July CET User of the Month – Arelis Ferro
With a background in anthropology and interior design, South Florida native Arelis Ferro creates spaces that make a positive impact on people. Arelis is the director of design at Compass Office Solutions, a full-service commercial furniture dealer and modular interior solutions provider based in Miramar, Florida.
“Design is both creative and technical, and I enjoy putting something together that is beautiful, functional and helps people,” Arelis said. “From aging in place design to universal design, design helps everyone live their highest potential and that’s what I love about it.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Central Florida, Arelis studied interior design at American InterContinental University in London. Arelis launched her career at an A&D firm where she worked for three years. Her career transitioned into the marketing and events industry, and in 2018 Arelis returned to interior design where she began her current role at Compass Office Solutions.
Arelis’ journey with CET began when Compass Office Solutions adopted the software in December 2019.
“Compass Office Solutions is a local company, and it’s important we can show what we can do,” Arelis said. “CET is becoming the industry standard, and switching to CET ensured we remain competitive with national dealerships while distinguishing Compass Office Solutions as an industry leader.”
Arelis says CET is the most intuitive design software she’s used in her career. She uses it for furniture design and some acoustics.
“In all my years of working with different design programs, CET was the easiest software for me to get started with,” Arelis said. “I love the 2D and 3D views in CET because I can see the vision I had in my mind come to life.”
What Arelis loves about using CET for furniture is the rendering process because of the ability to see how products within a space function together.
“When you’re designing, you have an idea how you want a space to look and specifications, and CET has helped so much with showing how a space is intended to work,” Arelis said. “Especially when the manufacturers make smart elements in CET, you have the confidence knowing the products will work and function properly in real life.”
An example of a recent project Arelis worked on was for a pediatric facility. The facility had different offices with different colors and finishes. Thanks to CET’s rendering capabilities, Arelis could show how the colors and finishes worked together.
“The customer was thrilled because what they see now in the physical space is what we showed them in CET,” Arelis said. “CET takes away the anxiety and fear of something different and gives the customer confidence in their design choices. CET excels at showing customers how a space will look because you’re able to put the client in their space before it’s actually built.”
Arelis’ favorite CET tip or trick is using component blocks, especially when laying out multiple workstations or different types of workstations. Arelis says component blocks and cloning make designing these spaces so easy instead of having to recreate the wheel each time.
Outside of work, Arelis enjoys spending time in her garden and making her new house a home with her husband. Her house came with a mango tree, and she has enjoyed watching for mangos, which she looks forward to sharing with friends and neighbors. Arelis also enjoys all things Star Wars, sci-fi and going to concerts with her husband.
