Archinect - News

Apple's Jony Ive to leave Apple and form independent design company

2019-06-27T17:58:00-04:00

Apple® today announced that Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, will depart the company as an employee later this year to form an independent design company which will count Apple among its primary clients. While he pursues personal projects, Ive in his new company will continue to work closely and on a range of projects with Apple.

Apple's long-running chief design office, Jony Ive, has announced plans to depart the company to open up his own design practice.

Ive, the designer behind the iMac, iPhone, and iPod, among many other products, is perhaps the most influential industrial designer of his generation.

Jony Ive and Tim Cook at the September 2018 launch of iPhone Xr. Image courtesy of Apple.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said, "Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated, from 1998’s groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care."

Cook added, "Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built. After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working wit...

Morpholio Trace and Shapr3D launch new iOS 12 features to integrate 3D modeling and sketching for architects

2018-09-26T15:59:00-04:00

With Apple's recent release of its latest mobile operating system, iOS 12, we're now seeing new feature releases in a variety of apps. Two players in the world of architectural software, Morpholio Trace and Shapr3D, today announced a joint effort that promises to further bridge the divide between 3D modeling and sketching on the iPad Pro thanks to Apple’s Drag and Drop and the new universal 3D file type USDZ.

Credit: Jim Keen. Image courtesy of Morpholio.

Dubbed "Drag 'n' Fly", the new iOS 12 feature by Morpholio, a company that we've covered previously on Archinect, enables users to integrate live 3D models in Trace sketches, create infinite views, and draw over automatically generated perspective grids. Shapr3D models can now be exported directly to Trace via the new OBJ export, simplifying the switch between drawing and modeling.

Credit: Jim Keen. Image courtesy of Morpholio.

Morpholio Co-Founder Mark Collins explains the reason behind...

Take your sketching to the next level: Morpholio launches Trace Pro app for the iPad Pro & Pencil

2015-11-11T19:54:00-05:00

Ever since Apple announced the launch of the supersized iPad Pro tablet and its Pencil companion, the anticipation grew which new apps—specifically developed for designers and creatives—could fully make use of the enhanced capacity: a more powerful A9X processor, larger 12.9-inch Retina display and stylus precision encouraged potential new features that neither traditional tablets nor desktop computers had been capable of. "It could offer a lot to designers who still bring out tracing paper before launching inDesign or Rhino," Nicholas Korody wrote on Archinect after the product launch in September.

One exciting new app that promises to fully bridge that gap between physical and digital sketching via iPad Pro and Pencil was just launched by Morpholio this week: Trace Pro.

Here is some more information we've received from Morpholio:

Trace Pro Unleashes 5 Super Tools:

Hyper Zooming with Scale:
Zoom from a plan sketch, into a room, into the furniture, and ultimately into the details. Trace...

Japanese architecture and engineering firms going all-in on Apple iOS

2015-10-20T16:40:00-04:00

The corporate shift toward iPads has occurred rapidly over the past year, thanks in part to Apple's high profile global partnership with IBM. Major design firms that already use Graphisoft ArchiCAD have also been quick to adopt iPads to make use of BIMx Docs, a mobile companion app. Apple has specifically profiled Daiwa House Industry, Japan's largest homebuilder, as a major enterprise iPad adopter, detailing how the company uses iPads and custom iOS apps for everything...

More news from Apple:

Apple announces new iPad Pro aimed at creative professionals

2015-09-10T13:44:00-04:00

Apple has announced a range of new products, including a new larger iPad, two new smartphones and a long-awaited update to Apple TV. In a now traditional September event, this time held at San Francisco’s 7,000 seater Bill Graham civic auditorium, 2,000 engineers, advertisers, executives and journalists saw Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller reveal a new 12.9-inch screen iPad that the company hopes will appeal to both professional creatives and committed tablet users.

With a $799 price-tag, the new iPad Pro could offer a more affordable option for creatives than a MacBook Pro or a desktop. The tablet will have a 10-hour battery life and a faster, more efficient A9X processor, as well as a 12.9-inch Retina display. In addition, the iPad was introduced alongside "Apple Pencil," a smart stylus.

The announcement included a revamped AppleTV with a new, native operating system and Siri. Two new iPhones were also announced, with features such as a 3D touch gesture (like a pressure sensitive, responsive multi-touch), 4K video, and "Live Photos," which are like gifs capturing "the moments just before and after your picture," and then put into motion.

Probably the most exciting news, the stylus and iPad Pro could have the potential to greatly bridge the distance between traditional pen-and-paper and digital designing, with intuitive technology like tethering line weight to applied pressure. As such, it could offer a lot to designers who still bring out traci...

Archinect test drives FiftyThree's Pencil and Paper app for iPad

2014-07-25T10:57:00-04:00

Ever since I spotted FiftyThree's beautifully designed iPad pen, aptly called “Pencil”, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one (like literally).

