57 comments

  • Shane McCleeryShane McCleery, over 4 years ago

    Looks like a swastika made of dicks.

    Edit: I do like the negative space though, but still... come on.

    41 points
  • Cameron GettyCameron Getty, over 4 years ago

    Not feeling it. Their old branding was iconic, friendly, and related to their product. I'm failing to see how this has any relation to the brand they've built and their product (not that it necessarily has to), and this new one feels more like a healthcare service from the 2000s.

    37 points
    • Asher SimondsAsher Simonds, over 4 years ago

      I see it relating more conceptually now - communication (the speech bubbles) and things/work/whatever coming together from different areas. If you squint real hard it can also look like a tightly drawn hashmark, but ends up having the plus sign silhouette.

      The "authenticity" of the original mark is missing, but maybe now that they've captured that initial market segment they're looking to appear more professional to a new one.

      5 points
      • Cameron GettyCameron Getty, over 4 years ago

        I guess I can see that, if I really try to. The chat bubbles are too subtle to read as chat bubbles right off the bat, and aren’t chat bubbles in a logo outdone at this point? I see what you’re saying with things coming together from different areas, but I’m sure that could’ve been executed better, especially coming from Pentagram. I don’t see any form of hashtag in there, but that’s just me.

        Definitely agree they lost their authenticity with the new branding. Just feels so cold, now.

        4 points
      • Sven LoskillSven Loskill, over 4 years ago

        The real stunner is that it is conceptually so unsound. From Pentagram you’d expect at least something deeply thought through. But everything John Gruber says here rings true: https://daringfireball.net/linked/2019/01/16/slack-bland-new-logo

        And if you look at this: https://daringfireball.net/2019/01/pentagramslackrangeofpossibilities

        it even feels more like lazy junior work.

        2 points
        • Cameron GettyCameron Getty, over 4 years ago

          Thanks for sharing these! I love Gruber, and he's on the money here.

          0 points
        • Matt C, over 4 years ago

          No one who doesn’t use Slack would know that; many people who do use Slack don’t know that

          He complains the first logo requires too much intimate knowledge of slack to appeal to the general public.

          it again suggests Pentagram doesn’t even use Slack.

          Then later claims that Pentagram doesn't even use Slack.

          Logo design, and really design in general includes TONS of mocks that just end up not working at all. Every logo ever designed has a bunch of garbage on a canvas somewhere. I thought it was neat how Pentagram showed their iterations.

          John Gruber, as usual, has no idea what he's talking about.

          -3 points
    • Andrew C, over 4 years ago

      This captures my sentiment as well. The trouble in execution of old one may have been tough to deal with but the results were distinctively warm and chalk full of product meaning.

      Maybe the constraints of execution actually contributed positively?

      0 points
    • Mike StevensonMike Stevenson, over 4 years ago

      I’m trying REALLY hard to like it and I just can’t. The app icon especially bothers me for some reason.

      1 point
    • Cihad TurhanCihad Turhan, over 4 years ago

      Here is your healthcare service logo: Healtcare

      3 points
  • Daniel GoldenDaniel Golden, over 4 years ago

    Can't wait for the Brand New post on this.

    11 points
  • G Lukacs, over 4 years ago

    Quick 2¢:

    I mean, I don't hate it. I don't really like it either though. Feels a lot more generic. Not sure it achieves the "more instantly recognizable" thing they're looking for.

    The post suggests that without consistency, a brand is unrecognisable, but I don't think I ever had any trouble identifying that something was "made by Slack". They use old landing page illustrations to show how things have become "inconsistent", but I haven't seen those landing pages in ~18 months, so why would they influence the way I see the brand now? It feels like they're trying to justify the changes to a design lecturer by creating this false narrative that "nobody understands when something is made by Slack, because the colours are different sometimes". Right, okay.

    I mean, if Slack is all about "hearing different voices", then surely different interpretations of the hash mark is your brand? Different points of view that see the brand in different ways, but with one common thing that binds them all together, the hash mark. Surely that's the whole point? To celebrate difference within the same. Why would a top-down, enforced design system represent the diversity of the people that use Slack better than, you know, the many different interpretations of the brand created by the many different perspectives that actually make up their user base? Surely you can fashion these different perspectives into something more conceptually strong than another top-down design system that will inevitably fail to enforce compliance. The hash is everywhere, and it's the thing people think about when they think "Slack". Is it really worth sacrificing that deep-seated recognition at the altar of consistency?

