CGI and Photography in the KBB Market

The choice between CGI and photography depends on your specific needs. CGI is ideal for products still in development, projects requiring multiple variations, or complex room sets that would be expensive to build physically. Photography may be better for existing products where tactile qualities are crucial or when you need to capture real-world interactions. Often, a combination of both techniques provides the most versatile solution.

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) creates photorealistic 3D visualisations of kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom products using specialised software. It enables the creation of high-quality product images and room sets without physical production, offering complete control over materials, lighting, and design elements and development of infinite variations cost effectively.

Supporting details:

• Creates detailed 3D models
• Applies realistic materials and textures
• Sets up virtual lighting environments
• Renders photorealistic images

CGI provides cost-effective visualisation of products before manufacturing, enables multiple design variations, and eliminates the need for physical room set construction. It's particularly valuable for new product launches, multiple colour options, and complex room sets requiring frequent updates.

Key benefits:

• Pre-production visualisation
• Multiple colour and finish options
• Complex room set creation
• Future modification capability
• Faster turnaround times
• Long-term cost efficiency

Yes, CGI and photography can be effectively combined to create hybrid visuals. This approach allows modification of photographed scenes with CGI elements, enabling product variations and environmental changes while maintaining photorealistic quality. The technique requires precise matching of lighting, perspective, and shadows.

The CGI production process follows eight sequential stages: technical specification review, 3D modelling, material development, lighting setup, camera positioning, test rendering, final rendering, and post-production enhancement. Each stage requires specific technical expertise and quality control.

Process breakdown:

1. Technical specification review
2. 3D modelling
3. Material development
4. Lighting setup
5. Camera positioning
6. Test rendering
7. Final rendering
8. Post-production

KBB photography encompasses five main types: technical product photography, installed product documentation, lifestyle photography, room set photography, and detail photography. Each type serves specific marketing purposes and requires different technical approaches.

Types include:

• Technical product photography
• Installed product documentation
• Lifestyle photography
• Room set photography
• Detail photography

KBB photography requires specialised expertise in capturing reflective surfaces, maintaining colour accuracy across diverse materials, managing large-scale room sets, balancing exposure for contrasting surfaces, and understanding optimal viewing angles for installations.

KBB marketing requires specific image quality standards including print-quality resolution (minimum 300dpi), web-optimised versions (72-150dpi), multiple format compatibility, layered file availability, and colour-matched output capability.

Required specifications:

• Print-quality resolution (300dpi minimum)
• Web-optimised versions (72-150dpi)
• Multiple format compatibility
• Layered file availability
• Colour-matched output

Colour accuracy in KBB imagery is maintained through professional colour management systems, calibrated equipment, standardised lighting conditions, and material sample matching procedures. This systematic approach ensures consistent representation across all materials and finishes.

Key methods:

• Colour management systems
• Equipment calibration
• Digital and physical proofing
• Standardised lighting
• Material sample matching

Accurate visual production requires detailed technical drawings or CAD files, material samples, brand guidelines, usage context information, and specific angle requirements. This technical information ensures precise representation of products and environments.

Essential requirements:

• Technical drawings/CAD files
• Material specifications
• Brand guidelines
• Usage context
• Angle requirements

Complex materials and finishes are represented using advanced material property scanning, multi-layered shader development, HDR lighting, focus stacking photography, and specialised post-production workflows. These techniques ensure accurate reproduction of textures, reflections, and surface properties.

Turnaround times vary depending on project complexity and volume. Product images can be delivered anywhere from 1 day up to a couple of weeks, depending on the complexity and number of products involved. CGI projects can take from 10 days onwards for a full output, with the timeline depending on complexity and volume of work required.

To reduce image production costs, plan strategically by: bundling similar products into single shoots, creating adaptable base images that can be modified for variations, using CGI for complex scenarios that would be expensive to build physically, and developing a comprehensive shot list that maximises efficiency. Long-term planning and choosing the right visualisation method for each project can significantly reduce overall costs.

KBB visualisation project timelines are determined by product complexity, variation requirements, technical specification availability, approval processes, post-production needs, and marketing campaign integration schedules.

Key factors:

• Product/room set complexity
• Number of variations needed
• Technical specification availability
• Approval process requirements
• Post-production complexity
• Marketing integration needs

Effective revision management in KBB visualisation requires structured review processes, version control systems, documented change requests, progress tracking, and comprehensive archive management. This ensures efficient project progression and quality control.

Successful KBB visualisation projects require comprehensive briefs, complete technical documentation, clear approval pathways, realistic timelines, and specific end-use requirements. Proper preparation prevents delays and ensures project objectives are met.

Essential preparation:

• Comprehensive brief development
• Technical documentation
• Approval pathway definition
• Timeline planning
• End-use specification
• Brand guideline compilation

Common challenges in KBB visual production include managing multiple variations, capturing reflective surfaces accurately, maintaining colour consistency, ensuring technical accuracy, and meeting multi-format output requirements.

KBB visualisation costs are determined by product or room set complexity, image quantity, detail level requirements, usage rights scope, timeline requirements, post-production complexity, and number of variations needed.

Cost factors:

• Product/room set complexity
• Image quantity
• Detail requirements
• Usage rights
• Timeline requirements
• Post-production needs
• Variation quantity

Businesses can maximise visual content investment through multi-purpose usage planning, future variation consideration, adaptable base image creation, comprehensive image library development, and format flexibility planning.

Strategic approaches:

• Multi-purpose usage planning
• Future variation planning
• Adaptable base images
• Image library development
• Format flexibility

High-quality visual content in KBB marketing delivers enhanced brand perception, improved customer engagement, higher conversion rates, reduced long-term costs, marketing flexibility, and consistent brand presentation across all channels.

Key benefits:

• Enhanced brand perception
• Improved customer engagement
• Higher conversion rates
• Reduced long-term costs
• Marketing flexibility
• Consistent brand presentation