‘The use of technology is only increasing within the interiors world – and Orbital is here to help. When it comes to selling products online, not forgetting in-store, customers want to see as much as possible before making a final decision. As time goes on, CGI is becoming the best and most popular option for imagery within the industry,’ says Alice Clarke, Orbital Vision sales and marketing director.
‘This isn’t just down to cost: the sheer number of assets, combinations and the creative freedom that comes with doing a lifestyle shoot in 3D rather than in real life has turned people away from photography and towards CGI. Our main aim has always been to supply the industry with the most photorealistic, and affordable, imagery. We are open and honest when it comes to whether something would be more cost-effective to photograph, and have always received excellent feedback, where clients have dropped photoshoots for CGI altogether. As technology develops, CGI is only getting better and more realistic.’
One asset can create hundreds of opportunities. Once your digital assets have been built there are a variety of ways to use these and make the most of them across web, print and social.
‘We offer a wide range of services including, but not limited to, product cut-outs; styled lifestyle shots; spec sheets; line drawings; instructional videos/assembly instructions; social/TV animations; 3D configurations and AR sales presenters – the list goes on. As the years have passed and our business has developed, our clients’ requirements have always driven us in expanding our services. With a wide range of skillsets throughout the team, we’ve always been open to learning something new that will benefit our clients and their marketing campaigns.
‘From start to finish, our accounts team are always here to answer any questions or queries a client may have, and there’s never a stupid question. Most clients have never worked with CGI before, so we break things down into stages; models, fabrics and roomsets are all worked on by the team who specialise in that area. At Orbital, we keep it simple. We just need the overall dimensions and a few reference images to build a model: no line drawings, complex dimension requests or physical samples.
‘For years, we’ve been at the forefront of 3D material creation, with a variety of competitors contacting us to build their materials for them, so this really is our bread and butter. We’ve built just about every fabric, from furs to crushed velvets, cottons to embroideries, weaves to leathers – we have just about every material on file and ready to use. We’ve spent a lot of years working mainly in soft furnishings, sofas, beds and footstools, but over the past couple of years this has widely expanded. Working closely with the likes of Oak Furnitureland has allowed us to develop our skills within wood and cabinetry, a process and finish a little different to our usual fabric builds but just as realistic.
‘From 3D product configurators and AR to 3D-walkthroughs of showrooms, the industry is gearing up for a new age of selling. We’ve been working hard over the past year or so, developing our 3D Product Configurator, Envision. This has increased our clients’ sales by an average of 30% and has had a great impact on their online presence. Envision allows users to endlessly customise a product. The size, body fabric, piping, buttoning, leg colour and scatter combinations can all be changed to fit own personal styles. Envision uses 3D, 360deg models so customers can see every detail of a product, at any angle. They can also view products in their own home with our app-less AR feature, so they can test out whether a product fits the space without having to make a purchase. This means expectations are better managed, and our clients see a reduction in return rates.
‘Our team has only grown since starting Orbital Vision, in both size and skillsets. All our staff are based in our Long Eaton studio and all are full time and committed to providing the furniture industry with the best CGI imagery out there. We cannot wait to see how our 2024 progresses.’
