Branding Archives - AceProject

New interface skin preview

A new default skin will be introducted in our next version (4.8). All users who are currently set with the "Classic Blue" skin (the default right now) will see the new skin as soon as they get upgraded.

Michel, our graphic designer, has been working hard on that skin for quite a while. The skin is still under development, but should pretty much look like this:

The header tabs look more modern, as they have no rounded corners. We also added a touch of our logo to the skin. Actually, Michel decided to use the circled arrow's red for the "Print the Main Page" button.

Furthermore, the skin uses our upcoming new website's colors.

Feedback is always appreciated!

By Daniel Raymond|2010-03-15T18:37:00-04:002010-03-15|

Good news – Private accounts for everyone!

We are proud to announce that all paid accounts will have their own private SQL Server database from now on. Previously, only the Hosted Gold package and the grandfathered Hosted Pro used to have a private database.

As a result, Hosted Standard and Hosted Advanced accounts will get the following benefits:

FTP access for downloading your database backups (*.bak files) and project/task documents.
The ability to query your SQL Server database remotely in real-time and generate custom reports using tools like SAP Crystal Reports or Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
All branding options (including application rename and logo/header background upload).
Get your sub-domain (new for all packages), that is, AccountID.aceproject.com. No more generic login page URLs.
Performance is better in a private environment than in a shared one.

Do not hesitate to contact us should you have any inquiries in this matter.

By Daniel Raymond|2010-02-08T15:40:00-05:002010-02-08|

More AceProject 4.7 news

Development is going well for AceProject 4.7. We are finishing phase 2 of development.

Eye candy

Here is some eye candy for mac users: a brand new skin!

Project templates

People love AceProject’s templates because it makes creating new project very easy. You simply copy an existing project, and you can even adjust task dates based on the new project start date.

With AceProject 4.7, we’ve added the possibility to reset task statuses, so you don’t need to create pure templates if you don’t want to:

Better time sheets

Time sheets are one of the most-used features in AceProject. With version 4.7, AceProject will automatically create time sheets at the beginning of each week.

To make it easier to fill out the time sheets, it will be possible to enter time worked in the hours:minutes format. AceProject will convert the hh:mm entry into a decimal number automatically. That will make time sheet more usable.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-05-01T12:41:00-04:002009-05-01|

Software should get out of your way and let you work

Last week, Seth Godin made a good point about website design.

Seth made me think about software interface design. I think the same principle should apply here as well: your interface should not be noticeable. It should not take from the work that’s being done.

With AceProject, our goal is to get out of our users’ way and let them manage their projects. It’s nonsense that someone should spend so much time just setting up the project. It’s nonsense that the project manager would have to spend hours and hours babysitting the project. And the sad truth is, with many project management solutions (online and offline), it is often the case.

It is a challenge to make an interface easy to use and functional, without forgetting to make it aesthetically pleasing. But it has to be done. It’s a delicate balance between making features easily accessible and not drowing the users with choices.

I’ve rarely heard someone say “This interface is so complicated, but it’s just too pretty, I can’t stop using the product.” I’ve often […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-04-14T13:58:00-04:002009-04-14|

Out with the old, in with the new: AceProject’s icons

With AceProject’s new version, we’ve been working on making it more usable. There were the big features, like task dependencies and the Portfolio tab, and there were the smaller features, like the user workload report.

And finally, there’s Aceproject’s look and feel. MIchel, our graphic designer, had been asking to redo our icon set for a long time. With AceProject 4.7, he took on the challenge. And it was quite a challenge. There are over 100 icons in AceProject. We started with a good set of icons, and then, with time, as we added more and more features, we started loosing consistency in our icons.

It was time for a refresh.

Michel started by building a list of all the icons in the system, and then he created “icon concepts” like adding something, and “icon basics” like representations of tasks, projects, and users. He then put together the basics with the concepts, and the icons were born. Adding a task is the task icon with the + , just like creating an account is the account icon with […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-04-10T12:32:00-04:002009-04-10|