3 Ways Training Helps You Get More from Your 3D Design Software

When you’re busy readying designs for prospective clients, scheduling meetings, and getting your designs built — you’ve probably come up now and then against a quick design question that you want answered right away.

We know you don’t want to add hunt down answers to your already full to-do list. That’s why we've made it easy to find answers to those pressing questions, discover new time-saving tips, and get the support you need — fast.

After all, your clients are likely far more interested in seeing just how beautiful their new outdoor living space is going to look than in analyzing exactly how you’ve managed to create a design that solves their trickiest design challenges.

So we’re here to help make sure that your design software gives you the tools you need to keep on solving those intriguing design problems — fast — without ever getting in your way.

And to make sure that we offer you the best support and the best training options — we’ve drawn on decades (in fact, more than a century’s worth!) of research to help you not just pick up a few new tips but also quickly master the skills that will help you get even more done for your clients.

Get the Most from Your Design Software

Sometimes, our team gets asks just how much training is really going to cost. The answer, of course, is nothing: training, support, and updates are completely free.

But we understand why a new designer would ask: not only is training often time-consuming and expensive, but, often, participants in those expensive programs don’t always feel they’re really getting their money’s worth.

In fact, in the US alone, companies spend more than $70 billion annually on training, without getting all that much to show for it in return: "participants in traditional curriculum-based training forget more than 80 percent of the information they were taught within 90 days.”

Not only that, but many of those traditional courses feel more like time-draining meetings rather than useful opportunities — and, given that meetings waste $37B per year in the US, it’s no wonder that many are looking for better ways to learn new skills than just signing up for an expensive training course.

So our team has focused on making sure that training and support stays free — and stays useful. The best training, after all, isn’t the most expensive or the most traditional. It’s the training that you can actually put to use.

Whether you like to work at your own pace or you do best in a live workshop, you can quickly and easily pick up new tips, shortcuts, and techniques that will help speed up your design process. That means you can focus on what you do best — designing the stunning outdoor living spaces your clients love — and let your smart software help you check items off your to-do list, fast.

• Like to pore over the details? Then visit our support site to learn more about each and every tool, menu, and option — for each and every software package!
• Want to pick up a couple of quick tips in just a few minutes? Check out our free video series.
• Ready to master a new skill in an afternoon? Visit our training calendar and sign up for the live workshop that interests you.

Support Site: Access everything you need, quickly

Each and every feature, in each and every package: our training and support site covers everything.

It’s the easiest way to get fast access to the most detailed information: it’s where our team reveals detailed tips and techniques about every tool, menu, and feature in Pool Studio, VizTerra, and Vip3D.

For example, under Walls, Fences & Railing you’ll find a detailed look at all of the tools as well as videos, screenshots, and tips about each option — including how to add a railing automatically and how to adjust the elevation.

The Support Site also offers quick links to many popular resources:

• The latest computer hardware recommendations, which get updated regularly. The next time you’re looking to update your system, check out the deals our team has found!
• Our Member Community, where other members and our support team alike answer questions, share tips, and offer advice.

Support Tip:
The free video series and the regularly updated live training calendar are also easy to access straight from the support site.

Video Series: Work at your own pace

Our free video series covers everything you need to master 3D design quickly — plus, they’re easy to watch anytime, anywhere.

And because each video focuses on one specific skill set, they’re short enough to work through at your own pace. The videos cover everything — from time-saving shortcuts to advanced design techniques.

Whether you want to learn just one quick new skill (like how to customize the scale of materials), or you have a few extra minutes to work through an entire playlist — like the VizTerra Construction Training Videos — the video series is a time-saving way to pick up a tailored set of specific skills at once.

Because the videos in the series are both quick and focused, they’re an easy way to not just add a new skill to your toolset. They’re also a quick and easy refresher — and more than a century’s worth of research into how to remember important information reveals that visuals (like videos) are one of the top ways to retain key information.

In fact, a groundbreaking study on memory published more than a century ago — and still relevant today — found that people generally tend to forget quite a bit of what they’ve just learned, even within twenty minutes.

Visuals turn out to be the key to retaining information: studies have found that not just listening to information but also viewing visuals jumps retention from just 10% after three days to 65%.

That's why our video series shares tips within visually immersive videos that invite you to follow along. Maybe that’s what Benjamin Franklin really meant when he said, “Well done is better than well said!”

Video Tip:
The complete video series is ready to watch, right on our website as well as on YouTube.

Live Training: Join a real-time workshop

When you’re interested in learning even more about a specific technique, or when you want to review the fundamentals to fully master your chosen software program, then real-time training offers you the comprehensive approach that will help you get you where you want to go.

Workshops cover every feature of Pool Studio, VizTerra, and Vip3D. Because training workshops are conducted live, in real time, they’re a great way to ask questions and get clarification as you follow along to create a new design with one of our workshop instructors.

Our online calendar makes it easy to check out the full schedule of upcoming workshops and to choose the ones that best fit your schedule — just sign into your account, select the time you want, and you’re in! We’ll email you everything you need before the class begins.

Plus, workshops are APSP accredited, so you earn credits as you build your skills.

Workshop Tip:
If you’re not already designing with a second monitor, adding one to your setup is a great way to speed up your design process — and get even more from workshops! A second monitor makes it easy to keep your design open on one screen, and the tools, menus, and workshop itself open on the other.

Ready to see how much more you can get done?

We’re here to help: if you’ve got questions, you can reach our team at support@structurestudios.com or at 800-778-8996.

If you’re ready to pick up a few new time-saving tips or want to learn a few new techniques, check out our free video series or visit the training calendar to join a live workshop that fits your schedule. And to get more of the latest time-saving tips delivered the moment we share them, click subscribe.