Sunday, February 6, 2011

armodello - Design Your Home, Without Leaving It

armodello_itunesOver the last 6 months, my partner Eitan and I have been hard at work trying to find an answer to a simple question: how do you furnish your house, without
spending countless of hours going through showrooms, browsing through online catalogs, and making educated (more or less) guesses about how that sofa would look in your living room, next to your curtains and carpet.

Eitan and I have been working together for the last 6 years. Coming from a software development background, we were sure we could find a software solution to this real world problem.

Along the way we have learned a lot: how to outsource well, how to utilize online assistance and assets, how to work together across multiple time zones and what's involved in developing a mobile app. The experience I gained is worth several dedicated posts. And it has all been worth it:

I'm proud to announce armodello - an iPhone app that brings the showroom to your fingertips.

image

armodello allows you to select furniture and other home design items from leading designer catalogs, and place them on a photo of your room (taken by your iPhone's camera, or from your iPod's/iPad's album). You can then use simple tools to rotate and resize the item.

After adding several items to your room, save the room design and share it over Facebook, Twitter or email with family, friends or people whose design advice you appreciate. Once your heart is set on a design, use the link provided with the item to purchase it online. It's that simple.

We're proud to have our first 5 partners featured in the app already, including a graduates catalog from Pratt academy, with many more to come (expect a large online retail site soon – too early to disclose).

armodello is available in Apple's iTunes app store for free. Give it a try, and leave us a rating and a comment. Check this space and our dedicated blog often, for more catalogs and more exciting features coming out in the next version!

PS: what's in a name
The name 'armodello' comes from ar = augmented reality + modello = design in Italian. Once we decided on a name, it was obvious we need an armadillo for our logo. We had several designs drawn up, and finally decided on the final critter you see above, courtesy of a talented Irish designer.

1 comment:

Karl said...

That's a really nice application. I didn't know that there's such a thing. You can definitely design your home with its help.

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