How has the use of CGIs in marketing material changed over the last 10 years?

With 20 years’ experience, Suna Interior Design, a boutique design consultancy based in London, have witnessed first-hand a significant change in the use of CGI’s – and have been instrumental in introducing developers to photographic CGI’s which help promote the projected lifestyle of a development and ultimately sell new homes.

Rebecca Tucker, Director at Suna Interior Design comments:

“Ten years ago internal CGI’s were very basic and were used to demonstrate the space available. However, today the quality of CGI’s has improved drastically; they go above and beyond anything of the past and are almost photographic; as a result, in recent years we have seen an increasing number of developers and housing associations investing in the production of decent CGI’s.”

Rebecca explains:

“It is all about combining the technical expertise of a CGI production company with an interior designer. Having a similar effect as a physical show home, the lifestyle which the housebuilder is trying to sell to its audience can be captured within the CGI’s interior design, including everything from the features, fittings, textures and colour scheme. With developers continuing to start the marketing process by selling properties off plan, we are noticing these are becoming more and more valuable. In the same way a marketing manager might hand pick their interior design company, they are now adopting the same approach when it comes to CGI production.”

Rebecca continues:

“In the future CGI’s will be taken a step further, offering an immersive, virtual reality experience for purchasers. With this technology housebuilders will be able to sell every aspect of a home, illustrating all aspects from a fully kitted out virtual home, to an impressive CGI of the view which soon-to-be residents might be able to enjoy from the balcony of their new apartment – which is not even built yet!”

Mark Kolcular, Marketing Manager for Fruition Properties comments:

“CGI’s are an invaluable asset to market any development off-plan, while off-plan sales themselves are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve in current market conditions. The use of CGI’s enables us to bring a property to life by helping a potential buyer to visualise the space, while also being able to dress and design each space in a way which would best appeal to the target market.

Mark expands:

“We continue to push the barriers of the quality of our CGI’s, through both the companies that produce them, to the interior design teams who help brief them. In fact, we are pursuing further avenues such as CGI animation, Virtual Reality and Walkthroughs, in particular for larger schemes that warrant extensive off-plan sales.”

Mark concludes:

“We worked collaboratively on the CGI interior design for 49 Bassett Road with Suna, as we have done on previous schemes. This particular project was incredibly interesting, being a period conversion in a desirable area of North Kensington. We aimed to capture a classic, trendy and contemporary feel to the visuals, that complimented both the aesthetics of the property itself while encapsulating the dynamic of the local area.”