It may have become one of the most popular tools for group collaboration within the enterprise since e-mail, but many business users don’t sound like they’re ready to work with the new Slack logo.
On Wednesday Slack published a blog post and took to social media announcing the reband, which also included a purple color scheme for its dashboard and changes to its app icon.
“It’s not change for the sake of change,” the company said in its post, adding that one of the issues was the many ways in which the previous Slack logo was improperly represented. “It was 11 different colors—and if placed on any color other than white, or at the wrong angle (instead of the precisely prescribed 18º rotation), or with the colors tweaked wrong, it looked terrible. It pained us.”
The rebrand, however, seemed to have pained many Slack users on Twitter. While initial reactions to such changes can be tough on consumer brands, the social media fallout about the Slack logo shows the same can be true in the B2B realm.
(Note: As a professional media publication, B2B News Network has left out the comments comparing the logo to body parts or political symbols, but unfortunately that was only the tip of the iceberg.)
Here’s how the story of the new Slack logo started:
Ta-da! From today, Slack has a new logo, the start of a general refresh of our look. A little simpler, a little clearer, and (we think) a little better. Read more about this change in the handy blog post we’ve written about it: https://t.co/LT1ju7kGxw pic.twitter.com/aceZMCb5St
— Slack (@SlackHQ) January 16, 2019
And soon enough, the shock and horror:
The slack rebrand? Why? 😬😳 pic.twitter.com/VVjji0vwND
— Ashley Willis (McNamara) (@ashleymcnamara) January 17, 2019
Slack did get some praise, however, for at least trying to communicate its strategy:
This is by far one of my favorite write-ups about why a company changed their logo. No bullshit buzzword designerspeak, no golden section diagrams, just a very clear and simple explanation. Well done: https://t.co/Z49drlkKFM
— Mitch Goldstein (@mgoldst) January 17, 2019
A good, no-nonsense explanation of why Slack evolved their logo. Love it or hate it, this is exactly how brands should write about this sort of thing. Concentrate on the whys & leave out the geometry dissertations. My only change is that I'd probably put the "TLDR" at the top 🙂 https://t.co/DZIjfwpkvK
— Mike Davidson (@mikeindustries) January 16, 2019
Pentagram, the agency that assisted with the rebrand, was obviously supportive of its client’s overall approach:
Why change? When @SlackHQ approached us for a new logo, that was my first question. What they told us was pretty much the best brief I've ever received. You can read it here. Thanks to @stewart & team for being great collaborators https://t.co/9YFW9BZqa4
— Michael Bierut (@michaelbierut) January 17, 2019
But then came the unfortunate comparisons . . .
I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Personally I love Slack’s fresh, unique, never-been-seen-before logo update… pic.twitter.com/tpFc9PuPGk
— Ryan (@rynltylr) January 17, 2019
Moodboard for Slack's new logo #slacklogo pic.twitter.com/gLeWWpcOJG
— Laura Padilla (@lauvpadilla) January 17, 2019
#slack's new logo is very similar to #meredith's. Look at those colors. Love the color choices, but they're pretty close to one another. pic.twitter.com/rlFzszZRRN
— r y a n r y an ry. (@Ryaneatpixel) January 16, 2019
. . . the instant satires:
Clippy how you have changed. #slacklogo #slackbot #clippy pic.twitter.com/ra5vCQ5OOr
— Nate Schloesser (@nateschloesser) January 17, 2019
I sense a merger coming on @SlackHQ @DrPepperSnapple #slacklogo pic.twitter.com/rCy1GTpZfk
— Krishnanand Kelkar (@KrisKelkar) January 17, 2019
Not a fan! #Slack #slacklogo pic.twitter.com/Yv8vzJT7ma
— Sara 🍜 (@WhatLastsLasts) January 17, 2019
We all love ducks! 🐣🐥🦆 #slacklogo #slack pic.twitter.com/IhVlkyTg9a
— Dan (@Betraydan) January 17, 2019
. . . the ‘What’s all the fuss about?” GIFs:
Reaction to new Slack logo pic.twitter.com/pkrinljsIG
— Bobby Anderson 🖍 (@8obbyanderson) January 17, 2019
Slack listening to everyone’s feedback on their new logo pic.twitter.com/JPjBF5r0Ga
— Michael S Galpert (@msg) January 16, 2019
. . . and a few takes from people who seemed to actually know something about design:
The juiciest part of my hot take on Slack is not about the logo. It's that the rationale for it is so weak.
You don't get this outcome from having a logo that doesn't work in every context, you get it from a team without a cohesive vision and strong guidelines. pic.twitter.com/XDiWpeQptt
— Ariel Norling (@ariel_n) January 16, 2019
I’ll miss the old Slack logo, but wow the problems they cite here around design consistency and cohesion are REAL in brand systems — this stuff is hard. I do prefer the previous two-story `a` tho 😉https://t.co/XPqEBuIh72
— Jason Santa Maria (@jasonsantamaria) January 16, 2019
. . . and a mournful last look back.
RIP old Slack logo, we’ll miss you :((( pic.twitter.com/UDAZD9mkzz
— kwando (@kwando1313) January 17, 2019
Latest posts by Shane Schick (see all)
- Drift CMO Tricia Gellman discusses her new role, key priorities and the future of conversational marketing - November 22, 2019
- TrustRadius study shows spike in Millennial buyers and a lot of single decision-maker purchasing - November 21, 2019
- Unbounce product director says Smart Traffic will assess five factors to boost conversions - November 20, 2019