00 ▪ Professional

CAD Touch

Rebuilding a professional CAD application and bringing it to two mobile platforms.

I joined CAD Touch when its iOS/iPad app needed a new foundation. I worked with its original creator to rewrite the app, update its interface, add features, and bring it to Android.

For about a year, I worked on product design, UI, and engineering, from sketching new workflows to building them in code.

2013 — 2014Mobile Developer & UI ContributoriOS ▪ AndroidObjective-C ▪ Java ▪ C++CAD

A hand drawing on a Samsung tablet with a stylus in CAD Touch, sketching chairs around a table on a floor plan — Drawing a floor plan with a stylus.

A new foundation

The new app used the existing C++ CAD layer for drawing and rendering. I rebuilt the app UI on top of it, using Objective-C for iOS/iPad and Java for Android.

The iOS version was an update to the existing app. Android was released as a new product.

Rethinking the workspace

The original app opened to a blank drawing. Users opened existing drawings from the menu.

In the new version, the app opened to a file manager. Users could browse folders, open drawings, or create new ones.

I researched mobile and desktop file-management patterns, sketched flows and screens, and discussed options with the team. We refined the design together, and I then built it myself.

The file manager had nested folders and actions to rename, move, and trash files and folders. Users moved between folders through a stack of folder views.

CAD Touch Projects screen on iPad: a sidebar lists the Tutorials, My Project and Imported Drawings folders, next to a grid of drawing thumbnails — Projects browser with folder sidebar and drawing thumbnails.

CAD Touch Projects screen on Android: a folder named Building A is open, showing a two-column grid of drawing cards with previews such as Pool Level Plan and Hall Level Plan — Android Projects screen, inside a project folder.

CAD Touch main menu on iPad: a dark sidebar with search, Recents, Projects, Objects Library, Archived projects, Trash and Help, next to the Projects folder list — Main menu with folders and app-level navigation.

Designing the drawing

Along with the new workspace, I rewrote the drawing UI, including the toolbars and the overall look.

We updated the older, simpler interface with new colours, transparency, and visual hierarchy. We kept the existing CAD interactions that already worked well.

Grid of CAD Touch feature illustrations: Line, Polyline, Point, Revision cloud, Sketch, Arc/Circle, Rectangle, Hatch, Dimensions, Objects Library, line widths, line types, patterns and Mirror — Overview of drawing and editing features.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android in dark theme: a building floor plan with vertical toolbars on both sides, and a red revision cloud annotating a proposed spa area — Drawing view with side toolbars and revision cloud annotation.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android in light theme: a hatched mechanical part with dimensions and angles, vertical toolbars on both sides and a numeric keypad at the bottom — Light theme with dimensioning tools and numeric input.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android showing a dense, multi-colour architectural floor plan of a sports hall, rendered on the dark canvas with toolbars on both sides — A dense architectural drawing on the dark canvas.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android showing a bathroom plan with toilets and sinks, while drawing a green line with a live length and angle readout — Live length and angle readout while drawing.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android showing a furnished floor plan with a spiral staircase, with an interactive tutorial tooltip explaining how to select a table with a swipe — Built-in tutorial overlay on a furnished plan.

CAD Touch drawing view on Android showing a green building section drawing with multiple floors, stairs and windows on the dark canvas — A building section drawing on the dark canvas.

The original CAD Touch v3 drawing view on iPad: a pool and deck plan being edited, with narrow grey toolbars on both sides and a numeric keypad at the bottom — The older v3 interface, for comparison.

Bringing objects into the drawing

We added an object library so users could add ready-made elements instead of drawing everything themselves.

The library opened from the drawing toolbar as a panel over the canvas. It grouped objects into categories such as furniture and natural elements. When a user selected an item, it appeared in the drawing and could be moved, scaled, and rotated.

We designed the library together through sketches and experiments. I built the UI and object storage in the app, using an existing collection of objects.

One product, two platforms

The Android version wasn't just a copy of the iOS app.

We shared the C++ CAD foundation, but built the app interfaces separately. We used Objective-C on Apple platforms and Java on Android. We adapted the UI to each platform rather than using the same interface on both.

This was my first major experience building and releasing a product on more than one mobile platform.

Shipping, and what happened next

Both versions were released while I was on the project. Several updates and bug fixes followed.

On Android, we tried separate free/trial and paid versions. The free version had many more downloads but a lower average rating. The paid version had fewer downloads and a higher rating.

The original CAD Touch had an established user base, but the new version didn't attract enough interest to keep the business going. The project eventually closed.

For me, CAD Touch was an early lesson in how closely design, engineering, and product decisions are linked. Building and releasing a product is only one part of making it succeed.