[Idea / Brainstorming] Community collaboration/contest to redesign the UI and future-proof the project

[Felipe-Breia]

Hi everyone,

As we know, the recent copyright notice from Trimble showed that relying on SketchUp's visual identity poses a huge risk to the long-term survival of IngeTrazo.

I believe we can turn this legal hurdle into a massive opportunity for the software. My suggestion is to organize a community collaboration (or an open design contest) to create a completely new User Interface (UI) and a unique icon set from scratch.

Benefits of this initiative:

• Total Legal Protection: With a 100% original design, we permanently eliminate any "Trade Dress" or copycat claims.
• Unique Identity: We can shape a modern interface, optimized for high-res screens, native dark mode, and improved layout workflows.
• Community Inclusion: Architects, UI/UX designers, and graphic artists who don't code will finally have a direct way to contribute to the project.

How we could move forward:

1. Understand the current technical boundaries of the graphics library used (PySide6/Qt6)
2. Open a thread for designers to submit proposals in vector format
3. Use GitHub reactions for the community to vote on their favorite design directions

What do @tuxiasumari and the community think about this? Could we establish an official space for design submissions?

Regards,

Felipe Silva

[tuxiasumari]

Thank you, Felipe, for the idea and for wanting to involve designers and people who don't code. I agree: improving the interface would be very good for IngeTrazo, so let's do it as a community contest.

My proposal: anyone can submit a design proposal (icons, toolbar, panels, dark mode, or a full UI mockup) as a reply in a dedicated discussion, ideally in vector format (SVG) and released under a free license compatible with the project. We would collect proposals for a few weeks, then the community votes with reactions, and the chosen direction gets implemented step by step in PySide6/Qt6. You don't need to know how to code to take part.

I've opened the contest with the details and dates here: #299. Thanks again for pushing this forward, and if you'd like to help organize it, you're very welcome.

[Felipe-Breia]

IThat would be amazing. There is a SketchUp extension called MuzWalls; check out some videos on how it works—it might help.

Regarding your post, I think you should open an issue or a pull request so your contribution is properly organized.

That way, the team can provide better guidance. I admit I don't have much experience with the GitHub workflow myself.

[lelopes05]

I have NONE GitHub or any other platform workflow experience. I am not really a Developer, Just a very curious Architect, that got tired from subscriptions, then got tired of waiting to devs listen the real needs and workflow from architects and users, waiting improvements in freecad or bonsai bim in the workflow area (just as curved and parametric walls) with the help of online tutorials and A.I.
Don't really know how poll requests actually work, To be fair, don't even know what I should be asking or to whom. LOL. Please, feel free to point me the best policies or even take things in your own hands if you are willing to such headache. Jajaja/Hahaha/LOL
Picture a very pissed 40yo architect searching "how the flicking thing to extrude a curved line into geometry with python". That was me not long ago.
I just want us to have a chance on surviving the subscription world. Accessible Architecture should begin with real access to real tools.
Have you tried the tools?

[lelopes05]

IThat would be amazing. There is a SketchUp extension called MuzWalls; check out some videos on how it works—it might help.
I just did, It looks like like a great extension, I like that the dev gave users the alternative to a perpetual license, and it is really not expensive for all that it seems to provide. But unfortunately it is hooked to a subscription program, that`s against all my moral codes. Maybe, with the help of the community, we will be able to get there fast! But there are a lot of features, systems, class and properties to setup.

[Felipe-Breia]

I completely agree with you!
I’m an architect too—30 years old—and, unfortunately, the cost of the software hasn't helped matters at all.

If the price were reasonable... but for us in Brazil, the costs end up being 5 or 6 times higher due to currency devaluation. It’s simply unfeasible.

IngeTrazo actually got me dreaming of a program similar to Revit—with the same level of robustness—but open-source, free, or at least affordably priced and tailored to each region.

Who knows? Maybe IngeTrazo itself will eventually gain that kind of robustness for BIM project production.

We have so much technology at our disposal now that the only real challenge has become finding the time.

As for FreeCAD and BonsaiBIM, I’ve certainly seen a lot about them, but I haven't been able to visualize how a real-world workflow would look within the scope of the work I do. I primarily provide services to other companies, developing detailed construction documentation (executive projects). These are usually complex projects, such as towers or multi-family residential complexes.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet found an optimized and reliable way to work using these current tools, though I am keeping a close eye on every update.

[lelopes05]

Here is the latest update. Hope you enjjoy it!
IngeTrazo Architecture – Parametric BIM Tools (early development)
I’ve been developing an experimental set of parametric architectural tools for IngeTrazo, focused on keeping modeling fast while retaining editable BIM-like behavior.
Current tools include walls, curved walls, slabs, beams and columns, with contextual radial controls for editing vertices, edges and element geometry.
Some of the current features:

• Straight and curved parametric walls
• Independent wall base and top control points
• Sloped wall tops, inclined walls and twisted transitions
• Curved and segmented columns with variable sections
• Straight and curved beams, including vertical curvature
• Editable slab vertices and curved edges
• Levels and vertical anchoring
• Hosted wall openings, including curved walls
• Snapping and direct numeric input during editing
• Contextual radial editing menus
• Automatic mesh generation with softened internal triangulation where possible
  The goal is to keep the geometry flexible enough for unusual architectural forms without turning the model into a collection of disconnected meshes.
  This is still early development, so feedback is especially useful now. If anyone wants to test it, break it, suggest workflows or contribute ideas/code, that would be very welcome.
  Testers and contributors are welcome.
  IngeTrazo-Arquitetura-0.9.0-dev-wall-profiles.zip