Are you struggling with ways to present your product design ideas or selling the products after their creation? If so, 3D product visualization is your solution. With this, you can stand out from your competitors and make a name for yourself.
Read on to learn all there is to know about 3D product visualization. You will learn about its definition, importance, usage, and benefits. In the end, you will also find out how to choose an app to create 3D product visualizations and an alternative to this, i.e., outsourcing 3D product visualization.
So, read till the end to not miss out on any key information!
What is 3D Product Visualization
Tired of static product images that only showcase the product from one angle? Well, it is time for you to be engaged with 3D product visualization. No matter what industry you are in or what purpose you intend to use 3D product visualization for, it is bound to help you excel in your business.
Technically, 3D product visualization refers to the process of creating 3D images using digital software. It requires specialized technique, and if you master it, you can produce not only life-like images but animations as well.
Doesn’t this premise sound tempting? You can use 3D product visualization to present your business’ products to customers and do a whole lot more. This includes experimenting with product prototypes, sealing deals with investor clients, and creating your own unique brand identity, among others.
The Importance of 3D Product Visualization
Having touched upon the importance of 3D product visualization, let’s explore each one of its usage in greater detail.
1. Prototyping and Design Iteration
Have you ever encountered a situation where you had the product in its physical form in your hands, and upon experimenting, you realized that there is a flaw in its making? Or, even worse, you did not realize the error, and your customers ended up complaining about it?
You had hundreds of products made in the same way, and with the arrival of an unforeseen fault, they will no longer sell. The capital invested in their making was all wasted, and you did not have any more to produce a rectified product.
A dire situation to be in, isn’t it? Nonetheless, you can now prevent such a situation from arising. If you use 3D product visualization and experiment with product prototypes in their design phase, you can identify these issues. You can then correct them during their design phase.
2. Improved Communication
We just talked about you and your team creating products of your own. Let’s talk about a situation where you will be creating products for someone else.
In such a scenario, your client will convey his/her idea to you, and then it is your responsibility to create it as per their demand. However, during the creation, you input some elements that your client later disagreed with.
Why has such a case occurred? It is because there was a lack of clear communication between yourself and your client. To solve the problem, you need to create a product prototype in 3D.
After this, you also need to show this 3D product visualization to your client during every step of the creation process. When you do this, your client will be better able to understand what you are creating and point out things he does not wish added to it.
3. Investor Pitches and Presentations
Have you ever been in a meeting room where you had to present a product idea to your superior for approval? However, you are not the only one there for the presentation; there are others as well with potentially better ideas than you.
So, how can you triumph over them? The answer is simple. Use 3D product visualization. In a room where others are relying on sketches and verbal descriptions of their ideas, your 3D product visualization will significantly stand out.
When you present life-like 3D visuals, it will depict the product in great detail and from every angle. Not only that, you can side-by-side explain its key features and where it is found in the product, allowing others to have an immersive experience.
Don’t you think you can impress your superiors this way and seal the deal?
4. Your Brand Identity
Suppose you are establishing your own product line and aim to create a strong brand identity with it. 3D product visualization will help you in your endeavor.
In order to sell your products, you would showcase them on online platforms – such as your own website or social media apps, right? So, when you employ 3D product visualization and present a realistic-looking product, not just static images, viewers will be instantly attracted to it.
Viewers like it when there is something different; 3D product visualization is precisely this. It offers something entirely different from your peers who rely on static images.
Once their interest is piqued, they will definitely check out your brand. If they need to purchase anything, they will place an online order or visit your physical store.
After that, once they know you are a trustworthy brand that offers quality products, they will spread your brand’s name to others as well. Word of mouth is extremely powerful, and soon, people will recognize your brand through its products.
Usage of 3D Product Visualization
Having understood the importance of 3D product visualization, let’s discuss in which industries it has the most usage.