    If anything, it just seems like a missed opportunity to involve the community in the decision making process (and to reinforce core brand values, that people's voices come first, that discussion is important, and so on). "We really care about hearing what you have to say, so we decided to give the community some options to choose from." It just seems like an obvious home run.

    It does work well on different colours, and some of the applications are really nice, but I think it's a stretch to think that people see that logo and go "Oh yes, that's definitely speech bubbles coming from different directions, which is what Slack is all about". The hash felt very.. iconic, and it's everywhere in the application. I just feel like there was an immediate, obvious connection that now feels lost in the shuffle.

    10 points
  • Nic TrentNic Trent, over 4 years ago

    New type feels much fresher. Its branding applications are lookin pretty good.

    “…comprised of two basic geometric shapes—a speech bubble and lozenge—that can be extracted and used as graphic elements. The speech bubble evokes communication and connectivity, and will form the basis of a system of customized icons, illustrations and motifs with rounded corners that echo the shapes of the logo.”

    Image title

    Image title

    Image title

    5 points
  • Jennifer Nguyen, over 4 years ago

    Does anyone else see this as the Google Photos logo but positioned upside down?

    5 points
  • Chris KeithChris Keith, over 4 years ago

    My first thought is “pinwheel”. Their old logo was one of my favorites.

    4 points
  • Ducu Buzoianu, over 4 years ago

    Preview: swastikamadeofdicks.png

    Link: https://i.ibb.co/P4PPQR9/nice-logo-btw.png

    3 points
  • Adam Fisher-CoxAdam Fisher-Cox, over 4 years ago

    It's fine - I doubt their logo in and of itself matters too much to their business and everyone will forget it's different in a couple months. This one solves a lot of problems from a consistency and versatility standpoint too. My only gripe is the dark purple background they're using with it a lot - it makes the colors look muddy and is super low-contrast. Not great for an icon you want to find easily many times a day. I would prefer it on white.

    3 points
  • Charlie PrattCharlie Pratt, over 4 years ago

    I like it. Brand refreshes are inevitable, and this one feels fresh and friendly.

    3 points
  • John PJohn P, over 4 years ago

    Loved the justification blogpost

    "We changed it because our own designers couldn't use the old one correctly"

    Sounds like the problem was more poor designers or a poor creative director

    2 points
  • Joe Roberto, over 4 years ago

    Hey, Look! Another terrible execute & not-needed rebrand! Shame on you Slack... you have sadly been filed next to Dropbox on this one.

    2 points
  • Rick KhannaRick Khanna, over 4 years ago

    LOL slack community churchhttps://twitter.com/charles_miller/status/1085617746346430465

    1 point
  • Radu VilcuRadu Vilcu, over 4 years ago

    Doesn't get the job done, especially in small dimensions.

    1 point
  • Jan SemlerJan Semler, over 4 years ago

    Wrong Move. The old one was quite nice and still fresh and most of all: Timeless. if you play it right. This is just: we want something new. Why? Because.

    1 point
  • Sylvain MarettoSylvain Maretto, over 4 years ago

    "It was 11 colors". I only count 8 colors.

    1 point
  • Allen Djal, over 4 years ago

    Reminds me of the Picasa logo from Google:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxEURmsUcAA8xV5.jpg

    1 point
  • Pedchenko AleksandrPedchenko Aleksandr, over 4 years ago

    please get back!

    0 points
  • Dana (dmxt)Dana (dmxt), over 4 years ago

    :(

    0 points
  • Arthur Simon, over 4 years ago

    I think the new logo would be served much better with the old white background.

    0 points
  • Ollie BarkerOllie Barker, over 4 years ago

    I like it.

    0 points
  • Christopher ComeauChristopher Comeau, over 4 years ago

    Awesome! I think I like it even more because it's not plain, black and white, sans serif text.

    0 points
  • Yannic NachnameYannic Nachname, over 4 years ago

    Can anyone tell me where Pentagram found eleven colors in Slacks old logo? I count eight.

    The Pentagram article I talk about.

    0 points
  • Philip A, over 4 years ago

    The small shapes look like sweat drops, not conversation bubbles. Which is how you feel when you get back to your desk with 50+ unread :D

    0 points
  • Jonathon HalliwellJonathon Halliwell, over 4 years ago

    Terrible

    -2 points
  • Vaibhav Kanwal, over 4 years ago

    The new logo moves away from the language centric "S" approach to a more language agnostic idea. Consider the possibilities of using regional languages where users won't feel alienated by an "S".

    This may be a step in the right direction I think.

    -3 points