We have different kinds of software on the market to help your daily life, and I decided to share a list of the best interior design software that I use to organize and create my projects and content for my social media.
Last year I was thinking about starting my regular writing planner in a new notebook, but after some minutes of thinking I realize that I spend a lot of my time online, and if I could migrate everything to digital would be awesome, so today I’m here to share some of the best software on my point of view.
Check the list and the description of them below:
Starting a project
To start the project I always create boards with the vision and ideas for the spaces that I’m working on, usually google and Pinterest are my to-go websites. Design is all about research on the beginning and putting the ideas and creating the boards I go to three different software:
Adobe Photoshop – I come from the graphic design world and for me, Photoshop is the best to deal with images, I edit and make the images right for my presentations, you can use Adobe Illustrator to put things together, but usually, photoshop is fine to that.
Creative Express / Canva – Both have great ideas and different sharing options.
For online presentations Canva is great, it has the shareable link and also the record option on the screen, for me this is amazing, on my e-design service that for sure was a game-changer.
Now for my graphic material and the in-person presentation I work with Creative express gives me a better option to build amazing graphics with my brand, I like when apps can make my life easier, and those are some that help me to get things done more easily.
Keynote – To build a nice presentation for an in-person interior design service I go to the keynote, it gives me some nice options and I can transfer to my iPad without a problem if you don’t know this is the Mac version for Microsoft Powerpoint.
Building the project
After I talk with my client and we decide the direction that we’ll take for the spaces I go to my computer and Start the fun phase – build the rooms and start to see all the selections coming to life, all the furniture, colors, etc, for that, I have two software to help me do the magic.
Sketchup – I think this is the designer’s best friend, with Sketchup I can build anything, and seeing the spaces on my screen, is amazing, I can analyze all the ideas for the space, even build custom furniture if necessary, and the best part of Sketchup is that they have a free online option for those that are starting.
I recommend Sketchup I use this software for about 6 years and I already tried to find something similar, the market has a lot of options, but for me, this is the most complete and affordable software on the market. I think it is technical software, but easy to learn, and after you start to understand and use is hard to change.
V-ray – This is my newest friend, this is a software that does the rendering to my SketchUp projects, I did large research, and for me, V-ray has the best price and it gives you full control over the render.
When I started I had a little bit of trouble understanding how to use it, but after some youtube classes things got easy and today is my favorite part to do on the projects, is nice to see your creations turning into virtual reality and be able to show how the project will be on real life.
Organization in general
Dubsado – A great ally to my client’s organization, where I can see my contacts, send emails, do invoices, and create a portal for my clients to have a place where we can communicate even if we don’t meet in person. Is a great organizational tool for designers, coaches, photographers, etc.
Google calendar – Since I was a photographer google calendar is my to-go organization, is pretty simple to use and you can integrate it with your website and every other software that you’ll need, is free and so helpful!
On my Ipad
I have some apps to help me keep tracking of my routine and my work, my iPad is always on my side, if I’m not watching something I’ll be drawing, searching, or listening to something, check my most used apps:
Pinterest – I recommend this app, I lost count of how many people I introduced to this magical app, it haves everything that you need and more!
I spend hours looking for inspirations and ideas on Pinterest and is no different with my clients, is part of my process with them to have a specific board for their projects, is a fun way to see what they like and if my thoughts on the project are going to the right direction.
Good Notes – This is an app that lets you handwrite on the iPad, I use it as a digital notebook.
You can find a lot of planners and stickers online for free, and some videos showing how to use the most of this app, I’m still learning and adapting myself to this app, but I’m loving it!
Sketchup for Ipad – The great news for this week is that now you can use SketchUp on your Ipad, I’m still adapting myself to this new app, is amazing to have the possibility to create, change and show my clients their projects on the iPad!
When you open the app you will pass through a tutorial to understand how to use the app on the Ipad with your apple pen, all the projects go to the Trimble cloud and you are able to edit the projects wherever you want!
Procreate – If you are into drawings this is your Ipad app, is a one-time paid app that I don’t regret investing in, it gives you so many options to create any kind of art if you have the apple pencil and a creative side I guarantee that you will have fun and be able to do a lot with this app.
Google Meet / Zoom – I have the e-design service and for my meetings, those are the apps that I use the most, they are easy and have free versions, and you can schedule and send an invitation to your clients with the date and the meeting link.
My Recommendation
I love researching and I created this list to help people who are starting, for me, these are the best software and they help me a lot in my business, of course, this is just a small list of the best ones in my view.
My recommendation is that you read a lot and do your own research and see the things that you need.
Details are part of my work and the software that I recommended here is great for people like me, they sometimes are a little bit more work, but in the end, I know that I’ll have the best to offer to my clients, and that is my goal with on my job.
I hope to have helped you and now tell me in the comments if you already knew any of these software and which software you can’t live without.