Made by the creators of the award-winning “Paper” drawing and sketching app for the iPad, Pencil is promised to be “the most natural and expressive tool for getting ideas on Paper.” Archinect reached out to FiftyThree, and a few days later, we received a Pencil in the mail – pretty packaging and all – for a test drive.

The first impression is thoroughly impressive: my Pencil's body is milled from a solid piece of premium-grade walnut (there's also a "Graphite" model sporting a handsome seamless brushed aluminum body) with an eraser tip on one end and a tapered rubber-coated tip on the other end. No cheap plastic here, no buttons to push, no distracting LED diodes flashing. Inspired by the iconic form and dimensions of the carpenter pencil, the design and engineering team of Pencil really set out to turn a cutting-edge high-tech device into a ...

Adobe is scratching the surface with new analog tools for digital drawings

2013-05-29T16:18:00-04:00

Our XD team revealed a few projects they're working on at Adobe MAX 2013. The team has been exploring how new form factor displays, new interactions (like touch and gesture), cloud connections and even new hardware might change how you all create and in turn how it might impact what software we need to build.

Morpholio app launches v2.0

2013-05-02T14:35:00-04:00

The good folks at the Morpholio Project, who brought you the Trace iPad app, have launched their latest application which combines 7 new tools for presentation, collaboration, and critique.

"The app re-imagines the portfolio as a design utility, moving it into the fast, flexible, at-your-fingertips device era. The project seeks to advance the ways that creatives access, share, discuss, and get feedback on their work from a global community of users."

To learn more and download Morpholio 2.0, check it out in iTunes.

The Domus iPad app maintains an impressive 5-star rating six months after launch

2013-02-08T12:59:00-05:00

Started in Italy in 1928 by Gio Ponti, Domus has established itself as one of the most respected, and longest-running architecture & design publications. It is refreshing to see that it has also been able to embrace new technology in such a graceful way, as seen in their new iPad app. An almost 5 out-of 5 stars after numerous reviews is almost unprecedented for a new app!

This article is brought to you by Domus

Domus initially unveiled the new iPad app in Venice, at the Biennale, on August 28th 2012, complementing the existing magazine, website, apps and social media channels.

The Domus app presents each magazine issue in a format optimized for the digital tablet experience. Adding to the text and images found in the print magazine, the app offers exclusive interviews and videos, behind-the-scenes footage, amazing architecture photography, as well as interactive diagrams and features.

T...

Harvard Graduate School of Design: Ecological Urbanism App

2012-11-09T13:10:00-05:00

The Ecological Urbanism app adapts content from the GSD’s book of the same name for a tablet. Much more than an ebook, it’s an entirely new way of looking at the information interactively. With the majority of the world’s population expected to live in cities by the year 2050, Ecological Urbanism addresses the expanding practice of sustainable design. A timely evolution of the book, this iPad app visualizes the growing body of discourse surrounding the design and management of cities

Fentress Architects co-creates app for children

2012-10-15T11:32:00-04:00

From the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to St. Basil’s cathedral in Moscow, to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the architecture featured in Clover is among the world’s most memorable. “We purposely selected works that most children would find fascinating,” says Josh Heidebrecht, Clover co-creator and Soma Creates founder. “Each building is from a different culture and shows a different perspective on the world.”

The Morpholio Project launches Trace for the iPad

2012-09-25T18:04:00-04:00

The next generation of tracing paper can now be loaded onto your iPad.

New York, September 25, 2012 – The Morpholio Project announces the launch of its second app, simply called Trace. The app explores the role of technology in the conceptual phase of the design workflow through a digital version of trace paper, and fosters communication amongst a global design culture. Trace, essential to any design or creative process, allows users to instantly draw on top of imported images or background templates, layering comments or ideas to generate immediate, intelligent sketches that are easy to circulate.

The uniqueness of Trace is most visible in two primary modes. One is communication, in which the user can simply trace over something in order to give feedback or convey information quickly, and graphically. The second is idea exploration. “You are plugging yourself into a recursive feedback loop, as you iteratively build up an idea, taking several passes at it,” says co-creator Mark ...

Fallingwater gets interactive

2011-12-21T19:03:31-05:00

Have you visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater? Not all of us have, but there's a new app available that gives you the next best thing. planet architecture, a production company that has been publishing videos and interactive tours for many years, has just added Fallingwater to their relatively new library of app releases.

I've been quite impressed with it after playing with the app for the last couple days. It provides a surprisingly comprehensive collection of drawings, photographs, videos and 360° panoramic views of the iconic house, all accessible from an architect-friendly navigation of floorplans and siteplans.

The iPad app will set you back $9.99, which is relatively pricey in the app world, but a great deal considering the quality of the content and the experience. The iPhone app is $4.99, and currently on sale for $0.99 for the next few days.

We have some free copies (in the form of promo codes) available to the first requests in the comments below. The catch - ...