Relativity’s long-awaited new user interface, Aero UI, has officially launched. The press release is here.

I spoke last week with Steve Couling, Managing Director and Vice President Sales, EMEA at Relativity, about the release and why it is exciting for Relativity and for its users. That interview is here.

Steve Couling said that the aim was to give access to the power of Relativity in a solution which allows any user to get in and start straight away. It is more than just a fresh coat of paint but includes many new features in a modernised architecture. You will find those features summarised in the press release.

There has been a big focus on the aesthetic aspects – new colours, restyled pages, and new fonts all contributing to increased usability as well as making the new UI more attractive to look at. Miguel Martinez of Relativity has written a blog post about the choice of colours  saying that colour “goes beyond aesthetic value—in fact, it can make or break the usefulness of our software to many of the people who are in it every day.”

The underlying architecture – the things which users don’t see – allows near-instantaneous streaming technology. Relativity is not sacrificing power for beauty, but recognising the value of increased speed coupled with ease of use, and a consequent improvement in the user experience.

The word “intuitive” implies that not much training is required. Steve Couling emphasised that users can move easily from one type of action to another. Clicks and mouse travel are reduced.

There are also new automated workflows. Relativity worked with users to find out what different actions they take in what sequence and then automated many steps where one action leads to the next.

Feedback from users has been been very positive – Relativity has a group of advanced access partners and can draw on their knowledge and experience.

I asked Steve Couling about Aero UI’s place in Relativity’s broader user experience. The aim, he said, has been to make Relativity equally suitable for complex cases and for new users on simpler cases. Users should not have to decide on the balance between power and intuitive use, but just get on with using it for what sized matter and for an increasing range of use cases.

Relativity Fest is coming up, on 21-23 September. Steve Couling said that there will be a big focus on Aero UI. The Aero UI press release gives details about this.

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