Regardless if you’re a lone interior designer or a multinational architectural firm, the contract design industry is and always will be extremely competitive. However, without access to large design teams, even bigger budgets and other resources, operating a small close-knit firm definitely has its own sets of barriers and challenges.
Although it may oftentimes seem impossible to shoot for projects that the larger firms are also fighting for, the key factor that can make all the difference is in investing tools that can help you make a lasting impact by working smarter, not harder. And especially during this business climate where some clients are back in their offices while others continue working remotely, it’s critical to tap into online mobile platforms that will not only support your current workflows but offer a new and improved way of doing things digitally.
Virtual Reality is one tool that can do exactly just that. Not only does it allow designers to walk into their next pitch with an exciting experience, but the technology also addresses quite a number of barriers that designers from both large and small firms face on a regular basis. In today’s blog post, we’ll be exploring how the founder and lone entrepreneur of VISUAL BUHO Pauline Lajehanniere Appel was able to utilize our Yulio VR platform was able to provide an answer to various points of friction as well as present her immersive projects to her clients.
Discover Appel's experience with using VR for interior design and home staging!
1. Give a Close to Tangible Feeling
While it may come as second nature to interior designers and architects, being able to read and understand floorplans, models or line drawings is a language skill that your clients may not possess. Although your clients may understand at a basic level an approximation of what their space will look like, it takes experience to truly decipher them well and accurately. Plus, it can be hard to understand the true size and scale of a certain product or how a configuration fits relative to a space when you’re not able to see it for yourself.
When presenting her vision to her clients, Appel shares that VR was the tool and the best way to help her clients navigate this unfamiliar space and communicate abstract design concepts. Since she uses CAD programs and 3D modelling platforms to piece together a rough arrangement of a room, she felt she couldn’t give her clients a true representation and feeling of the space she created. However, with using VR for home staging, Appel was able to give her clients the opportunity to step into her project and truly understand in a way that no other tools can provide.
2. Seamless Transition from CAD Programs
Speaking of CAD programs and 3D modelling platforms, for designers already designing in CAD, creating content for VR requires zero new training. While a common misconception many people have is that VR is difficult, complicated, and will be time-consuming to learn, the reality is that it is both simple and easy to take your CAD files and transform them into a VR experience.
For SketchUp, CET Designer, Rhino, 3DS Max users and more, we have a free plugin that can turn your 3D models into compatible files ready to be viewed in VR. With just a few clicks, our free plugin will convert your CAD files into a cubemap and stitch up the faces in minutes. The best part is there is no need to spend time to learn new software. There are tools already made that are intuitive to use and will work with your current workflows.
“The first time I experienced virtual reality was actually with the use of Yulio. I had wanted to offer virtual reality experiences to my customers for a long time, but I thought it would be difficult to use - until I found Yulio!” - Pauline Lajehanniere Appel, VISUAL BUHO
3. Making Smaller Firms Big
When we sat down with Appel, she shared in her Client Conversations that currently in the interior design industry, VR home staging or using this technology is not yet so widespread. However, since this technology is still relatively new in the industry, VR is one tool that can elevate your next pitch or presentation with a client.
Not only does it offer a better medium to understand your space in a much more comprehensive way, but it also sets the expectation that you are a leading firm and designer that values clear communication and one that embraces the future. Plus, bringing this brand new experience to your clients really gives that “wow” effect that is always a winning feature in a successful presentation. Adopting VR into your workflow today allows you as a firm to set yourself up for success now to be an expert before this becomes an industry expectation.
Click on the image to explore Appel's Yulio project.
4. Decision Making with Greater Confidence
While some states and countries have started loosening restrictions on maximum gathering sizes, many others are still trying to contain and control the spread of COVID-19 before opening up any further. With so much uncertainty still surrounding our current business climate, it’s important to find ways to stay connected with your clients and keep their projects moving regardless if they are still working from home or have returned to the office.
Immersion is the defining feature of Virtual Reality, and it is this element that will be key in giving your clients more confidence when making decisions without seeing the products or layouts in person. In Appel’s experience, having a VR home staging experience helped her clients “fall in love” with their new home more quickly. VR equips designers with the ability to show rather than tell their clients about what their space will look like. Instead of asking them to “picture this”, VR removes any opportunity for miscommunication or misunderstanding - it truly is a “what you see is what you get” experience. And especially during this time when clients may feel uneasy stepping outside of their house, VR is the perfect remote mode to give your clients the extra reassurance when giving the final sign off.
Virtual Reality: The Best Way to Present Home Staging & Redesign
From helping small firms stay competitive to helping clients feel more confident when making decisions, VR is the tool that can elevate the way you present your home staging and redesign projects. And when you’re using our Yulio VR platform, experience how truly easy it is to create stunning immersive presentations that will impress your clients.
We would like to give a huge thank you Pauline Lajehanniere Appel for sharing her personal experience with our Yulio VR platform!
To hear more about her experience, you can read her full Client Conversation here. If you would like to learn how you can integrate Yulio into your design workflows, to talk with someone from our Yulio team here - we’d love to help you get started.
