Some of you have been asking questions about ACES' new logo and what that means to ACES' name, as well as about the coming new website. We have some answers. And if you have more questions, we'll make more answers!
While ACES will still legally be identified as the American Copy Editors Society, we will cease to use the full name on first reference and otherwise publicly. Along with a new "ACES" logo comes a new tagline, “The Society for Editing.” The total approach acknowledges that many of our members have job titles that go beyond the traditional role of “copy editor.” The society will identify itself publicly as ACES: The Society for Editing. Or, of course, simply ACES for short.
Last fall, ACES hired Clover Partners, based in Denver, to develop the new ACES' logo and website. Clover came up with a design that blends the new and old in the field of editing, combining editors’ traditional love of proofreading marks with a sophisticated typeface that creates a modern look.
The name and logo change will be rolled out in the coming months.
A. We want to acknowledge the changing landscape of the field of editing and our changing membership, which involves editors and those who care about editing in a wide variety of roles.
The change comes on the heels of an extensive membership-wide survey that measured member satisfaction, organizational relevance, and value to editors now and in the future.
Since 2009, ACES has experienced exponential growth of more than 200 percent with nearly 1,900 members today. And what began as an organization primarily for newspaper editors is now a hub of editors from more than a dozen industries, including news, with the largest segment, 41 percent, being freelance editors (many of whom formerly worked in news).
A. No. The ACES logo and public identity are being changed to reflect the evolving nature of the group's membership. ACES now represents people in many different fields – corporate, government, freelance, academia, journalism – a number of whom are not copy editors in the traditional sense. We are keeping the best of what we are while reflecting on who we have become. The organization’s core mission, training and advocacy for editors, has not changed.
A. We are continuing to work on improving our offerings and service to you, through our website, in our training, and otherwise. The organization’s core mission, training and advocacy for editors, has not changed. Your membership does not change.
A. First, you'll see that the URL is becoming aceseditors.org – again changing to reflect the evolving nature of the membership. (www.copydesk.org will redirect you to the new site, and we are retaining ownership of the old domain, so we plan to have the redirect in place for a long time.)
Then, the website's look and navigation will be redesigned to provide you with the information you want and need as efficiently as possible. We also will regularly measure its usefulness – if you're having a hard time finding what you need, we'll fix it.
Also, in our member survey, many complained about our "Member Center." This summer we will embark to improve the online member and event registration experience. Much of the work will be behind the scenes to streamline and improve forms and processes. Your member information, however – when your membership expires, your address and email address on file, and so on – will continue to be accessible through the new website.
Your login and password will not change. We will notify you if any action is required on your part.
You will continue to sign up for ACES events through our website. Plus, we will still provide a way for you to access members-only benefits, such as discount codes to Poynter courses and the AP Stylebook, and our Tracking Changes newsletter.
We will be very much streamlining if not eliminating the social component of our Member Center, relying instead on traditional and popular social media for online communications and networking.
A. We will post handouts on the current site as we get them from the presenters. Then when the new website is running, the handouts will be transferred over, and any new handouts we get will be posted on the new website. (Find 2017 St. Petersburg Handouts here.)
Coverage of the conference – with articles about some of the sessions and other events and announcements such as about awards and popular stylebook changes – will appear on the current website quickly during the conference, and that conference coverage will be transferred over to the new website.
A. So glad you asked! We have an online store for clothing through Red Bubble. Or you can stop at our table while you're at the conference for mugs, tumblers and pins. The coffee mugs made in conjunction with The Onion, however, are for sale at the conference only. More to come soon.
