Road to Rio

Well that’s May gone now too. The whole time I’ve been wondering if it’s just me, or is time on fast forward somehow. When out of nowhere the big boss informs me that we are only three weeks away from our first half way to Christmas email reminder. Seems like just a few weeks ago when I got the last year’s reminder, at least proving I’m not going insane, for now. We also had the local and European elections this month. I was well proud of myself making the effort to contribute with my vote, even though actually picking a party by a representative is comparable to picking a favourite unheard of actor out of a foreign movie, before you watch it. Still I did my part.

At Palette CAD we are strongly focused on finishing the 8.2 version for July which should mean international release by the end of summer. Also nearing completion is our internet planner Palette@HOME, which will also soon be available for tablets. If you dare to try our BETA version, currently available in German, simply click on the image below.

Some important updates also on the way this summer include Palette Move 2, Architecture & interior design, Stoves & fireplaces as well as Wood engineering catalogues.

It certainly never gets dull and all you ever need is a little inspiration to get you going again. With this in mind I took a little of it from the forthcoming World Cup, and here below you can see just a little example of outside of the box planning in Palette CAD.

Adidas World Cup footballs from West Germany 1974 to Brazil 2014

Without a doubt it is going to be another fantastic spectacle, and completely without bias, I believe it would only be fitting that the founders of the beautiful game lift the trophy in Brazil.

I will leave you with this wishful thinking in mind. Have a great June!



Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD "Come on England" Blog Team

Tip of the month! May: Camera focus

Looking to add that extra touch to your customer presentations? Why not give our camera focus feature a go? It allows you to focus on a certain point of your photo and blurs out the rest, just like with a digital camera.

Start by getting your camera view in position. Next in the "View" tab select "Settings for presentation mode".

Now select "Ambient Light", make sure you turn up the quality all the way right to well, check the "Depth of field" box and then click on "Auto focal point".

 

The following window will pop up explaining that you need to select a point to focus on in perspective view. Select OK.

 

Next using the cross-hair select a point to focus on. Afterwards, back in the settings select OK again.

Now that the focal point is selected simply render your desired image in Ambient Light quality.

There it is! Please be aware that the "Depth of field" option will remain active until unchecked. Speaking of checking, make sure you check back next month for another tip.

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

Fool me once

So, how do we sum up April? Sun, rain, sun, rain, sub-zero temperatures, first barbeques, shorts and back to winter jackets, with some pranks and Easter holidays. Yes, that will about do it.

In terms of Palette CAD it’s been another month of fairs, domestic as well as international and more and more version 8.2 developments. 

First of all, I found myself in Stockholm for four days at the Nordbygg fair. Described as offering range, quality and depth, it was also a hugely successful show. Some 52,000 visitors descended upon the stands from over 900 exhibitors.

Nordbygg 2014 was our Swedish debut fair.

It was our Nordbygg debut and the response from our visitors was very positive, especially since we offered much needed differentiation to the other software exhibitors. Being a leading interior design CAD provider was a clear advantage amongst many companies focused on construction.

Biggest noticeable trend was the demand for BIM integration. “Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. A BIM is a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition.” More and more architects need want to be able to create a project in one software, export it to another and then carry on working on the same project. A good example would be using software to create a new apartment building, and then exporting this project into Palette CAD and then working on interiors of each apartment. It gives the designer an opportunity to use best suited software for each stage of the project as well as being able to share this information with other parties.

Perfect getaway cottage for the little hobbitses.

 Domestically we were also present for four days at IFH2014 in Nuremberg. With around 46,000 visitors and 685 exhibitors from 20 countries, there was plenty of products on display and creative ideas to take away from this sanitation, heating, air conditioning and renewable energies showpiece.

Our own innovations in form of Palette@HOME received much praise, and the guys from ImmerSight were on hand once again to take our visitors on a virtual tour using their full 3D immersion technologies.

Any more information sharing and it would be easier for me to make a book out of it, so I will stop now. If you wish to see more photos please visit our Facebook page or visit the official homepages of the above mentioned fairs. Until next time then!



Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

Tip of the month! April: Daylight feature

This month, in line with the weather improvements, we will help you bring a little sunshine into your busy days. Feature "Daylight" is replacement for manually inserting sunlight objects. Also simplified is finding the correct positioning and angle, making beautiful renderings just that little easier.

To start the feature just look under the "View" tab and select "Daylight". A window will pop up allowing you to adjust a number of features. To use the new "Sunlight" system just tick the box. Now you will see the sun appear in your plan and using the "Axonometric" screen to adjust positioning is probably the easiest. Simply use drag and drop to either rotate the circle compass, to change the angle of the arc or move the sun along the arc. At the same time set the presentation mode of your desired camera view in "Perspective" screen to "Virtual Reality" so that you can see the shadow effects of your changes. When you are happy with the settings, simply close the "Daylight" window to proceed.

