With space planning software becoming increasingly important in the interior design world, we caught up with Diane Butterworth, founder and owner of Diane Butterworth Ltd, an office planning and design consultancy, to learn all about the world of CAD.

Diane has worked with Camira over a number of years in creating tileable scans of our textiles – enabling customers to create lifelike depictions of their upholstery choices, her expertise has been invaluable in allowing us to develop our digital offering.

Your company, Diane Butterworth, now supports a number of key suppliers and manufacturers in the office industry, could you tell us a little bit about how you got involved in the world of CAD? What drew you to specialise in this increasingly important part of design?

I was first introduced to CAD over 10 years ago in my first year of university. I studied product design and, as a form of communicating my ideas, it was fantastic. I can’t draw by hand, so the pragmatic approach of a computer fits my style really well.

Translating and envisioning a 2D design can be difficult if you’re not used to it. Using 3D visulisation as a tool to communicate a design, both to team members and clients, can really speed up the process. 3D gives everyone the best possible chance to envisage how the product will look within the space. A 2D plan may look great with symmetrical furniture or a shape etched into the carpet, but switching to a 3D plan of the same space offers a true representation of the product within the space.

3D is not only used for visualisation. Using a 3D model of the actual product you’re interested in buying allows architects and designers to view how each element interacts. 3D is commonly used for clash detection which can save a huge amount of time and money.

You've created tileable images of Camira textiles for a number of years, allowing customers to realistically depict furniture upholstery within their 3D renders. Could you tell us a little bit about what it means for a fabric to be 'tileable'? How do you go about creating these images?

If an image is tileable, it means you cannot see a seam between repeats of the image. Say you wanted to see what an entire chair would look like covered in a certain textile; using a small textile sample risks low image quality resulting in distortion, at worst even missing the full repeat of the pattern on the sample. We create the majority of Camira samples at 13.5 cm, meaning the image is easy to duplicate across the surface without risking distortion or cutting off the pattern.

There are two elements to how coronavirus has impacted space planning. The more obvious is, well, spacing. The initial aftermath of the outbreak found us creating COVID-19 secure plans, highlighting safe desks and laying out directional walkways for existing offices. I believe at least a small aspect of this will stick around in space planning. In my experience, employees have enjoyed the extended personal space they’ve been afforded since these plans have been in place.

The second element is the increase in home working; a precaution that most businesses were forced to implement during lockdown. Technology and processes were challenged, but for the most part, it was successful and many companies don’t look desperate to get back to their usual format. Office spaces are likely to act more of a hub rather than where ‘the work’ is completed.