1
Since its launch in August 2013, Slack has gained popularity at an alarming pace. What was once a nice-to-have professional communication space is now an indispensable tool for millions of businesses worldwide. In the current remote-working climate, it’s even become the closest thing many companies have to an office space. It’s the boardroom, meeting area, and office water cooler all in one.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Slack routinely adds new features to better service its members and provide new ways to communicate. Huddles, Slack’s answer to Zoom, allows users to set up quick video calls. Threads enables workers to organize discussions around specific messages. Canvas lets users create and collaborate on shared documents.
Slack is constantly updating its service for the better. Unfortunately, this has led the tool to become cluttered and – particularly for new users – tricky to navigate. Slack acknowledges this. In response, they’ve unveiled a significant redesign aimed at simplifying the app and making it more accessible. Remote workers, rejoice!
Image Credits: Slack
You’ll immediately notice that the left-hand toolbar has changed substantially. Direct Messages (DMs) now have their own button. The Activity widget handles all mentions, group channels, and threads. Slack also now offers users the chance to tag non-urgent messages for later viewing. These will appear in the ‘Later’ tab.
One of the most significant changes is the implementation of a ‘create’ tool (represented by a plus icon in the bottom left of the interface). This widget groups the options to create new messages, canvases, huddles, and channels. Previously, these options were separate and often tough to locate (how many new users knew that the headphones icon started a huddle)?
All in all, Slack’s new redesign feels very reminiscent of modern social media layouts. The latest update is effective, simple, and – we hope – a considerable upgrade for designers and developers looking to streamline their workflow. The new interface will steadily roll out this week to free users. Premium users will receive the update later this fall, presumably once Slack has the opportunity to iron out any bugs.
The 10 Best Logos of 2023 – Ranked
We’ve witnessed a plethora of exciting logo designs in 2023. Some have been absolutely awful (we’ll miss you, Twitter). Others have been incredible and a much-needed breath of fresh air…
Everything You Need to Know About Image Formats In 2024
With the world around us becoming increasingly visual, it’s essential that the modern-day designer has a firm grasp on file formats. From PSDs and PDFs to BMPs and SVGs, every…
Weekly Design News #2
7 Important Visual Hierarchy Design Principles 2023 This article discusses the most important visual hierarchy design principles that new designers need to follow if they want their app interfaces or…
Weekly Design News #1
Every Sunday we’re rounding up the best of the previous week’s stories from webdesignernews.com, and in this issue #1, we picked typography trends, creating a parallax slider with Anime.js, and…
Elon Musk calls LinkedIn ‘Cringe’—Announces Competitor
It seems we can’t go for one week without talking about Elon Musk, but the news simply writes itself. In a recent post, The Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI owner announced…
WhatsApp’s New UI Redesign—Here’s What You Need to Know
WhatsApp has been millions of Americans’ go-to messaging service for over a decade now. And it’s showing no sign of slowing down. The social media giant has been continually adding…