1. E-commerce
Today, there are millions of people who do online shopping because going to stores in their busy lives has become difficult. Aren’t you one of them? After all, e-commerce has made shopping easy and simple.
However, one downside for customers is that they cannot closely examine products that they otherwise would not have bought before scrutinizing them closely. With 3D product visualization, though, this inspection is now possible.
While surfing online websites, customers can now smoothly stop by one product and explore each and every one of its features in great detail. When customers have this option and realize its benefits, they will definitely shop on your website again, increasing your sales.
2. Tech Industry
We just talked about online shopping in general, but 3D product visualization is especially useful in online sale of tech products. This includes complex products like smartphones and laptops and other such gadgets.
This is especially crucial if the customer is someone from the tech industry. If he/she is shopping online, they will be looking forward to understanding each one of the product’s features and how they work. They will also want to know any intricate details related to it that make it different from its peers.
While it may be tedious and difficult to relay all this technical information in mere words, 3D product visualization will make the job easy. When you use such an innovative method for product description, customers will buy them from you again and again, boosting your business.
3. Architecture and Construction
Architecture and construction are other fields where 3D product visualization plays a critical role in expanding your business. If you are still using hand-drawn sketches to present your architectural ideas, you are way behind the trends.
You can successfully use 3D product visualization to display completed interiors and exteriors of buildings even before construction has begun. It will not only show the customers what the completed building will look like but also point out the spatial arrangements and furnishings.
When you upload these 3D product visualizations of properties on websites and social media platforms, people will view them, and interested clients will contact you.
In addition, clients can point out things they want to be changed, and you will be able to edit that part in the 3D product visualization. Thus, properties can be customized during their construction process. It will give your business a reputation for providing the best customer service, and you will stand out from your peers.
4. Automotive Industry
Believe it or not but the automotive industry can also make use of 3D product visualization. Aftre all, the automotive industry is about a lot more than just selling motor vehicles. These organizations design them, and then develop and manufacture them.
That’s not all; after that comes the marketing and selling. Any repaires or modification of these motor vehicle are also done by them. So, if you are a part of the automative industry, you can use 3D product visualization in the designing and development phase as well as the selling phase.
If you design a car or motorcycle digitally in 3D, you can design all its intricate parts in greater detail. You can showcase any modification or customization that you wish to do with greater clarity. This will increase the chances of the modification or customization being produced without any issues.
Benefits of 3D Product Visualization
Having discussed the various uses of 3D product visualization, you must realize that it offers immense benefits to you. Let’s check out some of these benefits.
1. Better Engagement
Once you have uploaded 3D product visualizations of your products on your official website and on social media platforms, people will view them. However, they will not just view them but be completely immersed in them.
What better way to engage customers’ attention to your product than putting up 3D visuals or animations of it. It will engage your viewers in a way no simple description can. Once they become immersed in the product, they will choose to buy it.
Thus, in order to make people buy your products, what you need to do is show the products to them in a unique way no other company has thought to do so – through 3D product visualization. You will observe a significant increase in your sales.
2. Greater Confidence During the Purchase
Have you ever observed people being hesitant before making any online purchases of furniture such as sofas? They are most likely unsure because they don’t know if the sofa is the right size for their house or if it will even fit anywhere.
Through augmented reality – which superimposes the 3D product visualization onto real life physical space – they can easily picture what the sofa would look like in their home.
They will be able to figure out where to place it in their home so that it would fit perfectly. If they don’t like one option, they can explore other such products.
With this, the customers have the advantage of checking how furniture would look in their homes through online shopping. They will, thus, come back to your website the next time they need something, earning you loyal customers.
3. Reduction in Return Rates
When shopping in physical stores, especially for furniture, the biggest downside is that customers cannot know if it would look good in their homes. This is especially true for items such as curtains, sofas, tables, chairs, etc.
How will they know if they will match the color theme they have? Or, where each one of them will be placed without buying them first? It is also because of this that you would experience greater return rates.
