What is Forma Board?
- The Forma Board helps organize, review, and present the design process.
- It acts as a companion to the 3D Canvas, not a replacement for it.
- The Canvas is where you design; the Board is where you explain and justify design decisions.
- When camera views or analysis results are pinned to the Board, everyone sees the same design condition and comparison context.
- The Board is also valuable as a live discussion and critique tool, allowing instructors and students to compare proposals and review analysis results together in real time.
Tools in the Visuals Panel
Display Options
- You can adjust how buildings are colored—for example by function or unit type.
- You can also change how terrain is displayed, switching between mesh, contour, or satellite views.
- Shadows can be adjusted based on time and date, which is useful for environmental storytelling.
Camera Position
- You can save camera positions to maintain consistent views when comparing proposals.
- You can also export images as PNG or vector files for presentations.
Camera Options
- Look at an object.
- Look from a point.
- Zoom to fit.
- Create a custom section — a user-defined cross-section cut through a site or proposal that allows you to inspect and present the relationship between terrain, buildings, streets, landscaping, and other site elements.
Adding Content to a Forma Board
- Access the board via the top bar icon.
- Add content by dragging and dropping widgets:
- Snapshots (fixed in time)
- Live views (update automatically)
- Customize your layout:
- Move, scale, and duplicate elements.
- Adjust camera views for better context.
- Show or hide elements to focus your message.
- Adjust analysis settings directly in widgets:
- E.g. switch dates in Sun Hours analysis
Using a Board to Share Your Work
Tips for Effectively Sharing Your Work
- Use Forma Boards as a storytelling and sequencing tool, not just as a collection of images or analysis outputs
- Avoid “data dump” boards with disconnected heat maps and screenshots
- Structure the information on your boards like a case study:
- The Problem — What site constraint or design challenge is being addressed?
- The Evidence — What do the analysis results show?
- The Response — What design or massing decision was made based on those findings?
- This approach:
- Helps communicate design reasoning, not just visual comparison
- Supports clearer presentations, design reviews, and performance-based design discussions
Collaborating — Inviting Another Participant
You can invite another participant to review your Forma Board and add comments directly to it.
- Click on the group icon and then on the + icon to invite member.
- In the pop-up-window, add the email address from the participant you are asking to leave comments.
- Change permission settings to viewer. This allows the participant to view and leave comments but not change any element on the Forma Board.
- Click on Share board.
The invited participant will receive an email with an invite link.
