An Interior Designer's UPDATED Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect
It’s crazy to think it’s been almost three years since I wrote my ever-popular blog post, An Interior Designer’s Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors, on my original home to all things Chief Architect and Home Designer, www.kellyfridlinedesign.com. As of today, the blog has been read or viewed by thousands of Interior Designers, Residential Designers, Architects, and even Homeowners. The topic is still widely discussed, reviewed, and consistently questioned within the various Facebook groups, forums, and emailed to me. In addition to the popularity of the blog, I’ve also released several very successful online courses full of detailed instructions for all three versions and equate to over 45 hours of recordings.
Which version is right for you?
Since my last post, the software has now been upgraded twice and those promotions have really added some amazing features to all three versions. Oh, and yes, the three options we will be discussing are Home Designer Pro 2022, Chief Architect Interiors X13, and Chief Architect Premier X13. To start, I’m going to give you a very basic understanding of what the differences are between the three versions, I will then go a little more in-depth as to what each option includes. I will mention that of the three Home Designer options I will only be discussing Home Designer Pro, due to the extreme limitations, from a professional viewpoint, I do not recommend Architectural nor Suite.
PC or MAC | Does It Matter… Really?
#2 | The Computer Requirements and Models You Need as an Interior Designer, Virtual Design Assistant, and Rendering Artist
Alright, so you’re reading this post for a reason, and most likely because you’re an Interior Designer who’s looking for a new computer, but have absolutely no idea where to start. First things first, I will recommend you read my primarily dry and, yet, trying to be witty, previous blog post, PC or MAC | Does It Matter -#1 | What to Keep In Mind When Purchasing a Computer as an Interior Designer, Virtual Design Assistant, and Rendering Artist. Designed as the precursor to this post, I mainly discuss the technical details and definitions Interior Designers need to consider when purchasing a new computer. There is just too much information out there and many of us are too busy to try to earn another degree or let’s say always listen to teenagers of the Geek Squad pitch us a computer without fully understanding what we ACTUALLY NEED. So before you walk into Best Buy, Apple, or call Dell, brush up on the basics to make sure you can at least understand the equivalent of laying a beautiful and efficient kitchen design, but not necessarily drafting the shop drawings.
PC or MAC | Does it Matter
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Chief Architect v. SketchUp
One of my favorite things about working virtually is building a community of designers across the country who are eager to lift one another up as we navigate design and business challenges. That’s why I created my Facebook group, Presentation by Design. It’s a resource and sounding board for us to come together for inspiration, troubleshooting, and support.
A few months ago, my co-administrator, Sarah Durnez, and I went live on Facebook to discuss one of the biggest questions facing designers and rendering artists: What application should I use for rendering? What are the pros and cons of Chief Architect v. SketchUp?
If you haven’t joined Presentation by Design on Facebook, you’ll definitely want to do so to stay on top of future trainings and Q&A sessions. In the meantime, however, I’m going to break down our Facebook Live for you here.
Composition: How it Affects Our Interpretation of Design and Space
Today we have our phones, and their cameras ready, for any memory to be recorded and added to our virtual arsenal in an instant. If you’re anything like me just walking down the street and seeing something I deem beautiful turns me into an aspiring photographer (I actually walked into a street sign in NYC once while admiring the architecture), but the truth is no level of equipment, space, or lighting has as much of an effect on an image as its composition. This also applies to renderings and other forms of art, architecture, and interior design.