Campfire: Use Block Kit Builder to Design Slack Apps
TrailblazerDX (TDX) takes place on April 27–28, 2022, at Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Register for design sessions and connect with us at Camp Design!
Akshay Potnis and Pratik Mall are passionate about helping users and partners harness the true value of Slack. They love solving complex problems and showing people how easy it can be to create beautifully designed apps that also meet user needs.
Akshay and Pratik will be leading the session Use Block Kit Builder to Design Slack Apps at TDX, the annual Salesforce event for anyone developing or designing on the platform. Learn how to create experiences that build trust, usability, and adoption. Register now!
Salesforce Design (SD): How did you get into design?
Akshay Potnis (AP): Eight years ago, I was a developer doing front-end work. I loved working on the product, including the look and feel, while also developing the best user experience. That introduced me to design and I have never looked back.
Pratik Mall (PM): My interest in photography got me excited about design. Then I went the traditional route and got a bachelor’s degree in design.
SD: What do you wish more people appreciated about the value of design?
AP: I think design is about more than just making user interfaces (UI) look good. I wish people saw the power and larger role design can play. It’s about understanding the users, how they think, and the psychology and biology of how humans are wired. In real-world projects, design equates to scoping, managing stakeholders, getting buy-in and building a vision. It’s also about being responsible, thinking about accessibility, internationalization, privacy, and the ethical implications of the product you are working on.
PM: I wish more people would appreciate how good design can impart happiness in the world.
SD: In the simplest terms, what’s the focus of your TDX session?
AP: Learn how Slack’s Block Kit framework allows developers to arrange UI blocks to create appealing and effective layouts of Slack apps.
SD: What key points do you hope audiences will get from your TDX session and why is that important to you?
AP: People will learn how to visualize apps easily using Slack’s Block Kit ecosystem and how to map product features to Block Kit. We will share how quickly and easily you can design layouts for apps with Slack’s Block Kit Builder.
PM: We will also talk about best practices when building apps.
SD: How do you think this will help people do their work better or collaborate better?
AP: This will encourage partner product teams to invest in trying this ecosystem out. Which eventually gets their app in Slack. It will open up a totally new growth funnel for our partners and developers.
PM: Understanding how apps are built on the Slack platform can make it easy for product, design, and engineering people to plan their apps and create a process around its development.
SD: How has design helped you build relationships with customers, co-workers, or communities?
AP: Product adoption is significantly affected by the context of the user, the language they are comfortable with, their culture, and the ecosystem around them. Design makes you think about these user needs. Talking, researching, and understanding the users is something we do on a daily basis. These primary skills around active listening and effective communication translate really well in building relationships with customers, co-workers, and communities because at the end of the day, designers represent the human in an ecosystem of tools.
PM: Design sparks curiosity around problems and leads to conversations to solve the problems.
SD: What do you love about being a designer at Salesforce?
AP: I think the best part about being a designer at Slack (now part of Salesforce) is the diverse and inclusive team. They value the uniqueness you bring to the team and see your individuality as an opportunity for growth. Design is actively involved in high-level decisions and plays an integral part in building the product vision. This makes the ecosystem really unique for any designer.
PM: I love working on Slack because it is loved by so many around the world.
Eager to learn more about what Akshay and Pratik have in store at TrailblazerDX? Register today to attend on April 27–28 in San Francisco.
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Salesforce Design is dedicated to elevating design and advocating for its power to create trusted relationships with users, customers, partners, and the community. We share knowledge and best practices that build social and business value. We call this next evolution of design Relationship Design. Join our Design Trailblazers community, become a certified UX designer, or work with us!
