Less is more: A simple rhombus is the basis for creating anything in this app.
Isometric is an app for aesthetically inclined architects and designers. In just a few taps, users can create beautiful designs by snapping rhombuses together on an isometric grid.
Isometric is simple to learn and to create your own work with. You arrange the shapes and pick their color scheme. The app does the rest of the work by aligning them and creating an illusion of three-dimensionality through shading. For more guidance, you can turn a guiding isometric grid on or off. Once you’ve laid down the basis of your drawing, you can use the app to apply various styles, textures and filter effects.
Image via author
The power of Isometric is in its simplicity: All of the designing happens with one or two taps of the finger, and you are free of the excessive command entry and clicking that characterizes most design softwares.
Isometric gives designers the potential to create drawings, concept sketches or schematic models that diverge from the traditional look and feel of Rhino or CAD-produced axonometric imagery.
While it lacks the technicality or detail of traditional architectural rendering software, it offers a new method of isometric representation for architects and designers. A few taps on the app’s simple interface can lead to compelling volumetric studies or as a means of testing various spatial layouts.
What you do with the drawings is up to you. Isometric allows you to download drawings as high-resolution vector graphics either in PDF or SVG file format, facilitating the integration of your isometric creations with the rest of your digital work.
The app has built-in sharing, making it easy to share drawings via email or social media. In an April update, the app added a function allowing users to publish directly to Made With Isometric, a Tumblr featuring user-submitted creations.
Aside from adding a unique and eye-catching element to your usual representational repertoire, Isometric is as much a game as it is a tool. Its pleasing geometries and ease of use make it an enjoyable distraction when you need to take a break from work.
Isometricis available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
Like this article? Check out our feature on Monument Valley, a beautiful game featuring isometric-perspective architecture.
All images via Made With Isometric unless otherwise noted