• The Kansas City Star

  "Unlike other programs, (it) uses actual products from manufactures, not illustrations, to give users a realistic photo of a completed project before work ever begins..." "Users simply scan in a photo of the home, or use one of the houses in the program's database, then make the changes from thousands of actual products from leading manufacturers. Everything from doors, windows and lighting, paving, decks and siding, and landscaping is included, plus information about the products and where it can be purchased." "The homeowner can take a photo of their home, then take it to a (office supply center) or to (Showoff!) and have it scanned in and put on a disk." "All they need is a personal computer with a CD-ROM drive."

  Construction Business Computing

  "Ever want to (see) how (an) existing house would look once you've added a bedroom wing and removed (a tree), (Showoff!) is worth looking at. The program's versatile image tools let you pick up textures, like existing siding or roofing, and "paint" them onto, say, a proposed addition. The results are startling: It's almost impossible to tell the existing portion from the modeled part."

  Nursery News

  "Visualization software is now available...(they) combine advanced image manipulation capabilities with drag-and-drop assembly."

  New Software Lets Homeowners See Finished Building,
  Remodeling Or Landscaping Project Before Work Begins

  Kansas City, Mo. - A new series of easy-to-use software programs give homeowners a sneak preview of what their home improvement project will look like well before work ever begins.

  With Showoff!, homeowners can put a photograph of their own home on computer, then see how adding brick, stucco, a new roof, shutters, a deck, plants and more will affect the home's appearance. Or, if the user is considering building a new home, Showoff! offers hundreds of different home plans to choose from - just like those you see in home plan books and magazines. Once a plan is chosen, they can landscape, add exterior finishes and other elements to bring their new dream home to life.

  Unlike other home design programs which offer only cartoonish drawings, Showoff! features actual photographs of real products and other images to help homeowners visualize their home with new materials, products or entire rooms in place.

  The Showoff! series is comprised of five individual, yet fully integrated, software programs: "Build Your Home," "Landscape," "Remodel Exterior," "Remodel Interior" and "Decks, Pools & Hot Tubs." As the names imply, each Showoff! program is designed to assist homeowners in a specific area of home improvement.

  Images can be added to the library with the help of a computer scanner or scanning service available from local photo stores, office service centers or through Visual Applications' own customer service department. Users can put actual photos of their home Ð or any home they've admired - on disk. Once in the computer users can modify all or any part of the house. Finally, using easy-to-use point-and-click tools, chosen areas of the home image can be "remodeled" by applying new materials and products. Users can even take features of one home in the library and combine them with another.

  Developed by Visual Applications of Kansas City, Mo., Showoff! is actually a smaller, home-computer-version of VisualPhile, the company's popular professional design software. Sold mainly to contractors, architects and decorators, VisualPhile helps professionals create presentation-quality, full-color photographic renderings of proposed projects for their clients. Showoff! boasts the same high-quality photographic imagery and full-color finished output as VisualPhile, although they aren’t as powerful as the professional version. Both VisualPhile and Showoff! are equally easy-to-use, according to VisualPhile Product Manager John Hudson. "In just an afternoon, Showoff! users can quickly create several different images, one for each idea or project, to help them see what they like. They can experiment with colors, different materials and move things around. Then they can show the finished image to contractors, decorators, builders or even bankers. It's a great way to for homeowners communicate their creative ideas to others.”

  Although easy to use, the Showoff! titles are serious tools that save time and money.

  “In the past, we would spend hours drawing and talking with them to help the homeowner get a mental image of the work,” said Jim Quinly, president of Country Club Remodelers, Kansas City, and past president of the National Association of Home Builders Remodelorsª Council.

  “Now with the Showoff! programs, people can do that step themselves. They can see what the whole project will look like before they make a commitment. An educated consumer is the best kind. People who know what they want are more likely to get what they want,” Quinly said.

  Each of the Showoff! programs include a CD-ROM library containing hundreds of photos of brand-name products like windows, roofing materials, skylights, kitchen cabinets, flooring and siding. The images are the real thing, furnished by the manufacturers themselves. For example, if a user wanted to "replace" the existing front door of the on-screen home with a Peachtree door they selected from the library, they would see the real thing, not just a generic door. The user could even look up the door's model number, available color choices and other important information, right on the spot.

  Showoff! also includes a handy feature that tracks the costs associated with the improvement project as you go, helping users anticipate expenses right from the start. Equally helpful is the built-in "Bill of Materials” feature, which creates an item-by-item shopping list of everything needed to complete the project.

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