#1 most frequent
United States of America
35.4%7,972 installations of 22,524
What is SketchUp?
SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.
Categories & Use Cases
Videos
Who Buys & Uses SketchUp
#2 most frequent
India
14.2%3,195 installations of 22,524
#3 most frequent
Brazil
4.8%1,072 installations of 22,524
SketchUp is a Great Conceptual Software to Start Your Design Process
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use it as a design tool to study different massing, skin and materials on buildings. It allows us to also model context of buildings and through Enscape, get renderings for clients. This allows us to pick the best design options and come up with solutions before putting our final design into Revit for documentation.
Pros
- Quickly models massings
- Quickly looks at materials
- Renderings views well
Cons
- SketchUp does not do well with modeling curved surfaces.
- SketchUp does not let two people work in the model at once.
- It is very hard to model complex geometries in SketchUp.
Return on Investment
- SketchUp allows us to study models quickly and when we use Enscape to get renderings, we can avoid the fees of renderers.
- SketchUp let's you work quickly to get design solutions in front of clients. The quicker they make decisions, the faster the timeline of the project moves. The faster the project moves, the more money the client saves.
- We can work on design solutions in SketchUp while another team is documenting in Revit, allowing our Revit model to stay clean and prepare for documentation. This allows us to document quicker as we are not disrupting the process and we can more easily coordinate with consultants.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Revit
Other Software Used
Revit, AutoCAD
SketchUp for Real Estate: PRICELESS
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Real Estate is very competitive right now. Getting a seller's attention is hard. We use Sketchup to differentiate ourselves from the pack of real estate professionals by allowing the seller to visualize how the home will be staged or marketed differently. It takes the "picture is worth 1000 words" concept and puts it in 3D.
Pros
- Visualization of Staging
- Visualization of Changes
- Possible Rehab Outcomes
Cons
- Takes a minute to get used to the flow of the software
- Any new software is intimidating, this one has so many choices...so very many
Most Important Features
- Versatility
- Choices
- Ease of Use
Return on Investment
- ROI is insane, it allows us to gain customers who otherwise would get lost in the noise of the market
- Impact on Value Proposition is outstanding
- Ability to differentiate ourselves and seem "cutting edge" without actually knowing much tech...PRICELESS
The best quick and diverse 3-D modeling software available
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
SketchUp is our go to 3D modeling software to quickly visualize a space and share it with clients. On multiple occasions we have used it's large web based library to find objects that we integrate into our models and then export into rendering software to provide a polished 3D visual for our clients. The super intuitive nature makes it easy for anyone to 3D model, and I prefer it over our other 3D modeling programs with use.
Pros
- Intuitive 3D modeling tools
- Vast web based library
- Exportable to a vast range of other software
Cons
- Better integration of "Layers"
- Having a "Free" viewer program so I can share models with clients to explore
- Auto size to sheet size option for importing PDF's so I don't have to constantly scale.
Most Important Features
- Quick Modeling
- Exporting to other programs
- Importing other formats (JPEG, PDF, DWG,Etc...)
Return on Investment
- Quick informative models
- Ease of model exploring for non-trained users
- Quick surface material changes
- Vast Web Based Library of Objects
Alternatives Considered
ARCHICAD
Other Software Used
ARCHICAD
The man, the myth, the SketchUp
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use SketchUp for quick iterations and design studies. Particularly conceptual level things. I think a lot of people in the design field have used SketchUp in school or at other places so it is important to have it in the firm if designers have a desire to use it.
Pros
- it is intuitive, the hotkeys make sense, you can pick it up and start making 3D forms really quickly and it doesn't look overwhelming out of the box.
- quick and nimble to create 3d geometry, morph it around, push and pull faces, vertices, edges, etc.
- visualizing 3d geometry. It's called SketchUp and I really like the sketchy quality of everything. it feels looser than say AutoCAD.
Cons
- you can't do NURBS modeling or true curves. everything is mesh-based. for example, if you want to make a circle, it will really be a polygon with many facets on it.
- interoperability with other software isn't great.
- construction documentation? it's possible but not as good as Revit or even AutoCAD/Rhino.
Most Important Features
- Quick visualization
- that it exists. a lot of designers still use SketchUp today as one of their "go-to" tools in the toolkit. it's important to recognize that, what people are comfortable with matters.
- massing studies
- conceptual studies
Return on Investment
- I think we designers struggle with how much 3D computer stuff to show and when. SketchUp is a good way to start showing clients forms without going straight to a fully constructed building. this is not quantified in $$$ but rather in merit.
- one positive thing is that it's not expensive compared to Revit. you can produce many things in SketchUp for what, $300 a year?
Alternatives Considered
Rhinoceros 3D and Revit
Other Software Used
Rhinoceros 3D, Revit
Great tool
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Sketchup is my go-to program for 3D modeling of interior architecture.
Pros
- Ease of Use
- Good Warehouse of Components
- Fast and Reliable
Cons
- Always room for more components
- Make creating rounded objects easier
- Make it look more realistic
Most Important Features
- Easy of Use
- Fast
- Works well with Enscape
Return on Investment
- NA
- NA
- NA
Alternatives Considered
AutoCAD and Revit
Other Software Used
AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe PhotoShop