Slack Unveils Redesign with New DM Tab and Discord-Inspired Activity View

Starting today, Slack is introducing a fresh appearance. The platform is launching a redesigned interface with the goal of enhancing productivity and concentration by simplifying the user experience.

Perhaps the most obvious change is the sidebar. On the left side, you will no longer see a box for each workspace if you are logged in to more than one. They’re condensed into a single pane, and Slack uses the freed up space for new navigation options.

The sidebar now has buttons for Home, DMs (direct message), Activity, Later and More sections, as well as a search icon and a new Create button. The home view is similar to the Slack you’re used to. From here you can access your various channels, countless items, sketches, apps and more.

It looks like the DM section neatly brings together direct message conversations and makes them easier to use. Your DM list shows the most recent message from each chat, and you can choose to show only unread messages.

The Activity feed combines your threads, mentions, and reactions into one view, although each has its own tab in the Activity section. The Later section has tabs for pending, completed, and archived actions. In the More section, you’ll find tools like apps and workflows, canvases, and huddles.

As for the Create button, it replaces the draft message option. From here you can create a message, huddle, canvas or new channel. Elsewhere, there’s a new feature that lets you hover over an icon in a separate view (ie DM or Activity) and peek at what’s going on without having to drift away from your current task.

Slack says it will also release some device-specific updates. In the iPhone application, you see boxes at the top of the screen that take you to countless texts and threads with a single tap. You will also be able to swipe through all the unread passages and maybe catch things quickly. Last but not least, Slack enables new themes with a more detailed and customizable color scheme.