Definitions, workflows and best practices for visual product marketing in the furniture, home & living industry - compact, easy to understand, with project references.

Glossary for 3D Visualization, CGI, and Brand Communication

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What is Ambient Occlusion (AO)?

Ambient Occlusion (AO) enhances contact and edge shadows in 3D scenes. The result: greater depth and realism—ideal for emphasizing details in CGI renderings.

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What is augmented reality?

Augmented reality brings digital 3D objects into the real world. Find out how AR works, why home & living brands benefit from it and which tools & devices will be state of the art in 2025.

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What is Brand Experience (BX)?

Brand experience describes all the sensory and emotional impressions that people gain of a brand across all touchpoints - in-store, online, on social media, at trade fairs, in AR/VR and even during unboxing. In the home & living context, material, light, space and interaction have a particularly strong impact on perception. 3D/CGI makes these impressions consistently scalable.

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What is CGI (Computer Generated Imagery)? Meaning & Definition

CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) refers to the creation of photorealistic, three-dimensional images using computer software. In modern B2B marketing, CGI is increasingly replacing traditional photo shoots. It enables premium brands to create products as Digital Twins with millimeter-level precision and, through hybrid AI workflows, scale them for e-commerce and catalogs in a limitless, cost-effective, and brand-safe manner.

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What is the albedo/base color map?

It describes a color-accurate surface without shadows or gloss and forms the basis for consistent product colors in the PBR workflow—from renderings to web and AR viewers.

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What is Digital Asset Management (DAM)?

A DAM is your brand’s “asset hub”: This is where media is centrally organized, tagged, versioned, and assigned access rights. This allows teams to quickly find approved images, videos, and 3D assets—and use them consistently across all channels.

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What is a 3D product configurator?

A 3D product configurator turns static items into interactive experiences: Customers can choose color, material, and size options in real time—right in their browser. Find out here how brands use it to boost sales, reduce returns, and seamlessly transition to virtual showrooms or 360-degree tours.

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What is a 3D virtual showroom?

What is a 3D Virtual Showroom? — An interactive brand experience where customers can explore products in a three-dimensional space, customize them, and purchase them directly. Learn about the definition, business benefits, technology, workflow, best practices, FAQs, and related links.

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What is a displacement map?

A displacement map is an elevation or vector texture that a rendering engine uses to displace actual geometry—unlike bump or normal maps, which only simulate surface lighting. The result: measurable relief, sharp silhouettes, and realistic edge breaks.

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What is a lightmap?

Normal maps add fine wrinkles, pores, or fabric textures to your 3D model—without any excessive geometry. Learn how they work, when they’re useful, and how we use them at Danthree.

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What is a Metalness Map?

A metalness map uses a black-and-white mask to determine which parts of a 3D model reflect light like real metal. When used correctly, it is the key to physically accurate PBR materials—from chrome frames to stainless steel kitchens.

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What is a normal map?

Normal maps add fine wrinkles, pores, or fabric textures to your 3D model—without any excessive geometry. Learn how they work, when they’re useful, and how we use them at Danthree.

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What is a rendering engine?

A rendering engine converts 3D geometry, materials, and lighting into finished images or animations. This article explains how it works, identifies the market leaders for 2025, outlines selection criteria, and showcases specific Danthree case studies—all in a concise, practical manner and without technical jargon.

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What is a render farm?

A render farm is a network of many computers (nodes) that processes render jobs in parallel—ideal for large image series, animations, and campaigns. It drastically reduces render times and makes 3D production more predictable.

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What is a roughness map?

How rough is concrete? How reflective are glass fibers? Roughness maps control the micro-scattering of light and make PBR materials look realistic. Learn how they work, get workflow tips, and discover common pitfalls.

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What is Global Illumination (GI)?

Global Illumination refers to indirect lighting in 3D scenes—light is reflected multiple times off surfaces and casts a glow on surrounding areas. The result: a realistic sense of space, natural color bleeding, and soft shadows, just like in photography.

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What is glTF?

glTF is the JPEG of the 3D world: small file size, PBR-ready and ideal for web & AR. Learn about the structure, advantages and how to export models losslessly in glTF.

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What is HDRI / Image-Based Lighting (IBL)?

A displacement map is an elevation or vector texture that a rendering engine uses to displace actual geometry—unlike bump or normal maps, which only simulate surface lighting. The result: measurable relief, sharp silhouettes, and realistic edge breaks.

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What is Mixed Reality?

Mixed reality (MR) links the physical environment with interactive 3D objects in real time. The article explains the technology, fields of application in home & living marketing, differences to AR/VR and Danthree project examples.

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What is OpenUSD (USD)?

OpenUSD is an open 3D ecosystem for describing, composing, and exchanging complex scenes. It enables layering, variations, and collaboration across DCC tools—it’s more than just a file format.

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What is Physically Based Rendering (PBR)?

Physically Based Rendering (PBR) is a rendering approach that describes material properties according to physical laws. Using standardized maps (e.g., albedo, roughness, metalness), an object reacts consistently to light in every scene. The result: realistic, repeatable CGI materials—ideal for e-commerce, configurators, and print.

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What is ray tracing?

Ray tracing is a rendering technique in which light rays are virtually traced from the camera’s viewpoint through the 3D scene. This produces physically accurate reflections, shadows, and refractions—without the need for a real photo set. For brands, this means consistently photorealistic CGI images and animations that can be flexibly scaled for e-commerce, print, and interactive experiences.

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What is rigging?

Rigging is the process of equipping a 3D model with a controllable skeleton (joints/bones) and controllers so that parts move realistically. Constraints (FK/IK) and skinning are used to limit movements and deform the mesh cleanly—the foundation for product demos, animations, and interactive viewers.

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What is subsurface scattering (SSS)?

Subsurface scattering describes the scattering of light within a material before it emerges again—this is what makes plastics, wax, soap, ceramics, and marble appear soft and realistic. SSS prevents the “plastic look” and produces natural halos along edges as well as gently brightened shadows.

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What Is Texture Baking? (Map Baking)

Texture baking (map baking) means that light, shadows, and details are calculated once and saved as textures. The result: faster renderings and a consistent look—ideal for the web, AR, and product shots.

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What is Tone Mapping / ACES (ACEScg)?

Tone mapping translates scene-referred renders into the display range so that contrasts, highlights, and colors appear natural. ACES/ACEScg provides a standardized pipeline for this (IDT → ACEScg → ODT) that maintains a consistent look across renders, video, and the web—fewer correction loops, greater brand consistency.

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What is USDZ?

USDZ is the preferred 3D format for Apple AR. It bundles geometry, materials & textures in one file that can be opened immediately in Apple's AR Quick Look - ideal for furniture & interiors. Here you will find definition, advantages, export rules, comparison to glTF and a practice pipeline.

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What is UV mapping (UV unwrapping)?

UV mapping—also known as UV unwrapping—maps the surface of a 3D model onto a 2D coordinate system. Clean UVs are the foundation for sharp textures, AO maps, normal maps, and lightmaps without seams or bleeding.

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What is visual storytelling?

Visual storytelling turns products into protagonists: with coherent imagery, 3D renderings and a clear narrative, you can create emotion, strengthen your brand identity and increase conversion. Here you can read how it works - including workflow, quick tips & FAQs.

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