Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A Tablet to keep the Architect going

When the Ipad and subsequently other tablets bursted into the scene of our exciting lives, the usual trend of the society followed with everyone getting one and flipping away in delight. At home in Nigeria we are never left behind in following trends and soon these pesky tablets started cropping up at the beach, in restaurants and even in church. Tempted to get myself one but resisting the urge to follow what was trending I promised myself that if I could come up with ten good reason why an architect needed a tablet in her life then I would get one. 

I'm sorry guys I never made it to ten good reasons before I caved in and got myself the cheapest Ipad I could afford, but I did come up with five good reasons that I hope to share with you and I'm hoping to get more good reasons from you all to add to my list, so here they are.


1. It's a MOBILE PORTFOLIO: as an upcoming designer I find the whole act of constantly reprinting & carrying my paper portfolio to potential clients and at job interviews quite cumbersome. Now with my Ipad my portfolio would always be with me, very handy in making a good impression whilst networking because my future clients can see immediately what I've done and what I'm capable of doing. (I just have to go design my new portfolio now)

2. It's a MOBILE ORGANIZER: with numerous apps available, there are a handful created for designers to help them coordinate their design thoughts and lists. These apps can create mood boards, schedules, color schemes, punch list and much more. (I'm still figuring  them out)

3. It's a LIGHT WEIGHT MAGAZINE: if you are like me and you love to pore over design magazines, then look no further your rescue is here. No longer do I have to saddle my bag, bookcase, car seats with old magazines I lover to refer to when I can have them archived on my Ipad. Thanks to Visa and MasterCard subscribing to design magazines are easy and cheaper on my Ipad than in hard copy.

4. It's a MOBILE REFERENCE BOOK: I'm famous for my constant reply- "just Google it" to enquiries from my colleagues whenever I don't know the answers (or whenever I feel the question is so stupid simple). It's amazing the educative, sometimes useless and informative articles put on the web for free and other times for a fee, so as an architect I rarely should be taken on a ride by anyone on my project because I've got a mobile guide to save me.

5. It's a MOBILE CAMERA: though I've got a nimble digital camera I take along with me everywhere I go, I think for anyone who doesn't already own one can adaptively use the camera on their tablets to capture inspiring textures and looks on the go for later use. I still advise you to get a compact digital camera though because I personally feel people look ridiculous holding up their tablets to take pictures (just my opinion).