Therefore, when you upload your product in the form of a 3D product visualization, customers can check with augmented reality and decide which one to buy. When they purchase the product after having considered everything, there will be a reduction in return rates. This will boost your company’s image, and more customers will follow.
Choosing an App for 3D Product Visualization
There is an abundance of apps available for 3D product visualization. Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Substance Suite, and Dimension (to name a few) are just some of the famous ones that you can use for 3D product visualization.
They each have their advantages and unique features that you can use depending on your requirements. So, we will go through some of the aspects that you need to keep in mind when selecting which app to choose for 3D product visualization.
1. Project Complexity
First of all, you need to consider how complex the 3D product visualization that you are attempting is going to be. Are you going to be creating just a simple 3D image or an animation? Or, do you intend to create a complete and realistic 3D model with proper lighting and textures?
Depending on your requirements, the app you choose will vary. If it is just a 3D image, you can do it in Adobe Illustrator. Photoshop works great in enhancing the quality and feel of an already-created 3D product visualization.
Substance Suite and Dimension offer more features with which you can create complete 3D models with depth and realism.
2. Technical Expertise
No matter which app you opt for, you need a certain level of expertise to work on them. This is something that only comes with training and practicing on them. So, if you are using these apps for the first time, first work on another sample, not your actual 3D product visualization.
In addition to this, some apps also offer user-friendly interface which makes it easier to get used to. For instance, Dimension has an user-friendly interface; it will help you create 3D product visualization, even in the form of animations.
3. Budget
Everyone has a budget that they cannot ignore. You must have one as well. Therefore, you need a 3D product visualization app that fits your budget. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop offer a 7-day free trial, but otherwise, they are paid.
On the other hand, Substance Suite is free for students and teachers but it has paid versions as well. The features allowed for the paid version are more advanced but if you need only basic features, the free version is a good option.
Dimension is free but has paid versions available as well. Again, you can decide which one to opt for depending on your needs.
Outsourcing 3D Product Visualization Services
If you want to do your 3D product visualization yourself and have enough proficiency and money for it, you can buy some paid version of any app that suits your needs.
Or, if you are not confident in your skills, you can always opt for outsourcing 3D product visualization services. Outsourcing is also more budget-freindly than paying for paid versions of apps.
You just need to find studios that offer these services. Check out their reviews online before you go to any place so you know you are going to a trustworthy studio. When you have found one, you just have to tell them your specifications, your time limit, and agree on a price.
It is the studio that manages all the price discussions, and they have different people with different professional expertise. They assign one to your task depending on the level of difficulty your 3D product visualization has.
Conclusion
Overall, we now know that 3D product visualization is a digital process of creating 3D models. It is important because you can use this for prototyping and design iteration and have improved communication between yourself and your client.
With this, you can nail investor pitches and presentations, and successfully create your own brand identity. It can be used in a number of industries such as e-commerce, the tech industry, architecture and construction, and the automotive industry.
3D product visualization has immense benefits because it offers better engagement for the cusomer with the product. The customer will have greater confidence when buying a product, and there will be a reduction on return rates. All of this will, in turn, boost your business and give you a solid reputaion.
When choosing an app for 3D product visualization, you have to keep in mind project complexity, technical expertise, and your budget. Or, you can opt for outsourcing 3D product visualization services.
FAQs
Q. What industries benefit from 3D product visualization?
There are various industries that benefit from 3D product visualization. Examples include e-commerce, the tech industry, architecture and construction, and the automotive industry. They all can make use of it for product designing and selling.
Q. Can 3D product visualization reduce return rates?
When people buy products after their complete satisfaction with all its features depicted through 3D product visualization, they will not be unsatisfied with its performance afterwards. Thus, 3D product visualization reduces return rates.
Q. What tools are commonly used for 3D product visualization?
Digital apps are used to create 3D product visualization. Some examples include Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Substance Suite, and Dimension. You can choose one depending on your needs.
