In this module, you will survey the potential use of CAD and other computer software used by landscape and garden designers. The idea is to get you to appreciate the wide range of tools that are at your disposal. many have been sitting on your computer for years. the chances are that you did not appreciate waht they can do.
Project assignment:
After researching the issues discussed here, please log on to your Google Docs space and use the word processor there to write a paragraph or two about what you have learned studying this module (and in reading chapter 1 of the book "GardenCAD by Example' which shows many examples of the use of CAD software to generate landscape plans). Conclude your paper with some comments about your own attitude to the use of computers prior to taking this module. In other words, what did you know about the use of computer software as an aid to design before beginning your study and how do you see yourself using a computer in the future?
Preliminary reading
- Read Chapter 1 of the book "GardenCAD by Example" - http://www.gardencad.net/web/?q=node/44
Now to this project.
Why use computer software?
If you are planning to make a career in the field of landscape design, garden design, landscape design and construction, arboriculture, landscape architecture, horticulture etc., we believe that you need to learn to use computers and computer software effectively. This module provides guidance about the software tools that you will need to master if you decide to go down the 'digital presentation pathway' in the practice of your profession.
Here is a link to a small movie showing just one aspect of the use of computers in landscape work.
Learn to use computers and minimize your carbon footprint - it's important!
If you learn to master the digital delivery of your design work, you can reduce your carbon footprint. For example, several alternative versions of a proposed design can easily created using CAD software and emailed to clients (as a PDF file) so they can read the plans on their computer using Acrobat Reader without the need to print to paper!
The figure below shows two logos we use in our work to convey this message to our clients.
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Figure 1 below shows a sample of a typical landscape plan prepared using CAD software. We can print this plan to a PDF file and send to the client in the form of a PDF file (Click on Fig 2 and a copy of the plan will load in Acrobat Reader).
Why have computers become so important?
In many different disciplines, the advent of computers has radically changed the way professionals work. Many clients now expect that you would use computer applications (software) to do your work. They may even deliver base plans in digital form and expect you to deal with them without the need (and expense) of re-surveying the site. This change in attitude has major implications for many of us.
If you are working, or intend to work, in the landscape, garden design or horticultural field, you need to be able to select and use appropriate software. Increasingly, this will not be an option, it will become mandatory.
CAD software - used to produce mostly 2-D and sometimes 3-D landscape plans (examples of typical software in this category are AutoCAD, IntelliCAD, GardenCAD, VCAD, TiCAD and MicroStation),Database software - used to hold information about plants, but also used to manage landscape businesses as an integral a part of work flow. A database might hold information about each job, the client, location, billing; document transmission and so on. (examples are FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Access, SQL Server etc.),3D visualization software - for producing 3-D impressions of intended designs, especially where clients require 'walk throughs' to understand how complex 3-D spaces are organised (examples are SketchUp and SketchUp Pro),Image editing software - for producing sophisticated presentation sheets, altering and improving photographs of plants and previously constructed spaces (examples are Photoshop, Gimp, Paint Shop Pro),Vector drawing software - for dressing up broad scale landscape plans and for creating logos (examples are Visio, Illustrator),Spreadsheet software - for creating and manipulating plant schedules (Microsoft Excel),Word processing and Desk Top Publishing software - used to prepare reports, marketing materials, printing plans etc. (examples are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher; Adobe InDesign).Specialist software to help with irrigation design,Project management software (Microsoft Project)
2-D CAD software
This group of software applications (AutoCAD, IntelliCAD, GardenCAD, VCAD, TiCAD and MicroStation) are used to create 2-D plans. These plans dictate what should be built to your design by the construction team. These are mostly straightforward 2-D plans, and are the designers 'bread and butter' and the main way your design ideas are conveyed to clients. Typically, the same drawing is used to present several sheets - possibly a 'dressed up' plan to show the client (complete with complex planting symbols), perhaps a simplified construction plan for the team implementing the design, a plant schedule and possibly an irrigation and/or a lighting plan. These are all generated from the same drawing file by turning appropriate drawing layers on and off. For example, if a drwaing is required for a construction team or an irrigation installer; we simply turn appropriate layers on or off as required. There is no need to redraw the plan; a great time saver.
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IntelliCAD was the CAD software used to create the design above, but it is not the only tool used by landscape professionals to produce 2-D plans. IntelliCAD is relatively inexpensive (approx $AUD350.00) when compared to the CAD tool used by many architects - software called AutoCAD which costs $AUD6,500.00. The figure below shows a landscape plan developed in AutoCAD.
