Slack; the collaborative platform which we have all grown to love over the past few years. As a digital marketing agency, we use Slack on a daily basis, connecting with co-workers and keeping up with all the important shenanigans. Not to mention, a lot of our brightest ideas begin with a simple spark on Slack.
Slack has always been known for it’s quirky and colourful branding. When we see the Slack logo, we know it’s them straight away. That’s the sole purpose of a brand image, to be unique and recognisable. However, we noticed some differences last week, and it seems as though Slack is undergoing a rebrand…
Slack’s rebrand
In a blog post titled ‘say hello, new logo’, Slack put our questions to rest. To put it simply, the purpose of the redesign was to create a simpler, distinctive logo that would get the job done better. Slack explain that their old logo did the trick, but was easy to manipulate, meaning it would look ‘terrible’ (their words – not ours!), when on different backgrounds. Their brand identity was not consistent through different platforms and it was just looking messy.
Of course, the great thing about this issue is that the creative team got to start work on something magical. And, that is exactly what the team at Slack did. Less is more in the world of design, and Slack have now released their logo which uses a simpler colour palette, is more refined, yet still contains hints of the original. As creatives ourselves – we love it.
The team at Slack are pretty confident about their recent changes and have even teased that there’s more to come. It’s clear that they have our best interests at heart and we’re loving the modern twist. If you want to read more about the intention behind the design, check out Pentagram’s blog (the team which worked with Slack to create this beautiful redesign).
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
More iconic rebrands
We get a bit excited over rebrands – can you tell? Sudden change never particularly sits well with the public, but once adjusted, there is usually smiles all around. As we move into an extremely modern and high-tech age, rebrands are becoming more frequent. It’s time to explore 6 recent SaaS logo redesigns that we’ve picked out for you!
Skype
Skype, the video messaging platform, was bought by Microsoft way back in 2011 for a whopping $8.5bn. Things remained pretty quiet for this bubbly-looking logo for quite a few years, until Microsoft decided a rebrand was necessary for 2017. Now, if you weren’t aware that Microsoft owned Skype before the rebrand, you’ll undoubtedly have known after the identity change.
Removing the old ‘cloud’ persona, the new Skype logo has become home to Microsoft’s sans-serif font, in order to keep the global giant’s identity consistent.
Our opinion: For a lot of us, Skype used to be our hub for socialising with friends through video. As other platforms began to take the reign, Skype took a step back and is now typically used for business matters and long-distance relatives. The new logo is far simpler than the old and certainly conforms to the more ‘business’ side of the brand. We can’t lie though – we miss that friendly ol’ bubble.
MailChimp
Next up on our list of iconic rebrands, we have email marketing platform MailChimp. At the backend of 2018, MailChimp decided to let-go of their script-like logo and brought back the beloved Freddie the Mail Chimp. This was an important move to make, as the Chimp can be used on its own when there is only room for a small logo. Keeping in-line with MailChimps unique (sometimes weird) branding, the new logo is a very welcoming shade of yellow and far easier to read.
Our opinion: This was a big one to get used to, but we soon warmed to it. This rebrand introduced us to tonnes of Dr-Seuss style illustrations, which may not exactly scream email marketing, but certainly screams a recognisable brand.
Spotify
Spotify is easily one of the world’s largest streaming platforms. It’s our holy grail in the Bulldog office. Back in 2015, a rebrand took place, introducing several new colours to the original black and green theme. This pop-culture inspired rebrand gave Spotify a fresh, young, vibrant look. Most brands don’t usually get away with a complicated redesign, but Spotify made it work. Well.
Our opinion: Spotify’s rebrand didn’t take too long to get used to, considering it was used subtly throughout the app. We love the fun vibe it radiates.
You didn’t think we would get through this post without mentioning our beloved Google, did you? In 2015, the search giant took a more playful twist on its branding, creating a smoother, nicer logo.
Our opinion: Google loves a bit of change, I mean, did you see how many greatest moments Google had in 2018 alone? We love that they stayed true to their simple colour scheme, yet made small tweaks to adjust to the modern world. If you’re a fan of Google’s journey, check out this video which takes you through all their iconic progress.
Salesforce
Global cloud computing company Salesforce also decided to enter the modern world with a logo redesign back in 2014. The salesforce logo is somewhat similar to the old Skype logo; white writing in a blue cloud. Friendly.
Our opinion: To put it bluntly, the old Salesforce logo was extremely outdated and looked like someone had opened Microsoft Word and selected the first option available. The new logo has far more personality, fits in with the brand’s nature, and is far cleaner to look at. Thumbs up from us!
SurveyMonkey
Last, but by no means least, we’ve decided to include SurveyMonkey’s rebrand. This one stood out to us, as there was a strong message behind the changes. From once having the tagline “help make great decisions”, the company now states to “power the curious” – which is much more gripping and thought-provoking.
Our opinion: This was a simple logo change, opting for consistency with colour, but we like it. The new logo looks far neater and will work across a variety of platforms thanks to its consistency.
Rebrands can be the making, or breaking, of any company. They take a lot of thought, and although the audience simply sees a few appearance changes, the company would have had hundreds of meetings and prepping to get to this stage. What’s been your favourite rebrand? Do you know any companies who would benefit from one? 🎨