Layout Computer PRO

Should you upgrade from a free account?

Recently Layout Computer (the best chair-designing site ever), began offering a paid version that offers some additional features.

I already support Layout Computer financially by sending donations directly to Nick Stanchenko, the developer. So upgrading to a PRO account was an easy decision for me. But what about you? For the last couple weeks, I’ve been using the PRO features to design a new three-legged comb-back¹ that has been in my sketchbook for years. Here are some notes on the PRO account.

For me, the biggest change from the free version of Layout Computer is that you can keep an unlimited number of chairs in your account. The free version allows three designs at any one time. If you hit your limit, you must delete a design to start a new one. (Yes, there are workarounds to this….)

I have so many chair ideas, that this upgrade was enough to justify the yearly cost of €50. I like to design a bunch of chairs, then come back and refine them a few times before committing them to paper. I also am an iterative designer. So I don’t want to delete any of my previous design.

If you are trying to design one chair, you’ll be happy with the free account. But if you’re like me, then it’s time to plunk some money down.

Hmmm. Looks a little shorter than I thought.

The other additional feature for the PRO account is something I initially thought was meh. But after using it, I could see its value. And that’s the ability to take your design and use augmented reality to see the chair in the room where you are sitting. You use the camera on your phone to do this. And then you can place your design in the room.

This really helped me to see how the chair related to the objects in my office. It was shorter than I thought it was. So that made me change my design. Nick, who built the site, also said the augmented reality feature is a good way to compare a design to an antique chair. I agree.

My chair imported into SketchUp. Nice.