Italian furniture from the luxury segment - CGI (3D product visualization) for a sofa by Natuzzi
Design of a virtual brand space
Lighting, perspective, interior design, design language - a brand space is complex and conveys more than just 3D product images. The corporate identity of a company resonates and can be felt in every detail. This was also the case in our 3D product visualization for Natuzzi. Our interior designers / 3D artists created a brand space tailored to the furniture brand and staged the furniture with CGI.
Of course, we weren't left to our own devices. Natuzzi gave our interior designers and CGI artists the complete corporate identity. Among other things, this meant that the distribution of light and shadow in the virtual brand space was specified, as was the perspective from which the sofa was to be shown as the main product. Several product images were created for the other furniture in the room, because of course a sofa can only be experienced in connection with the rest of the room. The design and language of the brand space were defined, so it was clear which furniture was to interact visually with the sofa here.
Natuzzi furniture is characterized by its high-quality design and workmanship. Therefore, our claim is also to bring across the processing in the 3D model and in the 3D visualization. They are often multifunctional, combining pragmatism with noble materials. Colors, shapes and textures together form a harmonious whole. It was a pleasure for our team at Danthree Studio to bring the different surfaces, the respective haptic characteristics of the individual materials to life in 3D rendering! Authenticity, tangibility for customers, transport of brand values - these were the goals of this 3D project.
Our artists have implemented a lot in the area of CGI via light guidance. Surfaces become "tangible" to the eyes when structures are created via modeling with light and shadow. However, this had to be done within Natuzzi's guidelines for light direction. From the sofa at the center of the brand space to the couch table, lounge chair, rug and shelving, the furniture is characterized by clean lines and simple shapes. This is a key part of Natuzzi 's design - the materials are able to work precisely because of this simplicity in design. It was a challenge for our CGI artists to create a brand space within the tight specifications, which not only makes it possible to experience all the functions of the furniture shown, like product images, but also puts customers right in the middle of the space.
High quality furniture materials set the scene with 3D
The specific properties of high-quality furniture materials, carefully selected wood or respectfully processed leather require the attention of all the senses. They cannot simply be "seen". These materials exude their own scent, behave in a very special way when touched. The way sounds in a room are defined by the materials that are in the room. All of this is important to feeling comfortable in a room. That's why we choose our furniture the way we do. The high-quality materials used by the designers at Natuzzi take this very fact into account. How do you represent that in CGI?
Brand spaces can only really be experienced if you are actually in the room and open up all your senses. One way to make furniture more tangible in a 3D product visualization is to show it from different angles. Another way is to keep changing the light. The textures of the materials can be experienced through the different reflections on the surface and the ever-changing shadows. Customers get an impression of how the material might feel. The surface of the materials is also decisive for sound. How a sofa affects the room acoustics can therefore be guessed by experiencing the surface texture. This leaves only one sense missing: How do you convey the genuine scent of high-quality leather in a brand room that exists only as a 3D rendering? How do you convey the unique aroma of natural wood surfaces? It seems almost impossible. But in fact, a credible surface design that makes the material haptically perceptible plays an important role here as well. After all, the brain fills in the missing information all by itself.
To achieve this with our CGI, our artists work closely with master craftsmen from the various trades involved in furniture construction. They seek advice and always explore for themselves the material they want to represent. This enables them to express the high quality and unique character of a Natuzzi sofa in a virtual brand space. These product images look authentic. They are.
