Slack

At this point, most designers have already touched Slack in some form—whether at an agency, on a freelance gig, or through school collabs. But if you’re new to the industry or just getting into professional creative work, consider this your heads-up: Slack is one of the default when it comes to project communication. It replaces email threads with fast-moving channels where teams can chat, share files, review work, and keep projects moving in real time.

What makes Slack work for creatives is how adaptable it is. You can spin up dedicated channels for projects, clients, or teams, loop in external partners, drop in PDFs or Figma links, and even trigger automated workflows for things like approvals and handoffs. There’s also Huddles for quick calls, Clips for sharing screen-recorded updates, and pinned messages to keep key links handy. It works across devices and syncs smoothly, so whether you’re reviewing layouts from your phone or commenting on video edits from your laptop, you’re in the loop.

That said, Slack can get noisy. Without proper channel setup or moderation, it can spiral into a constant stream of pings. But once your team gets a rhythm, it’s hard to imagine running a creative project without it. It’s not flashy—it’s foundational. And if you’re serious about working in design or digital, learning how to use Slack is a no-brainer.