Slack is a proprietary business communication platform, which was created with the aim of “changing the way people work and communicate” and helping workers to boost their productivity. It can be described as a freemium product. The company Slack Technologies, which is behind this project, was founded in 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The update of the Slack logo that took place in 2019 attracted some bad publicity in spite of the fact that it was carried out by the highly regarded Pentagram agency led by well-known graphic designer Michael Beirut. Slack founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield and the in-house design and brand team also took an active part in the project.
What is Slack
Slack has gained popularity as a cloud-based set of proprietary collaboration tools. It was created by US software company Slack Technologies and released in 2013. The range of IRC-style features offered by the product ranges from chat channels to private groups to direct messaging.
The most memorable part of the earliest logo was the hashtag (octothorpe) sign, which combined rather watered-down shades of yellow, green, blue, and red. Next to it, there was the name of the brand in an austere lowercase sans. The wordmark also seemed slightly watered-down – like when you’re trying to make black using the watercolors and instead are always getting dark gray.
To begin with, the iconic hashtag was replaced by a more intricate combination of shorter bars and small drops (or “a speech bubble and lozenge,” as the Pentagram agency explained). What made it similar to the hashtag shape was that it could also be broken down into four symmetrical parts, each of a different color.
One of the most obvious updates concerned the palette. The watercolor yellow, green, blue, and red of the previous logo were replaced by bold and vivid, more straightforward shades. The dark gray of the wordmark became black, which also resulted in a more pronounced contrast.
The redesign turned out to be quite controversial. According to the Pentagram agency, which was responsible for the project, their aim was to “capture… the simplicity and ease of use” of the product, while also making the design appropriate for the use “in different scales and contexts.” Also, some people suggested that the new brand identity could be part of the company’s preparation for the forthcoming IPO.
At first glance, the new Slack logo seems to meet these criteria. Why was it criticized?
The worst reason was that the negative space inside the logo formed a whimsical swastika, something noticed by many users. Also, some sources noted it resembled logos of some medical groups and even Google Photos.
On balance, we can’t but mention that when it comes to minimalist logotypes (and modern logos made for large companies should meet this criterion), many of them are based on a limited number of geometric shapes and patterns. Certain similarities are unavoidable. So, when someone wants to pick holes, they will be able to do it without the need to spend much time or effort.
The original emblem included as many as eleven colors, which made it look muddled under certain circumstances. The palette of the following version was reduced to only four. This resulted in a more practical, wholesome design.
The type in the Slack logo was also slightly updated becoming simpler. It is most obvious in the case of the “a,” which adopted a more streamlined shape.
Why did Slack change its logo?
The redesign of the Slack badge was held to create a more visible and better readable icon for the online platform, as the previous badge looked very messy and blurred when placed on any background but white. The current version of the Slack logo is modern, vivid, and confident, unlike the previous one.
Is Slack a trademark?
Yes, Slack is a registered trademark, which is owned by the mother company of the platform, Slack Technologies Inc. So if you want to use the official Slack logo for your purposes, you should get permission from the copyright holder.
What is the Slack logo?
The primary logo of Slack is composed of a heavy black lowercase logotype executed in a geometric sans-serif typeface with the bars cut straight and the contours clean, followed by a graphical emblem in a multicolor palette. The emblem features a stylized geometric flower, formed by four elongated lines with rounded ends, and four drops, separating them. Each pair of a line and a drop is set in one of four colors: red, blue, green, or yellow.
When was the Slack logo changed?
The redesign of the Slack logo was held in 2019 after the first version of the platform’s badge was introduced in 2013. The changes were made to the graphical part of the logo, to make it more memorable, readable, and strong.