 When you are ready, render your desired image and feel free to go back and experiment with different "Daylight" settings.

Now you can turn even the rainiest day into a BBQ opportunity. Have a go yourselves!

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

20 years young and counting

March madness, it's certainly been an eventful month. Are we heading into another cold war? Is Facebook trying to get its fingers in every possible e-pie, WhatsApp and now Oculus VR. How come the NSA boys know what I had for dinner last night and how many calories it contained but somehow can't locate flight MH370? Plenty to ponder.

It's been also plenty eventful at Palette CAD. This year sees us turn 20 years young. Even though we are also anticipating an imminent takeover bid in the region of $5 billion from Facebook, we are still focused on providing for the people! To mark our 20 year anniversary, we held a two day user conference in Stuttgart, Germany, where it all started.

Our users got a chance to meet the Palette CAD team, enjoy plenty of past, present and future themed presentations as well as a chance to try out one of our first ever versions of Palette CAD back from 1994.

It was real mixture of back to the future and days of future past, nostalgia of the past as well as the excitment of the future, with the likes of ImmerSight and Oculus at customers disposal.

At the same time more than 48,000 visitors descended upon SHK Essen to find out the latest trends in sanitary, heating, air conditioning and renewable energies. "The dominant subjects were energy-efficient modern heating technology, innovative bathroom design for all generations, air conditioning and ventilation installations which are appropriate for the needs and hygienically flawless as well as effective solutions for drinking water hygiene." To find out more visit the official website.

Getting ready to rumble at SHK Essen 2014

Meanwhile in Poland our partners were very busy themselves at the Kominki International Fireplaces Exhibition in Poznan presenting, as well as, collecting the gold medal for quality and innovation. A full list of winners as well as a more in-depth look at the trade fair can be found here.

Palette CAD Poland collecting the quality and innovation gold medal for Palette CAD 8

That's plenty to take in for now. Next month we will be at Nordbygg 2014 in Stockholm, Northern Europe´s largest and most important construction industry event, as well as, IFH Intherm in Nuremberg. If you are out and about make sure to stop by!

Also don't forget to come up with some phenomenal April Fools' ideas!


Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

Tip of the month! March: Rendering small rooms

In version 8.1 we have now made it possible to render smaller rooms without having to blend out any walls or ceilings. It also allows for realistic light representation. This was made possible by introducing a see-through feature to our cameras. It works simply by defining line of vision, as before, but now you can also define which sections are see through. It can be done using the drag and drop feature to extend the see-through area or using "Visible as of" field on the "Set camera" options.

The example below shows a small bathroom and how to achieve a great rendering without having to compromise through hiding objects or raising the ceiling level.

Follow the steps mentioned above and then simply render away! The result speaks for itself.

You've got the knowledge and the power now, so put it to good use, but remember, with great power comes great responsibility!

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

Short but sweet

Slight pick up in sales, love is in the air, check your emails, write an awesome blog post and February is as good as gone. What else can we expect from the shortest month? Joking aside, I really hope it's not just me that feels like 2014 is speeding past faster than the speed of light, and yes, I do know that this comparison has some scientific loopholes!

Over the last month we have done the rounds of the domestic trade fairs with the standout one being Bautec 2014. With over forty thousand visitors and plenty of fresh ideas it is quickly becoming a must visit event for designers and architects. "Along with building materials, construction systems and components, Bautec  showcases the future of architecture and construction planning with a focus on the following themes: energy-efficient and sustainable construction, intelligent living, reconstruction of existing buildings, noise and fire prevention, sanitary systems and building/living with renewable resources." To find out more visit the official website.

Even the big boss can't resist a chance to try out the new touch version of Palette@Home at Bautec 2014.

Next month also sees the celebration of our 20th year anniversary, and we will be celebrating in style with a two day user event in Stuttgart. We have certainly come a long way since 1994 and just thinking back of how it used to be makes me feel significantly older.

To put that into perspective for you here are some fun facts from 1994: Forest Gump, True Lies, Pulp Fiction and Lion King were all released and Friends first braced our TV screens. Aggasi and Sampras were ruling the tennis world, Euro Tunnel was opened and in the UK there were 67 mobile phones for every 1000 people (fast forward just ten years to 2004 and there were already more mobiles than people). PlayStation was introduced changing the world of gaming forever and Netscape released their first internet browser, not that any of us could actually get a chance to use it!

I am going to leave you with a request, imagine what technology will look like in 20 years time.

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD-Blog Team