Seminal software maker Autodesk builds magic bridges that span the space between imagination and reality. In 1982 AutoCAD–its flagship product–revolutionized (people use this word too much, it’s lost all meaning, but here it’s absolutely true) the practice of architecture–bringing complex operations previously relegated to mainframe computing to desktop machines. Wherever you live, you have recently passed by a building that began as a figment on Autodesk software. It could be your 2-car garage, the new Freedom Tower in Manhattan, or the local movie theater (where the movie, too, may have been enhanced by Autodesk).
But software, like any language, is only as powerful as the number of people who use it. And a heady goal for any developer is to have its software become ubiquitous (Windows, Email, Facebook, etc.). But not everybody has a building in their heads. So how might Autodesk attract the rest of us, and show us the tools that have architects, builders and engineers in thrall? What do we all have in our heads? That’s right, monsters. It’s well-known that we each have our own. Now for 2 bucks you can make your dreams (or nightmares) a virtual reality by downloading 123D Creature, another of the 3D design tools that puts the power of Autodesk in everybody’s hands. Now your imagination is reality. Just don’t get your gremlin stuck in the 3D printer.