Design Flex

Pros: Ease of use nice images used to it by now have been using for over 10 years and overall happy with the product, the cloud is less my favorite thing liked it more before the cloud was much faster. Images from the cloud make the design too large to open In rendering hence slowing you down.

Cons: Crashes too many times I could be working on a new design and it will crash and lose my work or corrupt my file and have to use the back up file to open which sometimes is corrupt too, making me re-do the entire design. This can be a real problem, wish this was resolved.

Overall: Like it just wish I could rely on it more. Wish something can be done about the crashing of the program and the corrupt files.

Pros: Convenience of directly dragging and dropping cabinetry products, the ease of editing them, and exporting pricing all from one program cannot be done in other programs.

Cons: Cannot copy and paste items within an elevation view. When creating tagged/numbered notes in multiple elevation views, the tags become incorrect often and out of order. Calculations of moldings often do not add up and price correctly. Program will crash often without a warning. The symbol, countertop, appliance, and other buttons within the ITEMS category are practically useless since they pause the entire program for minutes each time they are clicked, sometimes causing it to crash entirely. The cloud browser is not set up in a convenient searching manner and could be improved greatly.

Overall: Great convenience in designing and pricing cabinetry products. 2020 has many great features to aid in the design process, but it is important to be aware of its capabilities and not expect too much further from it.

Pros: It is easy to use. Would be nice to see more window and door choices. It is hard to see a lot of detail in the darker wood colors.

Cons: I think the coloration could improve, especially on the countertops and room paint.
I also feel you should update the countertop, tile floor and wood floor color options.

Overall: It is a good product, but I do get frustrated when it decides to shut off on me before I have a chance to save my work. Time wasted. It says auto save, but not if something goes wonky...then you loose everything.

Pros: It is the best Kitchen and Bath design tool in the industry
It gives you the flexibility to do any style or layout.

Cons: Expensive. That is the only real complaint I have.

Overall: We would recommend it compared to anything on the market. We have used most of them. Early on it was difficult, but they have made great improvements.

Pros: Easy to Use - Varied Catalogs for cabinets, appliances, bath fixtures, etc. - Auto Dimensions opening, cabinets, and centerlines and lets you add your own dimensions - Automatically makes elevations - Renderings are Decent Quality - Automatically makes counter plan - Can add images for specialty finishes not available thru Cloud - Great Customer Service! - Most of the catalogs will not let you design a cabinet modification that the brand doesn't offer - The program will let you know if there is a collision and there's not enough dimension for what you're trying to put in - You can add notes to every work area.

Cons: The automatic renderings are almost too bright after the most recent program updates. They take a lot more time to tweak and make just right. The counters and 3D shapes have started disappearing if you've positioned the camera to be over them which is kind of frustrating to get just the right angle of rendering sometimes.

Overall: Very pleased with this program and have been using it for the past 6 years. It's so helpful to give my customers a visual and I can make installation drawings without having to put everything in a completely different program. Customer service has always been so great!

Pros: Simple to use, Customer service is great, and many features and benefits that suit our needs and electronic catalogs.

Cons: LOTS of options, but not enough time to learn everything. The cost of training is expensive for small companies.

Overall: We use this product on a daily basis and have our patterns of work. Again, I am sure there are many things that we could be doing better, but the cost is too much for the right training.

Pros: Fast Renderings. Cabinet pricing makes estimating quick and easy. Easy for the client to visualize their space.

Cons: Lack of Detail. Difficult to work with dimensions on plans. Mechanical placement issues (not detailed enough for installers).

Overall: Overall, I think it's a great program. It has come a long way. But I still think that the construction details are lacking. The floorplans and elevations need to be cleaner and easy enough for the installers to read. The mechanicals need to be better (plumbing, electrical). Would be nice to have the ability to do custom tile designs and show the actual sizes and shapes of tile on the plans.

