How Would You Present Your Design?

You’re developing a design and looking for a 3d rendering studio to help you present your design in the best possible style, light, and composition.

You find some options, and you send them your brief asking them for a quote to get 3d renderings of your project. But…

Is 3d renderings the best type of 3d visualization to present your design?

You might know the answer. You might not.

We get caught up by tight deadlines and forget to question the things we get used to. Here are three types of 3d visualizations you might think of when it comes to presenting your proposal.

1. 3D rendering

You can visualize your project in one or multiple images. That's the traditional way of presenting architectural & interior design.

Although 80% of our orders are 3d renderings, I see that it has some advantages that you get and also some disadvantages that might hurt your presentations.

Pros:

• Clients expect it and like to share it with their connections & on their social media accounts.
• It stays for a long time on your website, social media accounts, and on your client’s phone, so people associate them with you when seeing them somewhere else.
• Your design could be slightly modified via photo editing software like photoshop, which means not all the scenes should be 3d modeled, and a last moment modificaton is possible.
• One image speaks a thousand words, and that’s true. Clients get hooked by beautiful images and understand more than what is presented and this helps you communicate your thoughts with them.

Cons:

• Difficult to stand out. Everyone is doing it and you need a well perfected composition that tells your design in a story so that you differentiate your service.
• Engagement time is counted by seconds compared to the other method I will list below.

Usability:

• Website
• Social media
• Printable brochures
• Online presentation?
• Background for online meetings.

Comment below what other ways you use 3d renderings so I learn from you.

B. Cinemagraph:

You might have watched a video on social media to discover after one minute that It’s just a 15 seconds video looping multiple times - that’s what cinemagraphs are made for.

It hooks the visitors to your website, so they are engaged and fall into a daydream visualizing themselves in your design.

It’s considered an affordable and quick solution between a still image and a 3d animation. In Cinemagraphs, usually the position of the design would be fixed and all or some urban elements surrounding it are going to be animated, like trees, sky, lights, cars, etc.

It also has pros and cons, and here they are:

Pros:

• Clients get fascinated with it. They watch and dive deep emotionally into the scene, especially when music is added to it.

The more time someone spends on your website, the more likely they would contact you. Don't believe it? no problem. Would you spend a minute viewing something you don't like?        

• You can make it one-two minutes long from day to night, so it hooks people for a long time. It’s a great visual content to have on your website and especially on your homepage.
• It shows your design in more depth because clients can see their future building in different light scenarios and know how the light behaves with your interior & exterior design. As a reults, they can take decision faster whether to move forward with your proposal or should it be modified.

Cons:

• I don’t see any negative aspects to it. However, It takes 30% more time to produce it compared to still images & costs slightly more than still images.

Usability:

• Website (especially the homepage)
• Private and business social media accounts
• Printable video brochures
• Online presentation
• Perfect background for online meetings

When to use each of them:

I think each designer should consider cinemagraphs as an essential part of their presentations, especially today. It’s becoming harder to stand out & you need to present your design in a way most people won’t do.

However, you can ask for 3d renderings ONLY, when:

• Your budget is tight.
• You need the visual to be printed and published.
• The visuals are needed to validate the design.
• When the visuals are made to get approvals from authorities, here comes the Before/After images in play.

You should ask for 3d cinemagraphs WITH still images when:

• You want to stand out on social media.
• You want to hook your website visitors.
• You want to win a client. (I know all of you want to win clients. However, not all of you are ready to spend the extra mile to win and stand out.)

At the end of the day, think about the people who views your work for the first time, and what impression would they have.

If you choose to be always low on budget, you might consider explainig yourself always (the client didn't pay, the budget was low, the deadline was tight...etc)

If you choose to stand out, you won't think about what others will percieve you, because you are already prepared.

Which one did you like the most?

3D renderings with or without cinemagraphs?

See you next time,

Selena Tran | Co-founder of TWG Studio