Take Slack to the next level with the redesign #️⃣

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Slack has begun rolling out a redesigned interface, along with a set of additional features designed to create what they’ve dubbed a simpler, more organized Slack. If this tool is already remarkable in terms of organizing and managing teams in terms of communication, it’s even more so now.

But why has Slack undertaken this overhaul today?🤔

As a reminder, Slack is a proprietary collaborative communications platform created in August 2013, officially launched in February 2014 and acquired by Salesforce since December 2020.

In other words, Slack’s appeal lies in its ability to combine messaging for businesses by connecting people to the information they need, and communication for organizations by connecting people to collaborate as one unified team.

However, Slack is many things. That’s a bit of a problem 😓because the platform combines a group chat app with an alerting system, a file storage system, a knowledge base and all the other things contained in Salesforce’s « digital headquarters » slogan into one. This overabundance of functionality has led to a situation where some features have become cluttered, inconspicuous or both, complicating the management of workspaces.

So it’s against this backdrop that Slack is making changes 🤗 and is about to roll out its most extensive overhaul to date, changing both the look and layout of the app to make things easier to find and manage.

Let’s discover Slack’s new interface 😎

After adding numerous features over the past few months, Slack will gradually roll out a brand new user interface.

« This major transformation of Slack’s ergonomics […] aims to support businesses and enable their employees to be more productive, organized and focused, » explains the publisher in a press release. In particular, these changes aim to put an « end to the back-and-forth between the different entities » of the platform and respond to the following watchwords: « Organization, focus and productivity », in the words of Brad Monroe, director product management at Slack.

To this end, a new « Home » view has been created. It differs from the previous version by the appearance of a third navigation pane, providing an overview with direct access to channels and private messages.

And for users with several workspaces on the platform via Entreprise Grid, it will be possible, directly from this home view, to display or preview the channels in each space, avoiding the need to switch from one to the other.

©Slack

Streamlining the user experience: Slack’s big promise 🤗

The aim of the new interface is « to let you concentrate on your work, at your own pace ». To this end, it now includes :

• A new display dedicated to direct messages,
• An « Activity » button, which includes notifications relating to mentions, threads, reactions and applications,
• A « Later » area, where you can save a message or an action,
• A « More » button for quick access to your various tools (canvas, automated workflows, applications, etc.).

©Slack

In addition, each of these buttons – DM, Activity, Later and More – displays information on hover and can be expanded in the central display pane.

Finally, two more buttons appear at the bottom of the left-hand navigation pane.

• The first is for Slack search. This evolves in parallel, allowing you to click on each result to « view its context without having to go back and forth », and to filter your search.
• Finally, a + or Create button lets you send new messages, create channels, canvas or team calls.

©Slack

Over time, Slack has evolved. Initially, the platform was a useful tool that kept us connected. Now it’s a central platform, essential to our operations. This new interface optimizes our workspace, so we can stay more focused and maintain our momentum on tasks while making it easier to quickly access our favorite tools in Slack, » explains Noah Weiss, product director at Slack.

Sources: Slack, CNET France