10 Commendments of Design - Thanks Thomas

Thomas Stephan has written a great set of “Ten Commandments of Design“.

Thou shalt not disfigure the font.

Thou shalt not steal the concept. Thou CAN be inspired by the concept, but thou had better change it so that people don’t call you a poser.

Thou shalt not use comic sans.

Thou shalt not cut corners, nor use a CMYK .jpg file in a print job simply because it’s do-able and you’re too busy to deal with it right now.

Thou shalt not kill…your boss for saying “How hard is it to put up a webpage, really?”

Thou shalt not lie…unless it’s that one printer who you have to fudge the deadline for in order to get it there on time.

Thou shalt not covet thy cubicle-mate’s brand new 200 gig computer with the shiny buttons and the CD/DVD burner that runs everything at the same time, even though he thinks Publisher is the best program to design stuff with and it sucks that they’re going by alphabetical order when replacing computers and it really irks you that your family name is Zwiegenschraum and…nevermind. Just don’t covet it, even though it’s like giving a Camaro to somebody who drives it like a riding lawnmower.

Thou shalt honor the Macs and the IBMs equally in your heart, for while they are separate, they are pretty much equal – unless you’re on Vista – but then you probably can’t read this, because you have to click through those security popups.

Thou shalt not fear new technology, nor pretend that you know what it does.

Thou shalt always get a contract, even though it’s just your cousin’ brother’s sister’s friend and he’s a great guy and wouldn’t EVER stiff you and besides, an email is just like a contract, right?

Now where did I put those tablets of stone?

File types that you can proof

We have added to the file types that ProofHQ can convert to proofs. You can now upload:

• PDFs (no password or print protection please)
• Photoshop (PSD’s)
• JPG’s
• TIFF’s
• GIF’s
• BMP’s

If you want to proof multi-page files, please use PDFs. There is a 50MB file size limit currently.

Don’t forget that you can drag and drop files direct from your desktop using the ProofHQ Uploadr.

New ProofHQ features added today

Today we are announcing some important new features to the ProofHQ Beta.

The proof page has been upgraded to include drawing tools. This lets reviewers create freehand and straight line drawings linked to a comment. Drawings can be added to new comments or existing comments in edit mode. The drawing tools also include an eraser, so that drawings can be deleted quickly and easily.

The proof page also includes a new “rotate” button which lets reviewers rotate to proof through 90, 180 and 27 degrees. As the proof rotates all Comment markers and drawings will rotate with it. We hope that you find this useful.

On the Dashboard we have added comments and replies to the recent activity lists. This lets users see comments and replies as they are added by reviewers without have to have the proof open. In a couple of days we will be adding email notification for new comments and replies. This will be an optional email which users can subscribe to in their personal profile or on a proof-by-proof basis.

The Beta continues. Have fun and keep the feedback coming.

Brand new brand name - ProofHQ

Today is a big day for us. We have re-branded Approvr to ProofHQ.

The reason for this change is that several Beta testers told us that they or their clients had found the missing “e” in Approvr confusing. Following that feedback we set about finding a suitable alternative name that described what we do, plus had an available domain name. Not an easy task these days.

After lots of brainstorming, searching, discussions with domain name agents and general scurrying around we finally settled on ProofHQ. We think that the new name describes exactly what the product does and has a sense of professionalism and solidity about it – which is exactly what people want when they are having important files and designs reviewed and approved.

Let us know what you think.

(For all you Beta testers, if you find any remnants of Approvr in the application or emails, please let us know)

Heads Up

Well we have not posted to the Approvr blog for a few months.

We are very impressed with bloggers who manage to keep posting through thick and thin. As a team we have just found it impossible to get blogging when work on the product has been all consuming. Our standard excuse would be that we have been “head down and arse up” driving to get the Approvr beta out into the wide world. In reality, I think that it is hard to blog about something that we are so passionate about when it is so close to going live. As a team we have just wanted to shut up and deliver.

It has been an incredibly intense process bringing together all aspects of the product. Planning and implementing the GUI, database design, hosting, testing, hiring, documentation and much more. Daily decisions on issues like which currency to sell in (dollars, pounds, euros)?

We have been in private Beta for a couple of months and have had great feedback from our core group of Beta testers. We are extending the private beta each week and will soon be announcing the public beta and launch.

Stay posted.