Pros: Easy to use, drawings can look very nice almost realistic. I like that you've added more decorative items.

Cons: I can't stand how many times I have to force myself to logout (yes, I have the box selected to log me out upon exiting the program, but it rarely ever works as it should). I think we need more that 5 forced logouts. We need an unlimited amount of times we can have admin force us out since the issues continue to happen.

I use 3-4 different computers and I can't go from one PC to the next due to some "flexnet" errors that have been happening for the past few months. There needs to be better light fixture options within 2020 -- not on the cloud. It's not easy to modify lighting from the cloud, but the fixtures in the room furnishings catalog work fine (but they look straight out of the 90s). I've found that plumbing fixtures (Kohler/Moen) do not include a lot of their products or in the correct finishes.

I feel like the amount of money we pay for a subscription is not justified with the issues that occur and because the program isn't flexible (someday maybe we can import images and they can be sent to a diagonal without looking all weird) Also, would be nice to be able to draw shapes in elevations, copy and paste in elevations, etc. Again, it's a decent program, but for what we pay, it SHOULD be better.

Catalog manager needs to be able to install every single catalog we want, at one time. Every time I have to set up a new PC for a new employee it takes hours and hours to install all the catalogs we use. It's excessive.

Overall: It's a nice program to use for certain things, but in my field, this is not the only drawing program I use. I also use AutoCAD because there are just some things you cannot do efficiently/accurately in 2020. I feel like if 2020 added more features that put it more on par with CAD (certain features) I would be a lot happier with the subscription price. I'd also be a lot happier if the recovery feature worked ALL the time. I lost an entire drawing the other day and no recovery file was created. It's the first drawing I've lost in years, so it was disappointing.

Pros: 2020 Design Live offers very customizable designs and all the solutions to go with pricing, ordering, etc.

Cons: While there's a variety of trainings offered the human support lacks. There is also no consistency from one issue to another whether it be sales or IT issues. The service could use a LOT of help. Their technology regarding licenses is inefficient. While the concept is fine the execution is poor which regularly equates to us being unable to use software we own the licenses for.

Overall: Over pleased as its a functional solution for designing, quoting and ordering cabinetry from all suppliers. As well as countertop calculating.

Pros: I love that there are a lot of designs to add to the layouts. Wondering if there are extra catalogs that can be downloaded to enhance that.

Cons: I am not happy with how the lighting renders. It is a pain to have to draw other walls and add windows in them just so the image is not dark.

Overall: Overall I do love the 2020 Design and enjoy doing all of the layouts for our company. Just wish the renderings didn't take so long to render when capturing a picture.

Pros: Countertop & Trim Wizard.
Lighting Wizard.
Ease of Use.
Pretty realistic renderings.
Cloud Browser - Decorative Items!

Cons: Pop-Ups.
Fatal Errors.
Slow Renderings.
Recovery Files that don't save correctly.

Overall: I have enjoyed using 2020 Design Live so far and will continue to use it for future projects. It helps my customers visualize what could/will be!

Pros: The availability of manufacturer's catalogs. Their customer support is very good. The EZ render feature.

Cons: Ridiculously overpriced. Cloud items are outdated. Buggy.

Overall: The cloud items need updating. The program is still a little buggy. I sincerely wish I didn't "upgrade". It's not worth paying $2,200 US dollars a year for. That part is a joke!

Pros: My favorite thing about Design Live is the Cloud Catalog. Being able to pull specific appliances, plumbing fixtures and design elements from the Cloud is fantastic.
I also love that there is no usb key to access the software now. That makes it much more user friendly, especially for Designers that don't always work from the same location. The fear of losing or breaking a key was always a big stressor.

Cons: There are still instances where the program crashes, i.e. when creating a rendering that has a fair amount of detail. Sometimes this can even corrupt a file and you lose all your hard work on a project.

