BlogIndustry Updates

2025 Yearly Round-Up

Programa

Jan 12, 2026

Twelve months of building, fixing, writing and growing. This is what Programa shipped, published and achieved in 2025. It was a year defined by clarity and momentum as we strengthened the foundations of our product, expanded our global design community and continued shaping a modern workflow for interior designers.

From major feature launches to steady behind-the-scenes improvements, new editorial series and meaningful industry partnerships, 2025 marked another step toward a more connected, accurate and efficient way for studios to work.

Feature launches

Four new features reached designers this year, each focused on reducing manual effort and strengthening the accuracy of specification workflows. These releases improved the way product data is captured, organised and used across projects, giving studios a faster, more dependable foundation for their daily work.

Add from URL allows designers to pull product information directly from supplier websites into their specifications. No manual data entry, no copy-paste errors.

Product Shortcut speeds up the specification process by giving designers faster access to frequently used products and actions within their workflows.

Product Background Remover strips backgrounds from product images in one click, giving designers cleaner assets for presentations and client-facing documents without switching to external editing tools.

Enhanced Web Clipper received a substantial upgrade. With this latest update, designers can now capture full product details directly from any supplier website - images, dimensions, finishes, descriptions, pricing - all in a single action.

Platform updates

Beyond new features, 2025 was a year of refinement. Programa focused on stability, speed and clarity across the platform's most-used workflows.

Schedules became more reliable with fixes for subtask duplication, drag-and-drop behaviour and comment editing. Sorting, filtering and supplier detail visibility all received attention based on designer feedback.

Exports, particularly PDF and Excel outputs, now handle larger schedules with better formatting, fewer timeouts and improved image rendering.

Invoicing saw the most significant improvements. New creation and download flows, drag-and-drop item management, discount support, faster invoice lists, improved search and a cleaner interface all shipped throughout the year. Designers can now import data directly from schedules into invoices, reducing manual re-entry.

Under the surface, financial calculations became more accurate, error handling more robust, notification stability improved and file sorting logic was refined. These changes collectively deliver a more predictable platform for studios managing specifications, schedules and financial workflows.

Content and community

Programa collaborated with 19 design studios around the world in 2025 to produce features, case studies and behind the scenes content that documented how real practices embed Programa into their daily workflows. These stories explored the decisions, systems and constraints shaping contemporary design work, highlighting both the creative process and the operational structure behind it. Through Made With Programa and In Practice, designers shared how schedules, specifications and client collaboration tools support their projects from first concept to final delivery.

The editorial team introduced Worst Case, Best Fix, a new content series examining the real conversations about design process. From project disasters to the workarounds that actually saved them, WCBF covers what it takes to run a professional practice without the usual polish.

Top five studio features

The most-read Made with Programa and WCBF features from 2025:

Alesandra Smith Design

Top five Business and Marketing for Designers features

The most-read Business and Marketing for Designers articles from 2025:

Build a Brand Clients Trust

Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2025

The Secret to Standing Out

A Conversation with Phoebe Kut

The Truth of the Beautiful but Brutal Design Industry

Designer activity

After a year of thousands of schedules built and products carefully specified, clear shifts emerged in how designers specify work in Programa.

Top 3 Specified Products:

Wall Lighting
Side Tables & Nightstands
Rugs & Carpets

In 2025, the most commonly specified items were Wall Lighting, Side Tables & Nightstands, and Rugs & Carpets. Specification broadened significantly beyond big-ticket furniture, with designers capturing far more detail across projects.

Product mix diversified sharply compared to 2024. Lighting now represents 12% of all specified products, up from 2.5% in 2024. Bathroom products account for 18%, reflecting deeper end-to-end specification. Cabinet hardware alone sits near 3%, while tables are spread across categories at 2–5% each. In contrast, 2024 schedules were heavily concentrated, with furniture categories making up 58% of all products. The shift toward granular specification aligns with faster workflows enabled by Add From URL and the enhanced Web Clipper.

Top 3 Specified Finishes:

Matte
Brass
Nickel

Finish and colour data shows the most dramatic change. In 2025, Matte finishes appear in 20% of products, while metal finishes collectively represent 40%. Colour preferences stabilised around White, Black, and Brass, which together account for 50% of all selections. The biggest movement year-over-year is Black usage, dropping from 61.4% in 2024 to 16.2% in 2025. Overall, 2025 reflects a shift toward lighter, warmer, and more balanced palettes with greater material variety.

On the road

Programa travelled internationally in 2025, attending industry events and connecting with the design community face-to-face.

Programa joined Dezeen Awards 2025 to support nominated designers and connect with studios from around the world. Ahead of the ceremony, we partnered with Dezeen to host two live panel discussions inspired by our Worst Case, Best Fix series—conversations that explore the challenges and problem-solving behind great design. The first took place in London during London Design Festival with CAKE Architecture and Cúpla Studio. The second, in Los Angeles during LA Design Weekend, featured architect and designer Paul Chan alongside Anton Yupangco, Director of Projects at Kelly Wearstler.

Vogue Living VL50 brought together Australia's leading design voices, with Programa present to connect with practices shaping the local industry.

At NeoCon in Chicago, Programa ran workshops for designers exploring specification and project management workflows.

At 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, Programa moved between showrooms, panels, exhibitions and dinners across the city. The trip included the launch of the Dezeen x Programa partnership and a dinner marking Programa's jury role for the 2025 Dezeen Awards, alongside designers including Yasmine Ghoniem, Adam Goodrum, Lee Broom and Neri&Hu.

Company growth

The team grew from 35 to 44 employees in 2025, expanding across product, engineering, support and marketing. This expansion strengthened every part of the business. More product and engineering capacity means features ship faster and core systems continue to become more stable and more capable. A larger support and success team ensures designers get timely, informed help from people who understand their workflows. As Programa’s global user base expands, this growth allows the company to keep pace with demand while maintaining the level of quality and responsiveness designers expect.

What's ahead in 2026?

Programa is relocating to a new headquarters in Richmond, with renovations currently underway in collaboration with In Addition and DeLune. The new HQ will support better spaces for collaboration and testing, and provide room for the team to grow as Programa’s user base continues to scale. The move is expected in early 2026, with the new workspace becoming the hub for shaping the next generation of interior design software. Stay tuned to our social media for an exclusive look at the office design in progress.

Programa’s 2026 roadmap is already taking shape, with several major updates on the way. While some details will be shared closer to release, designers can expect the following early in the new year:

A refined UI built for clarity and focus
An AI-powered price estimator that speeds up budgeting
A smart schedule importer to reduce setup time

More to come.

A note from our Co-Founder Zoe

Hi Programa Community,

Thank you for being part of another remarkable year. In 2025, we strengthened the foundations of Programa with faster, clearer and more reliable tools, introduced new features and expanded our content and community to share more of the real work that happens inside design studios. Every improvement was shaped by the way you use Programa and the feedback you continue to share.

We’re deeply grateful for your support and for the trust you place in us to power your daily workflow. And as we head into 2026, we’re building toward some of our most significant updates yet. A new UI, smarter automation and a more connected studio system are all on the way.

Thank you for being part of this journey. We’re excited for what’s next and honoured to build it with you.

Warmly,

Zoe Lowres