A virtual visualizer for placing office furniture and designing work space at NeoCon 2016
By Jacob Davis
Configura-screen.jpg
CHICAGO - Configura, maker of CET Designer software, officially launches its virtual reality technology at NeoCon 2016. Configura’s CET Designer Virtual Viewer Extension lets users “walk around” in a drawing in full-screen mode using gaming controls. Wearing Oculus Rift goggles, an individual can have an immersive virtual reality experience of a designed space. 
 
Meanwhile, an entire audience can take part in the “walk around,” no goggles needed, by viewing on a screen as a user guides them with the gaming controls. The designer can make changes that can be applied instantly, and immediately viewed and experienced by the individual or the audience. 
 
“The technology helps designers to help their customers visualize their space like never before,” said Brooke Snow, Configura's business development manager. “The experience is incredible.”
 

CET Designer 7.0 Launched

In May, Configura released CET Designer 7.0 with major additions and new features that will benefit the contract furniture designer, including the ability for users to reduce rendering times, choose among more generic products to enhance drawings, and take the designed experience to the next level with stairs, multiple floors and 3D text. 

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How Configura approaches design

Office space design application maker Configura has released CET Designer 7.0 with major additions and new features that will benefit the contract furniture designer.


Enhancements to CET Designer 7.0 include:

 
Reduced rendering times. Render Accelerator, an Extension to CET Designer, works as a “cluster” – when a user clicks the render button in CET Designer, it uses the power of all nearby connected computers instead of just the user’s computer, making the time to render incredibly fast. Render Accelerator works by installing a small program on designated computers; those computers then automatically become a part of that “cluster” and can help anyone in that cluster to render faster. 
 
“Renderings are a central part of the sales process in the contract furniture industry – they help customers to visualize their space before making a big investment. Time is money, so in the new release, CET Designer users can take advantage of their local network to create renderings even faster than before,” Configura Vice President of Global Customer Experience Tracy Lanning said.
 
More generic products to enhance drawings. CET Designer 7.0 offers a Generic Kitchen Extension to depict break-room areas. CET Designer 7.0 also adds more symbols depicting plants and other objects, bringing enhanced realism to the envisioned space.
 
Stairs and multiple-floors functionality. CET Designer 7.0 offers a new Extension that lets users place stairs in the drawing. Meanwhile, new multiple-floors functionality enables users to easily create lofts and mezzanine spaces in 3D. 
 
3D text on walls. Configura regularly surveys CET Designer users about which new features they would like to see incorporated into CET Designer. This time, the top user-requested feature was the ability to place 3D text on walls, a function that’s now a part of CET Designer.
 
CET platform
Configura also continues to build upon its CET platform, which makes it easier for manufacturers to develop their own Extensions or Catalogues. Configura leaders and software developers will be at NeoCon to talk with interested manufacturers about the benefits of the platform. 
 
Configura will demo these products at NeoCon 2016 in space 7-4129 at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago.
 

Configura announces dates, location and keynote presenters of 9th annual CET Designer User Conference

Separaetely, Configura announced its 9th annual CET Designer User Conference will be held Oct. 18 and 19 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A pre-conference welcome event for attendees will be the evening of Oct. 17. The conference previously was held in 2013 and 2014 in Grand Rapids – the city known as the office furniture capital of the world. It has also been held in Las Vegas and Orlando. 
“Our users especially love Grand Rapids. It’s where Configura’s U.S. office is based, and our major manufacturer customers are headquartered in West Michigan,” Configura Vice President of Global Customer Experience Tracy Lanning said. “The city has a vibrant arts culture, and its architecture is gorgeous.”
Color expert Laura Guido Clark will keynote the conference that’s expected to draw hundreds of design professionals and office furniture manufacturers. International Association of Interior Designers CEO Cheryl Durst will also speak at the conference.
 
 
Laura Guido Clark, principal of Laura Guido Clark Design based in Berkeley, California, specializes in the skin of products – their colors, materials and finishes. Her expertise extends from manufacturing work for such clients as Toyota, Samsung, LG and Hewlett-Packard to textiles and pattern design for FLOR, HBF, Pallas and Uncommon. In 2011, she founded Project Color Corps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to painting urban neighborhoods with color and pattern to convey messages of optimism and hope.
 
 
Cheryl S. Durst, Honorary FIIDA, LEED AP, is the executive vice president and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) where she leads the board and members of the organization, and champions and elevates the profession of interior design. Part of the IIDA team since 1997, Durst started her career in sales at Knoll and in marketing at The Washington Design Center in Washington, DC. She is a sought-after speaker on “The Future of Design” and other explorations into the value of design as a social, cultural and economic force. She is the creator and curator of IIDA’s innovative What Clients Want publication series that examines the designer-client relationship. Durst has been called by Interior Design magazine “an ambassador for innovation and expansion, and a visionary strategist.”
 
In conjunction with the CET Designer User Conference, Configura will also host a developer conference. “The goal is to bring designers and developers together, so they can talk with each other about what’s possible with the software. Their conversations will be the start of new ideas and features for CET Designer,” Chief Product Officer Nicklas Dagersten said.
Both conferences will also include breakout sessions and tracks specific to space planning and design, and IT and software development. Full conference programming will be announced soon.
 

Early registration opportunity during NeoCon

During the week of NeoCon (June 13-17), Configura kick-starts conference registration with an “early bird” special: $400/person for the first 50 designers and dealer representatives who sign up to attend the conference (regular price after June 17 is $450/person). The cost for manufacturer representatives is $750/person. Attendees can sign up at Configura’s NeoCon booth 7-4129 or online at http://www.configura.com/userconference. User Conference details and registration information are available at http://www.configura.com/userconference. Space at the conference is limited to the first 350 registrants. People with questions are welcome to contact Configura toll free at 866-922-2200 or by sending an email to [email protected].
 

Contest during NeoCon to win a free registration to the CET Designer User Conference

Configura invites CET Designer users to stop by its NeoCon booth June 13-15 to register for a chance to win a spot at the 9th annual CET Designer User Conference. The winner will be drawn June 15 at NeoCon, with the drawing live-streamed at 10 a.m. Chicago (Central) time on Configura’s CET Designer Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cetdesigner. The winner does not need to be present to win. CET Designer users who aren’t attending NeoCon can enter to win starting June 12 on the CET Designer Facebook page with a short comment under the user conference photo explaining why they want to attend the conference.
 

Free subscription to CET Designer

Configura is offering a free, one-year new subscription to CET Designer for each dealer that sends a user to the conference, a value of $1,000. (Extensions not included; offer applies to additional, new subscriptions only, not renewals. Limit of one free subscription per dealership.)
 
 

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