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You don't understand it because, like myself and most people on this site, you're probably a hyper-rational engineering type. We gravitated towards working in t

You don't understand it because, like myself and most people on this site, you're probably a hyper-rational engineering type. We gravitated towards working in this field for a reason. The rest of the world has very strong negative reactions when confronted with a product branded like this: https://www.vim.org https://www.vim.org ...and they have very positive reactions to a product branded like this: https://slack.com https://slack.com How could the reaction be so different when we're just talking about a few lines, curves, colors and aesthetics? It turns out, most humans are emotionally stimulated by visual associations and stories. This is the definition of branding. Empathy would be understanding that most people are not like us.

pvg 7y ago
like myself and most people on this site, you're probably a hyper-rational engineering type. I think you're both engaging in and are affected by mythologizing and branding right in your comment so perhaps neither you nor the people you're referring to are as 'hyper-rational' as you imagine. I doubt anyone is particularly emotionally engaged by Slack's inoffensive hipster-corporatist design language and for a work tool, that's probably both intentional and about right. Vim, on the other hand, is one of the closest things programmers have to a full-on impractical fashion trend, a sort of aspirational zoot suit. There are even special ribbons for the pork pie hat: https://github.com/powerline/powerline https://github.com/powerline/powerline
- pembrook 7y ago
  I think you are right! The whole identity of thinking of yourself as "engineering type" is likely fulfilling some emotional need to belong to a group you perceive as superior. However, I'm also certain the hipster-corporatist brand aesthetic of products like Slack is exactly part of the appeal. It definitely signals that slack is a tool used by a certain "tribe." And if you aspire to be in that tribe, this tool is for you. Call it the tribe of life-work optimizers and the open office, if you will.
  - pvg 7y ago
    And if you aspire to be in that tribe, this tool is for you Slack's branding certainly has a purpose but I think it's more about broad acceptance than individual aspirations - it has to look like something people use at work. There's a whiff of 'tech' and even playfulness to it but it's sensibly calibrated to be business-anodyne. There is also an element of edginess but it's neatly and entirely contained in the name. By this point, though, 'Slack' has almost become a generic term for 'work chat' so there's little danger anyone with purchasing authority is going to confuse it with one of the foundational concepts of the Church of the SubGenius™. Slack's branding is more akin to the logo you see on the side of the floor buffing machine building maintenance workers guide around the office at night. That's not there to inspire anyone to join the hardworking tribe of building maintenance workers.
krsdcbl 7y ago
That's a big assumption. I'm a designer, not too much of the distanced & "cold rational" guy, and to me a lot of that brand reasoning is cringy at best. Of course typography expresses character, tonality, emotion. The shapes used evoke openness, are humanistic & soft - lots of human traits you can associate with them. But in the end it's about describing expression. Calling a certain curvature "empathic" on the other hand is a whole load of marketing bs.

pvg 7y ago

like myself and most people on this site, you're probably a hyper-rational engineering type. I think you're both engaging in and are affected by mythologizing and branding right in your comment so perhaps neither you nor the people you're referring to are as 'hyper-rational' as you imagine. I doubt anyone is particularly emotionally engaged by Slack's inoffensive hipster-corporatist design language and for a work tool, that's probably both intentional and about right. Vim, on the other hand, is one of the closest things programmers have to a full-on impractical fashion trend, a sort of aspirational zoot suit. There are even special ribbons for the pork pie hat: https://github.com/powerline/powerline https://github.com/powerline/powerline

pembrook 7y ago
I think you are right! The whole identity of thinking of yourself as "engineering type" is likely fulfilling some emotional need to belong to a group you perceive as superior. However, I'm also certain the hipster-corporatist brand aesthetic of products like Slack is exactly part of the appeal. It definitely signals that slack is a tool used by a certain "tribe." And if you aspire to be in that tribe, this tool is for you. Call it the tribe of life-work optimizers and the open office, if you will.
- pvg 7y ago
  And if you aspire to be in that tribe, this tool is for you Slack's branding certainly has a purpose but I think it's more about broad acceptance than individual aspirations - it has to look like something people use at work. There's a whiff of 'tech' and even playfulness to it but it's sensibly calibrated to be business-anodyne. There is also an element of edginess but it's neatly and entirely contained in the name. By this point, though, 'Slack' has almost become a generic term for 'work chat' so there's little danger anyone with purchasing authority is going to confuse it with one of the foundational concepts of the Church of the SubGenius™. Slack's branding is more akin to the logo you see on the side of the floor buffing machine building maintenance workers guide around the office at night. That's not there to inspire anyone to join the hardworking tribe of building maintenance workers.

krsdcbl 7y ago

That's a big assumption. I'm a designer, not too much of the distanced & "cold rational" guy, and to me a lot of that brand reasoning is cringy at best. Of course typography expresses character, tonality, emotion. The shapes used evoke openness, are humanistic & soft - lots of human traits you can associate with them. But in the end it's about describing expression. Calling a certain curvature "empathic" on the other hand is a whole load of marketing bs.