− stress + design

Because it’s the program I always wanted and never found. I’m an architect and I’ve spent thousands of hours in CAD, so I know where time gets lost, what gets frustrating and what really matters when a deadline is close. I wrote Adiark from scratch for the Mac, thinking above all of people who work alone or in a small studio. You buy it once and it’s yours for good.

Because it’s a professional tool, and you should be able to demand a lot from a tool you work with. I look after Adiark with the same care I put into a project before handing it over: I test every version at length, on large and difficult drawings too, before it reaches you. And it doesn’t stand still: every version improves it, partly thanks to suggestions from the people using it. The license tells you what you’re entitled to, and I read what you report myself.

Because public authorities, clients and building sites get the project as plans, sections and elevations. 2D CAD gives you control over composition and geometry, and it’s an invaluable tool for designing and communicating precisely. 3D shows you the form, but the measurements and the way it gets built are fixed in 2D. That’s where Adiark starts. It doesn’t replace the 3D modeler, the rendering program or the AI tools you already use: it works alongside them. And on the Mac there are far fewer professional programs of this kind than elsewhere: that’s another reason it felt like the right place to make something useful.

Because the Mac is what I work on, and I wanted a CAD app that behaves like the other apps I use every day, from windows and trackpad to shortcuts and printing. A program that has to run everywhere ends up making good use of none of them. I chose one system and took care of it all the way.

You need a Mac with Apple silicon, so M1 or later, with macOS 15 or newer. It also works on macOS 14, but on first launch it suggests updating: I support the latest three versions of macOS, and that’s where I focus development and fixes. It doesn’t have to be the most powerful model: Adiark runs on a base M1 with 8 GB of memory too, and with more memory and a faster chip you can take on more complex work. Intel Macs aren’t supported and there are no Windows or Linux versions: that’s a deliberate choice.

I’ve worked hard to make the switch as easy as possible, without giving up improvements that really make a difference. The tools are the ones you already know: lines, dimensions, hatches, layers, blocks… In Adiark you’ll find reorganized menus and a clean interface with everything you need, one that shows you the right thing at the right moment instead of scattering it across lots of different places. Every action can be undone, so you can try things without worrying about breaking anything. On first launch a short guide gets you comfortable with the main features and the most important differences, and when you want to go deeper there’s the online guide (available at launch).

There isn’t one, and that was a deliberate choice. After so many years of CAD I’m used to it too, but I wanted tools and their options to show up on their own when you need them, with no codes to remember. Keyboard shortcuts and drawing aids are there, and they take a moment to set up. You type lengths and angles directly as you draw, just like you always have, but with something extra: you can type a calculation, say 120+35, and Adiark does the math. Put a minus in front and the distance goes the opposite way.

Yes, the screen is already the sheet. I wanted to bring back the pleasure of drawing on paper: you draw right on the sheet, and every line already has its weight, its color and the rounded stroke of technical drawing pens. Layouts are there for putting the sheets together. Transparencies and styles included, what you see while you draw is what you’ll get on paper or in a PDF, with no separate print table to maintain. How many times have you printed or exported a PDF over and over just to check how it comes out? With Adiark you look, check, print and share.

Yes, it’s what I work on most, and I’ll keep working on it. I test on real drawings of every kind and complexity: my own and the ones colleagues send me. Sheets with tens of thousands of elements open quickly and move smoothly even on a base Mac. On screen I only lighten what the eye can’t tell apart, while files, measurements and prints stay exact. If you’re curious how it’s going, I write about it on the Development page.

Yes, it’s essential. You always work with other people, so Adiark is compatible with DXF and DWG files, including the latest versions, and exports to PDF. It works in 2D only: any 3D elements in a drawing are flattened onto the plane. You send and receive drawings the way you always have.

Adiark has its own format, built to open and save large drawings quickly and, above all, not to make you lose work. While you draw, Adiark keeps your work safe all the time: if the power goes out, you get your drawing back just as it was a moment before. Underneath it’s SQLite, a public and thoroughly proven data format, the same one the Mac uses for many of its own apps. And whenever you need to, you can exchange the same drawing as DXF or DWG, which Adiark is compatible with, or export it to PDF.

Yes. A connection is only needed to activate the license: after that you can draw on the train or on a building site, wherever there’s no signal. When there is a connection, Adiark uses it now and then to confirm the license and check for updates, without interrupting your work.

With a perpetual license: you pay once and the program is yours. The first year of updates is included, and they arrive right from the app. After that it’s up to you whether to renew them, and if you don’t, your version keeps working. From launch you can try it for 30 days with every feature: you just sign up with an email. I’ll announce the price at launch, along with an introductory price for the first licenses, and people on the list will hear it first.

Because at first I want to look after the people using Adiark personally, answer their questions myself and improve it with what they tell me. To do that well I’m starting close to home: at launch the license is sold in Italy, San Marino and Vatican City, exclusively through this official website: no other sales channels are planned. If you’re in another country, join the list below: it helps me see where there’s interest and where to bring Adiark next.