Remember when you first heard that soothing music while joining a Huddle? Or watched the catch-up animation dance across your mobile app? Maybe you’ve been charmed by a friendly message and quirky emoji after clearing your unread messages, or enjoyed the ability to have full conversations with colleagues via custom emojis alone. These aren’t happy accidents, they’re carefully orchestrated touch-points where brand and product design converge to create magic. Slack has become known for these moments of delight, and they’re truly a team effort.
From the start, Slack wasn’t just trying to make work communication faster or more efficient—it set out to build a product people would genuinely love. That spirit shows up everywhere, from tiny moments of surprise to big features that help teams feel more connected. These sparks of joy aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re essential to what makes Slack feel different.
Over the years, many of Slack’s most memorable touches began with passionate teams going the extra mile to make the product feel magical—rallying support to bring their ideas to life. Today, that same spirit lives on in the Studio Team, a dedicated group of creative minds who weave delight into every corner of Slack.
Behind the Sparkle
The Studio Team brings together visual designers, motion specialists, and storytelling experts. As a dedicated creative team within product design, we help elevate design work across Slack. We’re one of the central teams—alongside Design Technology, Content Design, and Design Operations—supporting the entire product design team. This enables us to focus on delivering high-impact product work first, while extending our creative expertise across the broader organization.
Our work intersects with several other functions, making alignment with our Creative Team and Design Systems team essential. In our weekly working group, we review incoming requests, evaluate how new work fits within our design system, Slack Kit, and carefully consider when to introduce new patterns that deviate from existing standards.
Since the Studio Team’s formation three years ago, our blend of visual and motion expertise has elevated design initiatives across Slack. We shape ideas throughout the product development journey: partnering with leadership to visualize strategy, collaborating with product teams to prototype future experiences, and refining features with those special touches that make the Slack experience truly memorable.
Making it Slacky
“Slackiness” is deeply rooted in our design process. It’s fundamental to how we work and has become something our customers expect from us. During development, once a feature is validated and being tested internally, we deliberately set aside time for polish—asking ourselves, “What would make this feel like Slack?”
This approach was exemplified in the process of creating Huddles. After the feature was being used internally, the team commissioned illustrators to create custom backgrounds that set the atmosphere for various team gatherings. They also partnered with the Studio Team to design and animate custom emoji reactions, including hearts popping across your screen and a playful dolphin that brings smiles to virtual meetings!
By embedding visual and motion designers directly in our product design team, we enable real-time collaboration that elevates every feature. This integrated approach—unique compared to most companies that separate these roles—ensures that distinctly Slack touches are woven into the product from the start, delighting our customers through intentional moments of fun.
Our commitment to this level of craft resonates deeply with users. During a recent conversation with customers at our design onsite, we consistently heard:
“I don’t think I would be able to work at a place that doesn’t use Slack.”
Our Work in Action
Today, our work touches every corner of Slack, guided by one of our five product principles, “be a great host.” This fundamental approach helps us create experiences that feel both intuitive and magical, anticipating user needs before they arise. We strive to be one step ahead, understanding and delivering what users need at just the right moment—whether that’s through seamless onboarding experiences, clear help resources, or those signature moments of delight that make Slack feel special.
The “Slacky” feel extends beyond our product into our design team’s culture. We take joy in collaborating on internal brand initiatives that strengthen our community. Our work includes developing cohesive branding for internal programs like Design Moves, Thrive in Design (an internal interview series), Slack Day (our annual hack day), and team off-sites—all helping to foster a strong and unified design community.
Looking Ahead
As we look to the future, the Studio Team remains committed to finding that perfect balance between functionality and delight. Our evolution has taught us that the most memorable experiences aren’t about adding sparkle everywhere—they’re about creating meaningful moments that enhance how people work together. We’re focused on crafting purposeful interactions that make Slack a trusted companion in your workday. Every animation, sound, and visual touchpoint is an opportunity to make work feel more human, more connected, and yes, more delightful. Because at the heart of every feature we polish, every interaction we refine, is our core mission: to make work life not just simpler, but genuinely more enjoyable for our users. That’s the true meaning of “Slacky,” and it’s what will continue to guide us forward.
All animations featured were crafted by the talented Studio Team, with special thanks to James Yi and Skip Hursh.