Today, almost every event produced requires the use of a computer aided design (CAD). “A CAD can help you save time, money, and embarrassment by showing you in advance what will work inside a venue and what won’t.”– Click To Tweet This Quote It’s like the sheet music for a symphony from which all the musicians (your staff) will be playing and you will be conducting.
• Preliminary CADs
Draw a CAD of every space you are considering using as an event venue. It’s a way of guaranteeing that everything will fit and that you can accomplish the events goal. This practice has paid off more than once. Even though you and your clients have fallen in love with particular spaces, the preliminary CADs may prove that the space could not accommodate the event components. Before Cads, we discovered this sad truth the hard way.
• CADs and Fire Departments
In most cases, a CAD is required by the local fire department. Fire codes vary from city to city, so the fire marshal’s word is gospel. Service doors, corridors, emergency exits and such are commonly noted on the CAD. Fire marshals are most concerned with proper egress (emergency evacuation), potential fire hazards from electrical services, open flames, fire-retardant fabric, unobstructed fire sprinklers, and items or hazardous materials stored on-site.
• CAD Software Packages
CAD software is readily available and easier to use than ever. The most commonly used and the on that provides the greatest detail is VectorWorks. It’s regularly updated with new icons, symbols, and event equipment drawn to scale.
• CAD Professionals
You can generate the CAD yourself, or if you’re like me, who has neither the patience nor the desire to learn the program, you can hire a CAD pro. My modus operandi is to print out a diagram of the event space, hand-draw on it, scan it, and send it over to the CAD pro. Once he/she gets the basics inserted, we can make adjustments over the phone or via email. Pretty simple.
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