Yesterday, I received a long private message of two thousand words in the backend.
The sender is AI K, a loyal follower who has followed us for a long time. He is not only a seasoned interior designer with ten years of experience, but also a well-known AI tool reviewer in the industry. Ever since Midjourney’s early beta, he has been experimenting with it, and he has conducted in-depth stress tests on almost every notable AI tool in the design field.
He said: “Recently, I’ve seen many peers feeling anxious, and many blindly following trends. Many practitioners find themselves caught in the trend of AI experimentation without a clear path to monetization or efficiency.
Reading this article gave me a lot of food for thought. With Old K’s permission, today we’re sharing this insightful piece with everyone.
When the tools step back, the design truly begins
If you're like me, constantly juggling between construction sites, presenting proposals, and revising designs, you must have felt this way: we spend far too much time on "production" and far too little on actual "design."
Over the past 24 months, I have conducted extensive benchmarking of numerous AIGC solutions within the design sector. It was through a recent systemic workflow overhaul—fully integrating the SUAPP AI (suapp.ai) ecosystem—that the practical potential of "human-machine synergy" became evident.
Today, let's skip the fluff. I want to break down a four-stage comprehensive workflow I'm currently using—one that can genuinely deliver added value.
Stage One: Preparation & Measuring (Pre-planning Phase)
Workflow Revolution: Automating the Transition from Concept Sketches to Standardized CAD Drawings.
Traditional pain point: Traditional site measurement remains a labor-intensive process, often requiring designers to manually sketch floor plans on-site while juggling measurement tools. This results in "unstructured data"—hand-drawn sketches that are often difficult to interpret. The subsequent phase in the office involves a time-consuming conversion process, where designers must manually translate these sketches into CAD environments, involving repetitive tasks such as line drawing, wall offsetting, and dimension labeling, which significantly extends the project lifecycle.
This repetitive workflow not only consumes significant billable hours but also introduces a high risk of data inconsistency. Due to the inherent limitations of manual entry and cross-platform translation, discrepancies often arise, compromising the accuracy of the final design documents.
New Workflow: Achieve "Sketch as Drawing" with SUAPP AIR (suapp.ai). The current approach to measuring is simply a game-changer.
01 Rapid Recording
On-site, the designer is only required to produce a rough spatial outline on paper or a digital tablet, noting key dimensional constraints. The AI engine eliminates the need for geometric precision during the initial sketching phase; even non-linear or imperfect hand-drawn inputs are accurately interpreted.
02 One-Click Translation
Take a photo of this “soul sketch” and upload it to SUAPP AIR (suapp.ai). Here’s the highlight — using its SUAPP AIR(Lingxi V2 - Precise Conversion - CAD Line Draft), it accurately identifies walls, doors/windows, and spatial structures. It even automatically generates dimension labels and detail annotations for you.
Core Value: This workflow effectively eliminates the technical barrier between physical site conditions and digital modeling environments. By automating the data entry phase, designers can bypass repetitive drafting and proceed directly to conceptual development and strategic planning—providing a significant competitive advantage in project turnaround times.
Stage Two: Concept Design & Proposal (Creative Presentation)
Establishing Design Consensus — Enhancing Communication through High-Fidelity Visualization.
Traditional pain point: In this industry, the most painful part isn’t drawing — it’s “guessing the drawing.”A common scenario involves days of intensive rendering work being dismissed due to a lack of initial visual consensus, highlighting a fundamental flaw in the traditional "linear" feedback loop.
New Workflow: Use SUAPP AIC (suapp.ai) as your visual translator.
At the first meeting, I only bring a laptop. When discussing style, I simply open SUAPP AIC
01 Massive Iteration
When the client says they like “French light luxury, but with a cleaner feel,” I directly input the description, and AI instantly generates dozens of mood images for the client to choose from.
02 Style Refinement
“Is it the linear sense in the top-left image? Or the warm-toned lighting in the bottom-right?” Through the client’s selections, AI helps us quickly distill the design style, color tendencies, and core materials.
03 Concept Finalization
Before modeling even begins, we already have a complete “design concept” in place. This isn’t just gathering images — it’s managing expectations.
Stage Three: Scheme & Concept (Spatial Planning & Model Refinement)
Evolving from “stacking models” to “generative design”
Traditional pain point: Once the scheme is confirmed, we enter the SketchUp (SU) modeling phase. This used to be the most physically and mentally draining stage. To preview an irregular ceiling effect or find a specific sofa model, we could easily spend an entire afternoon.
New workflow: Dual-core drive of SUAPP AIR + SUAPP AIM. The current modeling logic feels like a blend of “building blocks” and “magic generation”:
01 Creative Generation
When faced with a client’s vague request, directly use SUAPP AIC to transform their verbal description into concrete design concept images — what you see is what you get.
02 Planning Visualization (White Model Direct Output)
I only need to build the most basic white model in SU, then directly apply SUAPP AIR. No need to assign materials or set lighting — AI can quickly generate multi-style renderings with materials and lighting based on the white model structure.
03 Modern or Neo-Chinese Style? One-click switch, quick comparison, define the general direction before going deeper.
04 Single-Unit Speed Modeling (SUAPP AIM)
Missing a specific art installation in the scene? Don’t waste time searching through model libraries. Use SUAPP AIM (suapp.ai) — simply input a text description or upload an image, and it will directly generate a 3D model and insert it into your current SketchUp scene.
It frees me from the hassle of searching for materials, allowing me to focus on spatial construction.
Stage Four: Refinement & Presentation
Use cinematic storytelling to "close the deal" through emotional value.
Traditional pain points: Static renderings hardly impress in the short-video era. But creating walkthrough animations is too costly, and rendering panoramas takes too long.
New workflow: The immersive game-changer of [SUAPPAIR] + [SUAPP AIA] — the final push to seal the deal.
01 Immersive Experience (Future Exploration)
After finalizing the scheme, use SUAPP AIR(suapp.ai) to instantly generate a 360° panoramic view.
Customers can simply hold up their phones and virtually "walk around" their future home. This sense of "being there" is something a flat floor plan could never provide.
02 Dynamic Presentation (A Game-Changer)
Want a more advanced way to showcase your design? Launch SUAPP AIA (suapp.ai). Without the need for complex keyframe setups, it can instantly transform static renderings into dynamic videos.
Simulated Camera Movement: It's like advancing the shot with cinematic camera techniques.
Environmental Simulation: Clouds drift past the windows, water features ripple, and light and shadow shift with the passage of time.
Vivid Presentation: During the presentation, while competitors were still flipping through slides, I played an immersive video with background music.
Core Value: Ultimately, the commercial value of a design project transcends the physical drawings; clients are investing in the "aspirational lifestyle" envisioned by the designer. When AI handles the heavy lifting of visualization, it allows the designer to focus on weaving a compelling emotional narrative.
Closing Thoughts: The New "Moat" in the AI Era: Beyond Technical Proficiency.
Having tested so many tools, I’ve become increasingly certain of one belief:
In a landscape where generative tools like SUAPP AI have democratized high-fidelity production, the traditional "moat" of software mastery has evaporated.
Tools like SUAPP AI are, in fact, pushing us to evolve. When “sketch to CAD” takes mere seconds, and “white model to rendering” requires just one click, thinking deeplybecomes the only true barrier.
The future interior design industry belongs to “super individuals” who skillfully wield these tools. They will have more time to feel the texture of materials on-site, to study the living habits of occupants, and to refine the human care that AI can never comprehend.
Thaits what it means to be a designer in this era.
Top comments (0)