Adobe Systems announces "Do-It-Yourself" product line for easy home improvement projects.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1994--Adobe Systems' Consumer Products Group (formerly Aldus Consumer Division) Tuesday set a new benchmark for home creativity software with the introduction of the Adobe Designer product line.

The initial offering, created specifically for the "do-it-yourselfer" consumer, includes three related software applications: Adobe Home Designer, Adobe Interior Designer, and Adobe Landscape Designer.

These products represent ease-of-use breakthroughs for home software with "real world" prototypes of architectural, landscape and interior design industry standards. All three Adobe Designer products are available for Windows and Macintosh platforms, in both floppy disk and CD formats.

Lets consumers create the home plans, landscapes and interiors of their dreams

These new programs, each with anticipated street pricing of $49 (or all three on CD for $79), have been designed to easily visualize unlimited "what if" design scenarios and do-it-yourself projects. This includes creating home improvement plans; adding a room; experimenting with a new furniture arrangement, wall coverings or flooring; determining how large a fruit tree planted in the back yard will be in several years; or even designing a dream house.

"This is another example of the Consumer Products Group's ability to take powerful technology and make it accessible to the novice computer user. For example, adding automated features to 35mm cameras made them easier to learn, easier to use, and extremely practical -- we have done the same for the home improvement category by taking a `real world' approach to the Adobe Designer line," said Bruce Chizen, Adobe Consumer Products Group vice president.

Because the Adobe Designer products approach home improvement projects from a "real world" perspective, rather than from a "drawing program" perspective like other planning and design software, users do not have to struggle to learn cumbersome drawing tools, unfamiliar terminology, and awkward representations of reality.

Instead of asking users to specify a "fill" to apply a color or texture to a wall, Adobe Designer products provide hundreds of appropriate selections such as a paint color from the catalog of paint chips, or a wallpaper pattern from the wallpaper catalog.

A bookshelf stocked with catalogs makes designing easy and fun

The Adobe Designer interface looks like a bookshelf, so it's familiar and friendly. Lining the bookshelf are catalogs -- that collectively store over 2,000 images which represent everything a do-it-yourselfer would want for their design (walls, windows, doors, furniture, appliances, floor coverings, shrubs, trees, bedding plants, patio furniture and much more) -- and drawers for storing documents and plans.

Simply drag items from the catalogs and drop them into plans for quick results. With Adobe Designer, users have ultimate design flexibility and can easily "test-drive" endless choices of home designs, layouts, furniture placement, carpet, wallpaper and furniture colors and patterns, and more.

Adobe Designer products boast real-world and unique features

All Adobe Designer images in the catalog selections have been reviewed by a licensed architect, landscape architect, or interior designer to ensure industry standard representation, and all objects are drawn to the same scale -- 1/4 inch per foot -- to ensure consistency.

Walls are "smart" in that they know that doors, windows and electrical outlets placed on them should remain there (i.e., if a consumer decides to resize a room and move a wall out three feet, the doors, windows, and outlets will automatically move with it).

To make it easy to determine measurements and sizes of furniture, floor space, patios, and rooms, dimension lines are automatically provided. In addition, a large selection of sample plans are included with each product to give consumers a head-start in using the software.

"We've created Adobe Designer as a tool for home improvement that happens to be computer-based, rather than a computer program that can be applied to home design project," explained Melissa Dyrdahl, marketing manager for the product line. "By teaming with accredited professionals while developing Adobe Designer products, we've ensured that they all use real world, industry standard specifications."

Adobe Home Designer

-0- -- Over 14 catalogs are included -- bathroom, bedroom, children's room, den, dining room, home office, kitchen, living room, plus walls, windows, doors, and more -- to provide countless design options.

-- Standard clearances are indicated for functional space planning -- for example, consumers will know if the dining room is large enough to fit the table and chairs, even when the chairs are pulled out.

-- All images are drawn to The American Institute of Architects Architectural Graphic Standards so plans are realistic and ready to use.

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Adobe Landscape Designer

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-- Season buttons allow for instant viewing of plants in spring, summer, fall, and winter.

-- Growth buttons help users visualize how the garden will grow. Plants can be viewed in various stages -- seedling, young, immature, mature.

-- 12 catalogs are included for planning ground cover, shrubs, trees, patio furniture, paving, fences, doors, walls, windows and more.

-- All images drawn to The American Institute of Architects Architectural Graphic Standards to provide consumers with a realistic, ready-to-use plan.

-- Ability to view in the technically accurate construction view, and the visually appealing realistic view.

-- Use of both common and botanical names for all plants.

-- Realistic ground cover selections, including stone paths, grass, bedding plants, concrete, and more.

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Adobe Interior Designer

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-- See rooms in a three-dimensional view for practical perspectives.

-- A collection of furniture catalogs -- from traditional to contemporary styles -- will satisfy everyone's taste. And, by just clicking on the furniture, users can try out any of the fabric and leather choices available to see how colors and patterns will really look.

-- Numerous room design catalogs are included -- bathroom, bedroom, children's room, den, dining room, doors, kitchen, living room, home office -- for endless possibilities.

-- Realistic wall surfaces -- paint chips, wallpaper, wallpaper borders, brick and more -- plus window covering selections, such as vertical and lateral blinds, shutters, and fabric window treatments, let users instantly color coordinate a room.

-- Counter tops will stand out with granite, marble, Formica and other surface options provided.

-- Flooring catalogs for carpets, wood, linoleum, tile, and marble selections supply limitless variety.

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New product category for Adobe

The Adobe Designer products represent Adobe Systems' first entry into the Home Creativity software category, estimated by the Software Publishers Association at nearly $45 million in 1993.

The Adobe Designer line will be sold by Adobe resellers, as well as other non-traditional locations where consumers shop for their homes. The Adobe Designer product line will be available in the first quarter of 1995.

System Requirements 

The recommended Windows system for any of the Adobe Designer products is a 386- or 486-based computer, Windows 3.1 or later, 8MB RAM, hard disk, VGA or better graphics adapter card, and a mouse.

The recommended Macintosh system for any of the Adobe Designer products is a color capable Macintosh (Mac IIs, SE/30), Performa, Centris, Quadras, Power Macs), running System 7.0 or higher; a hard disk; a high density drive; 8MB RAM; and a 13" color monitor or larger.

Company Background

Adobe Systems Inc. is headquartered in Mountain View. Adobe develops, markets and supports computer software products and technologies that enable users to create, display, print and communicate electronic documents.

The company licenses its technology to major computer and publishing suppliers, and markets a line of application software products for authoring visually rich documents. Adobe recently completed a merger with Aldus Corp. and Adobe's 1993 revenue on a combined basis was approximately $520 million.

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Note to Editors: Adobe, Adobe Home Designer, Adobe Interior Designer and Adobe Landscape Designer are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc., which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other corporate and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies and are used only for explanation and to the owners' benefit, without intent to infringe.

CONTACT: Adobe Systems Inc.

Teri Bruno, 714/454-8056