The jury is out on whether the new look that Slack has chosen for its logo is good or bad. The popular business chat platform made the switch from its multi-color hashtag or octothorpe to one interspersed with rounded rectangles and speech bubbles. With this it joins a group of popular brands such as Uber and Airbnb who have switched logos in the recent past.

Slack users and fans have come out with praise as well as not so favorable opinions about the new logo. While some have said it reminds them of rubber ducks, others compare it to the logo of the Girl Scouts. Meanwhile, Slack has claimed that the redesign is an attempt to simplify the original logo to ensure cohesive imagery across the company and the product as the many colors used in the original logo made it extremely difficult for it to be used on backgrounds of certain colors.

Let’s put some of the contentious issues under the spotlight:

Quirkiness -

While the old logo had a quirky edge to it, many feel that the new one lacks this charm. Slack counters this by stating that the original logo was quite easy to get wrong given the 11 colors that went into its making and thus, giving an impression of chaos. The fact that the new logo is more versatile when it comes to use on different platforms and looks good on all backgrounds helps even the score.

Recognition -

There are grumblings that the new logo gets lost in a sea of apps and cannot be easily found on smart phone screens and the like. The company claims that the new logo brings in a sense of cohesion and by sticking to one version in different places, in fact, brings the brand greater recognition!

Visual Appeal -

People have compared the new logo to various objects and interpreted it in numerous ways. But the company states that trimming down the number of colors used in the logo to just four and opting for this symmetrical arrangement gives it a more refined look without losing the spirit of the original.

Logos are what make most companies instantly identifiable and changing them can create quite a furore among fans and followers. With Slack likely to go public over the next few months, it’s a wait and watch game to see if the company will stick with its new look or retract its steps and go back to the old one like a few big names have done in the past.

Now take a look at the options Slack considered before the launch of their new logo

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