" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="3" y="1" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="4" y="0" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+    </g>
+</svg>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-light-diag.svg b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-light-diag.svg
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c8e54916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static/wagtailadmin/images/bg-light-diag.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
+<svg width="5px" height="5px" viewBox="0 0 5 5" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
+    <defs>
+        <style type="text/css">
+            <![CDATA[
+                rect {
+                    fill: #FFF;
+                    fill-opacity:0.3;
+                }
+            ]]>
+        </style>
+    </defs>
+    <g>
+        <rect x="0" y="4" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="1" y="3" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="2" y="2" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="3" y="1" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+        <rect x="4" y="0" width="1" height="1"></rect>
+    </g>
+</svg>
\ No newline at end of file