We have in the past 6 months added a ton of new features and improvements to Ecdesign. In this sample design we share a couple tips on how to spice up the designs. 

Now you can get free access to millions of 3D models which will make it easy to add much more details and realism to your Ecdesign layouts. We have created a video tutorial to show you how to search and import files here.

You can change the colors of the spotlights and that will help create a certain mood to the design. Here we have added a green color to match the interior of the fitness studio. Check out a tutorial video here.

Why not show what the interior space will look like at night. Combine with a certain ambient spotlight color and the layout will amazing. The different time settings can be selected when in 3D view from the presentation menu.

Be sure to create a tour of your layout using the Ecdesign walkthrough video editor. Creating a beautiful video takes just minutes and is super easy to create.  Learn how to create walkthrough videos here.

​We are very happy to announce Stella Kuo, Johnson Health Tech Taiwan, the winner of our contest "Where do you create your Ecdesign magic". The contest was a great way to show how Ecdesign is used in over 115 countries. We received wonderful contest entries from every continent and a few of them are shown in the above image.  The winner, Stella Kuo's took the photo in the Johnson Health Tech headquarter in Taiwan (Greta Chen is the woman in the picture). Stella wins a free annual subscription to Ecdesign. Congratulations to Stella and a big thank you to everyone who entered in the contest.

Check out some nice sample layouts created with Ecdesign. Get your creative juices flowing!

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for detailed tutorial videos and/or join the Ecdesign Academy for free e-learning courses.

The summer is almost over here in Sweden and we are back to business as usual. During the summer our development team has been working on some exciting new & improved features to be released during the fall of 2017.
One feature we are extra excited about is a new local importer of Sketchup models. This means you will be able to add 3D from Sketchup Warehouse, the world's largest site for downloading 3D models. We are currently beta testing the new features and a release date will be announced shortly.

In July we did a customer survey and 96% of our users feel Ecdesign is important to their business and 86% will recommend Ecdesign to a colleague or friend. We could not be happier about such great feedback, but we are not slowing down. The survey also gave us some very insightful feedback which we will closely study to help improve Ecdesign going forward.

Be sure to enroll in free online Ecdesign training courses. Our Ecdesign academy is a great place to learn how to use Ecdesign. The courses covers every aspect of Ecdesign and you finish of each course with a quiz. 

We have put together a quick guide the Ecdesign 3D user interface (3D toolbar menu). The guide is great for beginners who needs some help with what each respective icon in the toolbar menu does.

We are happy to announce the release of our new referral program. Now you can earn money or extra subscription days by simply referring Ecdesign to someone you know.

New Skydome feature - add 360 panorama views.

We are happy to announce a new big update is on it's way. Below you can ready about the new features and improvements coming very shortly. The new update is scheduled for release in the few next days.

New rendering options
More rendering types, such as very crisp basic rendering.
 
New rendering menu
Quickly choose render type, skydomes and focal zoom.
 
Optimized rendering process
​Improved speed and memory handling which will make Ecdesign run even better on computers with less graphic power.
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New 360 Skydomes
​Add great looking 360 panorama views to your layout.

Image viewer
Once a rendered images is saved, the windows photo viewer will display the finished result (so you don’t have to look up the images every time.

New navigation option
New simple navigation (mouse mode) simple press left mouse button to move forward, right mouse button to back up.
 
​Navigation speed
Now you will be able to set 3 different speeds on your real-time navigation (so you can move faster in the layout without pressing down shift).
 
OTHER UPDATES/ IMPROVEMENTS

1. Object quick search, now you only need to enter 2 letters and it will begin to search. The search now includes the top 100 results (before 25).
2. STAIRS, now the stairs height will work.
3. Creating holes in the floor.
4. New camera icon in 2D.
5. Now you can add more cameras and select them in 3D..set camera points.
6. Now easier to share files with colleagues. In 2D, simply go to FILE and EXPORT. This will create a zip with the layout, custom textures etc. Send it to a colleage and it will open correct including the textures.
7. Major bug fix regarding the autosave feature.
8. Minor bug fixes in 3D edit/ move of objects.
9. Improved wall drawing tools.
10. Vertical rotation of custom objects.

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We are very happy to announce that Nussbaum Group and TRX are among the new manufacturers joining Ecdesign over the next coming weeks. Nussbaum is a world leading manufacturer of automotive- and heavy-duty lifts. TRX is a leading global brand in physical training and the industry leader in functional fitness.

We have now beta launched the new Ecdesign live chat on our website. The live chat will allow website visitors to connect with the Ecdesign team in real-time. The live chat hours will be 10:00AM-4:00PM Swedish time. 

This article  was originally posted on Linkedin 2017-05-12
​Author Richard Grönberg, Founder & CEO of Ecdesign.

I often get questions about who can use Ecdesign and the answer is simple, basically everyone. Ecdesign was designed to be fast and very user friendly, yet still very powerful. Below you will find a quick introduction on the Ecdesign workflow.

Here is a view of the 2D interface, where most of the planning takes place. In Ecdesign you can import an existing floor plan and use as a template, or start from scratch. Furnish the layout with real equipment from leading manufacturers in your industry. Drag out the objects (which are to scale) into the position of your choice.

At any time you can click a 3D button and enter a live scene based on your work in 2D. When in 3D you can add more objects, make quick changes such switching colors and materials on objects and the room structures. You can save images (up to 4k resolution) from any angle in 3D and even produce a beautiful walkthrough video which can be quickly shared. Check out the video above to see how it all works.

Ecdesign main objective is to help users elevate their business using 3D. We include many ways to help present floor plans in the best and easiest way possible. For example you can also let Ecdesign instantly create professional PDF presentations, night time photos, 360 degree images/ video and soon even VR presentations using Oculus Rift.

Now you can take Ecdesign out for a test drive. Simply visit ecdesign.se and sign up for a free 30 day trial- risk free.