Autodesk Acquisition Expands Reach to Interior Design; Digital content now includes fabrics and finishes.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 1996--Executing on its plan to "Design Your World" by expanding its markets, Autodesk, Inc., the leading provider of design software tools and content, today announced the acquisition of Creative Imaging Technologies, Inc. (CIT), a software and digital imaging company in La Habra, Calif. that serves the interior decorating market. Targeting the decorating content and design markets extends Autodesk's reach beyond its traditional markets of design professionals, such as architects, mechanical designers, engineers and animators, and moves it closer to consumers.

CIT will be integrated with Autodesk's Advanced Products Group (APG), which will continue to deliver CIT's current products and services. CIT developed and markets Designer's Vision software, which it began selling in January 1995. It is the leading software for product sampling and project visualization used by interior designers, specifiers and decorating retailers.

"The CIT acquisition expands our portfolio of solutions for design professionals into a whole new range of possibilities for delivering digital content," said John Lynch, vice president of Autodesk's Advanced Products Group and chief technical officer. "Integrating this content with our modeling and visualization technology will provide a new level of realism and bring the steps of design and shopping together for the first time."

"CIT has created the de facto standard for high-fidelity scanning of wallpaper and fabric designs. We see this expanding to other surface materials, such as ceramic tile, sheet goods, paneling and ceiling treatments," Lynch added. Creative Imaging has well-established relationships with more than 15 top suppliers of interior finish products, including F. Schumacher & Company, Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, Imperial Wallcoverings, Kravet Fabrics and Robert Allen Fabrics.

"This acquisition is a milestone in bringing the benefits of technology to the interior fashions industry," said Jon Kubo, former president of CIT, now general manager of the new group within APG. "The combination of CIT's content and Autodesk's technology applies design visualization to new methods of merchandising and marketing in expanded segments of the design trade."

Designer's Vision software users can search for and view samples of fabrics, wallcoverings, flooring, paints and other decorative products from major suppliers for both residential and contract environments. Designer's Vision replaces hundreds of sample books with digitized true-color images on CD-ROMs. It not only saves time and space, but also helps designers evaluate and compare different color and finish combinations and costs.

APG is the group within Autodesk that pursues business opportunities adjacent to and outside Autodesk's original design markets. One of APG's goals is to provide a new generation of design tools that is accessible by a whole new set of customers.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including the timely development and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and the other risks detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-Q filed in December 1995.

Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC and UNIX-based design software and PC multimedia tools. The company's 2D and 3D products and data management tools are used in many industries for architectural design, mechanical design, film and video producers, video/game developers and Web content developers. Its Kinetix division is the leader in PC-based 3D modeling, providing a full range of products for the application development process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery. The fourth largest PC software company in the world, Autodesk has three million customers in nearly 130 countries. Autodesk products are sold through Autodesk Systems Centers, Dealers and Distributors worldwide. For more information on Autodesk, please call 415-507-5000, type GO ADESK on CompuServe, or visit its World Wide Web site at http://www.autodesk.com. Kinetix can be reached by calling 800/879-4233 or through its World Wide Web site at http://www.ktx.com.

Note to Editors: For sales information about Designer's Vision, your readers' contact number is 800/456-0712. Autodesk and the Autodesk logo are registered trademarks of Autodesk Inc. Designer's Vision is a trademark of Autodesk Inc.

CONTACT: Autodesk Inc.

Julie Brown, 415/824-1795 (industry trade press)

Marti Mattia, 810-647-5667 (business press)