We have to stop chugging the haterade.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation w/ Asana & have no strong opinions about the redesign
Typographically speaking, Amasis (the serif type now being used for headlines) is an odd choice for a pairing with Proxima Nova (what they are continuing to use for everything else). It looks a bit awkward at the size and weight they have it because it's actually a slab serif (check out https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/amasis/) and the slabs turn into slightly chunky serifs on standard-DPI screens (though it does look a bit better on Retina). This, combined with a similar visual weight to the other text, contributes to the lack of contrast you describe.
What I'd advise is either bumping up the weight on Amasis to increase the contrast and disambiguate the slab serifs, or better yet, switching to a nicer overall serif type such as Hoefler & Co's Mercury Display (http://www.typography.com/fonts/mercury-display/overview/).
I can read comic sans, arial, times no problems. I don't care or even notice as long as my programming font lines up. Margins inconsistent by two pixels? No problem as long as the layout is overall consistent (logical hierarchies are somehow obvious.)
You sound like you work in UI/UX and I would wish people could care more about things that do matter to me, so here is a list of what I would like:
* not everyone has been at all the meetings and know how
"obvious" everything is - make things discoverable
* not everyone use the computer the same way - by all
means make it easy to click and I don't expect vim or
emacs keybindings in web apps but don't forget tabbing
order.
* not everyone can see all colors - I also like nice
colors but I don't want to miss out because I cannot
see all shades of greenI've tried it at least five times, and every time I end up stopping. What's missing (IMHO) is a sense of hierarchy. Everything is the same size and common actions aren't much easier than uncommon ones, which I think leads to "page looks messy and difficult to focus on", and I agree "controls ... are way too small".
Likewise - I really want to like it.
I think this is it for me though. Don't think I can look at those serifs for very long. Overall the design just feels way overwrought and without any clear organizing idea. The margins are all over the place, there are lots of controls that are way too small. The page looks messy and difficult to focus on. To what end?
For me getting things done is closely linked with focus. Shouldn't the design thinking of a company that helps people get things done reflect that? Spare me the gradients I have shit to do.