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The figure below shows part of another landscape plan made using AutoCAD. On this occasion, we have changed the background colour from a black to a light grey - some drafters like to work that way. Note that by creating some interesting symbols and choosing a hand lettered text font, it is possible to give CAD drawings some of the look and feel of hand drawn examples.
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The same sort of result can be achieved using other CAD tools. The figures below shows more 2-D landscape plans - created this time using GardenCAD Lite. This software can be downloaded from the Internet without cost from the software's web site (http://www.gardencad.net).
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Design for the rear of a courtyard home created using GardenCAD
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Details
It is possible to draw details - designs for benches, steps, custom tree rings, planting details, boardwalks etc. or purchase symbol libraries of details to speed up your design work as you work with 2-D CAD software. The figure below shows a detail from one of the symbol libraries in GardenCAD.
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Part of GardenCAD's symbol library.
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An aside - CAD drawings are often criticised for lacking personality. In our opinion, this criticism is unfounded. The figure below shows a sheet of plant symbols which we have developed for GardenCAD. Here we have been able to create a unique set of symbols to indicate planting in our designs. Creating your own symbols can personalize CAD drawings.
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Although as shown above, GardenCAD software comes with many pre-drawn symbols, it (and other CAD software) also allow you to create your own symbols. The figure below shows a custom symbol for Bismarkia nobilis. In the figure below, the CA symbol is on the left and the actual plant species on the right.
We can also use hand lettered fonts to give some sense of individuality to our design work. Moreover, it is not too difficult to turn your own hand lettering into a Windows True Type font, thus replicating what you presently produce by hand in the CAD environment (see design below).
Other CAD software
We have mentioned AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and GardenCAD. These are by no means the only CAD packages on the market; there are many more - Growit, landscape Pro, TurboCAD, MiniCAD, VersaCAD, MicroStation etc. VersaCAD is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. Some are 2-D, some 3-D, some are bit-mapped, some vector, some contain plant databases, some do not. We strongly recommend that before you spend any money, you spend time with demonstartion versions of the software. You can do every part of this Diploma using demonstration software.
One special example
Adobe Illustrator also falls into the 2-D CAD category, although it certainly does have many other uses. In the figure below, Illustrator is being used to produce a broad scale landscape concept plan. The cadastral information has been prepared in a CAD program (AutoCAD) and brought in to the Illustrator environment as a backdrop to the concept plan. Illustrator has been used to colour (render) the 2-D plan. Existing trees are shown in dark green. Trees to be established are lighter in colour. The overall effect is pleasing and not too different from a hand drawn plan.
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A cautionary note
Thus far we have discussed IntelliCAD, AutoCAD, and GardenCAD as the prime tools for 2-D CAD. We do recommend that you concentrate on learning to use those tools in the first instance. This is because they are by far the most used CAD tools for generating 2-D plans and their command set (instructions for doing things) are common. We will use GardenCAD in this Diploma because it has been specially designed as a 2-D CAD tool for landscapers. IntelliCAD and AutoCAD are general purpose CAD tools, and you would have to draw all your own symbols from scratch if you chose those software tools. There is also the small matter of cost - AutoCAD LT (the cheap version of AutoCAD), costs $2000!
GardenCAD is free and command compatible with AutoCAD and IntelliCAD. It essentially works in the same way as AutoCAD so you can train yourself to use CAD software to quite a high level before 'putting your money down.'
Another cautionary note - DXF file exchange
Vendors of most CAD software will tell you that they have included in their software, an export function to create a file in what is called Drawing Exchange Format (DXF). This (supposedly) makes drawing translation a simple task. Be wary of these claims. Experience has shown us that the translators providing for the generation (and importation) of DXF files are not perfect, and do not always deliver seamless translation.
As an example, most non-AutoCAD CAD programs do not understand entities called polylines used by IntelliCAD, GardenCAD and AutoCAD. In many other CAD programs, these get converted into short line segments as the DXF file is generated. Flexibility of editing in a subsequent drawing session in the 'receiving' environment is then compromised. This drawing file incompatibility issue is not a trivial concern. We have had experience of designs where our profit on the job was severely compromised because (as we discovered at a very late stage) the survey software used for the base drawing (WESCOM) used AutoCAD text shape files to place symbols representing trees. In this case, text letters appeared in the AutoCAD drawings where we expected to see existing trees. Many hours were lost trying to track down the source of the problem.
Many CAD programs claim to open AutoCAD's .DWG files without conversion. Again, be wary of this claim; try the software before you buy. There may be an ability to do this, but the software may not open the DWG files generated by the latest release of AutoCAD.
Let's now turn to a discussion of the next main category of software.
Databases:
All landscape designers need a database; as a minimum, they need to keep a list of plant species (botanical names and common names) which can be sorted at will.
Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro are perhaps the two most widely used database tools by landscape professionals. It is possible to use these tools to create databases which handle plant knowledge (photos and descriptions of plant species), work schedules, client billing including GST obligations, etc. Again, like CAD software, they are not easy to use and it takes a degree of discipline to learn to use them and create workable databases.
We would advise you to start by developing a simple database such as that shown in the figure below. This database was created using Microsoft Access. Most landscapers would populate the database with plants with which they are familiar. the Access database enables useres to retrieve lists of plants suitable for particular applications. For example, you can ask it to generate a list of all small trees, suitable for frost prone areas which have pink flowers in winter. It is difficult to quickly recall this type of information from your own 'memory' bank, even though you may know the plants well. Since the database holds information on many plants and it allows you to set up queries and forms to generate many different lists.
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FileMaker Pro, a database originally developed for Macintosh computers, but now available for Windows computers, is especially good for creating a plant database based on photographs you have taken. The metaphor used by FileMaker Pro is is that of a book. You simply turn the pages of the book to look at your plants. Searching for a plant with particular features is very easy.
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A plant database developed in FileMaker Pro.
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We are likely to see small applications of this type appearing in mobile phones and tablet devices in the near future.
An online database
We have developed an online plant database of our own - http://www.plants.gardencad.net. You might care to try it out. We would hope that you will contribute to this database during your course.
Let's look at the next category.
3-D Visualization software:
If you need to show a client a 3-D view of your design work, even though IntelliCAD, AutoCAD and MicroStation are capable of 3-D design, programs such as Google SketchUp are rapidly becoming the tool of choice for landscapers. The figure below shows a design for a courtyard. The base plan for this design was created initially in GardenCAD and then moved into SketchUp for rendering. Other figures below show landscape scenes rendered in SketchUp.
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Here is a link to a small movie which shows what SketchUp can do.
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As mentioned, CAD software such as AutoCAD and IntelliCAD can be used to generate 3-D views, but in our opinion, SketchUp is in a class of its own for ease of use and rendering.
The next category:
Image editors
You will need to edit the photos you take with your camaera as these can form an important part of your portfolio. Photoshop, Gimp and Paint Shop Pro are all excellent tools for editing images, but we will teach you to use IrfanView, another free software tool. For most landscape professionals, you will edit images taken with your digital camera or obtained by scanning photographs and hand drawn material. The figure below shows an image exported as a 2-D graphic from SketchUp and 'rendered' using tools in Gimp, a free image editor.
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Here is an image edited using IrfanView. We have cropped the image and reduced the file size to a manageable size such that it can be imported into a CAD drawing and yet still provide enough resolution for our client to understand the garden style. If the file size had not been reduced, the CAD drawing would become too slow to work with.
An aside - you will need a CAD version of your logo.
You can (and we will expect you to) create a logo using GardenCAD, but many professional designers will use Illustrator to create logos and other art work. [GardenCAD>Illustrator>Brushes and Effects>GardenCAD]
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Here is a link to a small movie showing how a logo was created using Adobe Illustrator.
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Word processing
Most of you would have used Microsoft Word to write letters and quotations for jobs. Word is not the only word processor. We hope that you appreciate that the word processor in Google Docs is more than adequate for writing. The big advantage is that you can invite outsiders to look at documents (like a long report) and do joint editing sessions with them. Google Docs also has the considerable advantage that there is only one copy of a document in existance at any time.
DTP presentation software
In the modern business world, the 'presentation bar' is being constantly raised. There is a continuing call for the production of better quality documents - be they newsletters, brochures, annual reports, charts, diagrams, location maps, presentations etc. Desktop publishing software such as Microsoft Publisher and tools in the Adobe Creative Suite enables the preparation of these high quality materials, both in printed form and on the web. The figure below shows Adobe's InDesign being used to prepare some high quality marketing material for an architectural firm.
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The next category.
Spreadsheet software:
Spreadsheets are software tools which assist in the performance of both mathematical operations and for manipulations of textual information. For example, spreadsheets can be used to calculate margins in a job, to quickly sorting a list of clients ready to send marketing letters via a mail merge and preparing a planting schedule ready to import to a CAD drawing.
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Preparing a plant schedule in Microsoft Excel.
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Project management software
If you become involved in arge projects which involve a number of stakeholders and large budgets, project management software can help manage this process. Microsoft Project is the most commonly used tool. The figure below shows a Gantt Chart from Microsoft Project.
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In conclusion, there are many software tools that can assist you in the pactise of a landscape profession. It is not necessary to learn to use them all at once - just pick them up as required.
The next series of modules we will focus on teaching you to how to use 2-D Computer Aided Design software.