Overall: I have been using 2020 Design for 27 years. Overall, I have been very happy with the software, and I must say...I wouldn't want to do my job without it. It has made my career so much more enjoyable. Thank you for this exceptional product!

Pros: Initially we bought 2020 in order to design custom kitchens and bathrooms for our clients. It was easy to navigate and we could use the cabinet company we rep for.

Cons: I have had nothing but problems the entire 2 years we have had 2020 with the program crashing and losing all my work. I have contacted Tech Support many times to help me, it would work for a few days and then back to crashing all the time. I would have an entire kitchen almost completed and I would lose everything. I am looking for other programs to replace 2020.

Overall: I am not a big fan of 2020 Design. It is user friendly as long as it does not crash or save my projects.

Pros: The program is an industry standard, and easy to use. It is a great tool for in home designing with clients. The product has changed over the years as industry has evolved. Customer support is always there for questions or it issues. The renderings can sell the project as customers can actually visualize the final vision.

Cons: I have no real dislikes with the program, I have used many others in the industry.

Overall: I've used this program since 1975. The program is an industry standard, and easy to use. It is a great tool for in home designing with clients. The product has changed over the years as industry has evolved. Customer support is always there for questions or it issues. The renderings can sell the project as customers can actually visualize the final vision.

Pros: The advancements over time have kept up with customer expectations. I like most of the rendering options.

Cons: Some dealers who have limited or no internet access are being forced to find another design/quote tool.

Overall: I am a cabinet representative and I find that having and using the tool helps me to better assist my customers as they design with my many cabinet brands.

Pros: I like the detail you can put into your design.
The option to put in specific brand of appliances to give the customer.
a better idea of the design in their space.

Cons: Takes a while to learn all the ins and outs of the program.
Countertop layout could easier to layout.

Overall: It has helped learn and see details that you may miss.
Gives customers the look that helps them make decisions on what they want their kitchen or bathroom to look like.

Pros: I love 2020 Live. I use it for both of my positions. I own my own business and I work at a Corporation that is a Kitchen and Bath, where I design as well. I have been using the software for over a decade.

Cons: I do not like the views. I wish you could do better.

Overall: I love the product. I just wish the perspectives were better to use. They use to allow you to do a view that did a perspective on just a wall instead of the entire drawing. I do not feel like the current views are as useful as what they use to have.

Pros: - Quick pricing & access to more catalogs of real products (cabinets, appliances, etc.) than other programs
- Color renderings & texture matching better than expected
- Easy to pick up; about 1 month before I felt proficient in 2020

Cons: - Software begins to lag/flicker when too much put into one file
- Export to PDF; can't mix & match where pages go

Overall: Overall, 2020 is great for putting together quick models of K&Bs and providing fast turn-arounds on cabinet estimates. It should be paired with another software if the goal is total interior design due to how slow the program becomes once you begin to add light fixtures, sink & faucets, etc.

Pros: As a Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer, I have used 2020 for 25 years for the design and sales of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. I find my renderings are top notch and my drawings have the specifications needed for my installers to accurately install cabinetry. Easy render has been a great addition and I am looking forward to new and innovative additions to the software. I invested in a new computer and 4 K monitor and have found any problems I had with 2020 Design, resolved with having a high-power computer that can handle the program. I have been an administrator in the 2020 PUGs Facebook group, for 4 years, and we help designers with their everyday 2020 Design questions. 2020 Design Live is a great rendering software for my business needs. I recommend 2020 Design in the Facebook groups I administrate.

Cons: Some of the wood tone cabinetry colors wash out in 2020 live renderings. It's as if there is a slight haze over the renders.

Overall: My experience with 2020 Live has been very good. My renderings look fantastic, and I teach designer's how to improve their 2020 Design Live renderings and create social media post using Reels, and Canva. I wrote a 2020 Design Class on how to place lighting in 2020 Design for Doug Walter, CMKBD, Architect and he presented it to an NKBA chapter. I write Kitchen and Bath Design material every week.