ON1 Software

[jasonX]

 

20 Years of ON!

 

 

20 Years of ON1: Built for Photographers. Driven by You

ON1 is celebrating their 20th anniversary in the photo industry!
In 2005, ON1 was born with a bold but simple idea: photography software should be created for photographers — not just for designers or software professionals.

At the time, founder Craig Keudell saw an opportunity. Tools originally built as Photoshop plug-ins for graphic designers were becoming less essential as designers became more proficient with editing software. But photographers? Many were still new to digital workflows and didn’t want to spend their creative time buried in menus and layers.

“Photographers have always been focused on capturing great moments — not becoming software experts,” Craig explains. “That’s where we saw a chance to help by making tools that worked the way photographers think. We saw a huge opportunity to tailor those tools for this growing photography market.”

That insight became the foundation of ON1.

Starting Small, Thinking Big
In those early days, ON1 (then called onOne Software) launched a suite of powerful tools like Genuine Fractals, PhotoFrame, Intellihance, and pxl SmartScale.

“Getting everything off the ground was hard. There was no cloud, no remote work. We built and maintained our own servers, databases — all of it,” Craig recalls. “We focused on one order at a time. Eventually, that turned into real momentum.”

The company’s first significant break came when Shutterbug Magazine featured Genuine Fractals on its cover. From that moment, things really took off.


But ON1 wasn’t just built on product success. It was built on values — creating a company culture that prioritized employees and customers. As Craig puts it:

“We wanted to build a people-first company — one that prioritized our team and customers, not outside investors,” Craig says. “That mindset of taking care of each other has guided us every step of the way.”

That people-first mindset still defines ON1 today.

 

 

The ON1 Story

A Major Turning Point: The Suite Era
As ON1 grew, so did its ambitions. The company moved from plug-ins into a more unified editing experience, culminating in the launch of the Perfect Photo Suite.

“We gave the entire Suite away to everyone at a Photoshop roadshow,” remembers Dan Harlacher, VP of Product. “It was a $500+ product — and we just gave it away. That was a major moment for us. It put ON1 in front of a massive audience.”

The Suite combined powerful tools like masking, portrait retouching, resizing, and effects — all inside one package. And with each release, ON1 became more than just a collection of plug-ins. It was becoming a full-featured photo editor.

 

READ MORE HERE_20 Years of ON1: Built for Photographers. Driven by You

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Info and content lifted/derived from ON1 Software with permission