Depending on the nature of the product, building product marketing can be a straightforward process, or it can be very challenging. For building products that are finish materials, like claddings and finishes, some photographs of a finished project are a no-brainer. When you are dealing with building products which are not part of the esthetic scheme of a design, or are hidden inside a wall never to be seen again, it is a much more challenging visual marketing exercise. When a not-so-attractive product needs to be visually demonstrated and displayed, 3d animations and video are the best solution. This case study demonstrates the power of 3d rendering and animation as an educational and persuasive sales tool, team training tool and customer support solution.
The Challenge
Explain what the Cemco Fas-Track and Deflection Drift Angle are (features & benefits)
Demonstrate how the product are installed in a wall
Express why one should choose the products
Take these rather mundane objects and make them look their best visually
Step One – Modeling, Texturing & Rendering the Products
The first step was to create 3d models of the products and create textures that realistically represent the building products for this animation. They are displayed below:
Tracksafe
Fas Trak Rendering – 4-9-13
Step Two – Setting the scene
I chose to create a scene that had enough contextual information so the viewer knows we are looking at an interior partition in a structure with the desired construction type to best showcase this product without distracting the eye.
Scene Setup / Context
Step Three – Setting things in motion
Once the scene was setup and the necessary parts were modeled, I began the animation process by creating a storyboard that tells what is going to happen at what time. Once the storyboard is edited back and forth with the client and approved, the animation starts to take shape. Once all the parts are moving properly and everything is checked to be accurate, we move on to step four – annotation and narration.
Step Four – Annotation and Narration
This is where the microphone comes out and the narration explains what is happening. Text and other graphics are mixed in to make the presentation as clear as possible.
The Final Product
Testimonial
“I’m a product manager and I cover the entire US. Obviously I cannot accompany each salesman during their sales presentation but having a 2-1/2 minute video point out all the highlights of the system is huge help. Our customer’s time is very valuable and many times you only have a few minutes to pitch a product. The video gets directly to the point, pecks their interest and opens up the dialogue.”
“Today’s buildings are being designed in a changing environment with regard to energy efficiency. From a recent past of very basic energy requirements, a new generation of energy codes has evolved, as have more comprehensive programs that include building energy efficiency as only part of the larger design goals and objectives.Masonry can provide significant benefits to modern energy codes and sustainable design practices. In addition to its energy efficiency, concrete masonry is a locally produced, natural material that is durable and long-lived, minimizing the need for repair or replacement. Concrete masonry can incorporate recycled materials, and can itself be reused or recycled at the end of its life. Various architectural finishes are available that can eliminate the need for paint or other coatings, the addition of which can impair indoor air quality and contribute to long-term maintenance needs.”
My 3d Renderings in the Thermal Catalog
I was asked to contribute the 3d renderings for each of the wall systems in this catalog. Since my background is in masonry construction, this was right up my alley. I have contributed various 3d renderings and illustrations for NCMA in the past, and I have helped write a few TEK notes (NCMA 3-13) for example, which features many 3d renderings I did back in 2005, they aren’t quite as slick as my current work, but at the time they were a huge step forward for NCMA TEK notes. I remember back in the early 1990’s, when I was in college studying architecture, I was the only person to check the NCMA tek notes out of the library and I considered them to be the bible of masonry construction back then. I don’t think that I could have imagined that one day I would be writing a chapter in the bible back then.
Here is a screenshot from that TEK which can be viewed here
The Thermal Catalog is a great resource for designers trying to figure out how to choose an energy efficient concrete masonry assembly for the real world . It also shows how to comply with the various, and every changing energy code requirements.
Here are two screenshots :
3d rendering in Thermal Catalog
Thanks for reading and if you’d like to see the whole NCMA Thermal Catalog Click Here
To visually makeover the entire product line of Advanced Building Products to better showcase their offerings. The desire was to modernize the look of the various building products offered by Advanced and create beautiful artwork to form the basis of online and traditional marketing efforts.
The Solution:
The scope began with 3d renderings and 3d details. Once those were produced and displayed on their newly redesigned web site, we then created photorealistic animation videos which are also showcased on the web site, used at trade shows and for presentations.
The 3d manufacturer suggested details aid in showing things like corner flashing details and complex layered installations easily and accurately.
“I contracted Jason to work on several 3D rendering and animation projects over the past two years and his work has been excellent (and affordable!). We effectively used his renderings and animations for several marketing / promotional applications including print ads, web details, trade show displays, and sales presentations. I have already recommended Jason to other marketing and sales professionals looking to enhance their own product presentations or marketing tools and will continue to do so in the future.”
– MD – Advanced Building Products
Part 1 – 3d Marketing Materials
The new catalogs produced by Advanced Building Products are great examples of what I call Visual Marketing. Once we had done 3d photo-real renderings of all the products in action, combining them into one illustration that shows a building with portions cutaway to show where each product is used and how it is installed, was a natural progression. Below is the residential scene :
Sometimes when you are trying to showcase your products, and they are highly technical in nature, it is hard to quickly explain or show what it is for and how it works. I try to go by the 20 second rule – if someone doesn’t get it in 20 seconds or so – you’re not being clear enough. Below is the same concept done for a commercial structure.
Part Two – 3d Photo-realistic Details
The assembly drawings function as a visual means to express to the target audience exactly how the particular product is used in the real world. The idea is to create photo-realistic details that are at once technical, informative and at the same time – visually appealing. Advanced Flashing web site and product catalogs are filled with these renderings take a look at their new web site and catalogs at the advanced web site.
Below are examples of these 3d details.
Part three – Photo-Realistic Animations
To demonstrate some of the key products offered by Advanced, we created a series of videos that have been a hit at presentations and trade shows because they quickly show how the products work in a way that anyone can understand.
As an Architectural Illustrator and a Cad Services provider, I always start with the end in mind – the audience. This new architectural product, EnduraMax, is targeted to builders and architects. It’s not what is on the outside of the product, a stone or brick finish, that sets it apart. What sets this product apart from the competition are the parts of the system that you do not see once the building is complete. The client needed both cad drawings and illustrations that were technical in nature to show the architectural community how the product is used.
The talented marketing team for this product launch, Interrupt Marketing, required architectural illustrations and renderings that not only showed the external beauty of the product, but also the beauty of the internal components that make up the system. I have always disliked the division between the technical and the marketing aspects of illustration when it comes to building products. The only way to bridge this gap between highly technical cad details and beautiful photorealistic 3d renderings was to master both of these disciplines and then combine them. This illustration project is an example of what happens when those two disciplines collide.
The Goal:
To provide the necessary technical illustration and visual marketing support to a high-profile product launch of OldCastle’s new insulated stone and brick veneer system, Enduramax.
The Solution:
I convinced the decision makers to let me create 3-dimensional photo-realistic details and illustrations that allowed one to grasp how the product works, how the product is installed, and how great the product’s finished appearance is, all with one drawing style. Sure we still created some traditional 2d cad details for the more mundane situations, but most of the ideas behind the system were communicated using 3d photorealistic illustrations.
This project is divided into two parts, Visual Marketing and Construction Details. Because of the synergy that I described above between architectural renderings and architectural illustrations, the two sections should appear similar.
Part 1 – Photo-Realistic 3d Architectural Illustrations – An elegant intersection of Art and Building Science
Below are a few examples of Enduramax photo realistic architectural illustrations. The product has a very complex foam insulation board that has the stone pattern built right into it. This makes for a simple “stone by numbers” installation. Unfortunately for me, it is not the simplest shape to deal with in 3d modeling space.
Click on an image to see a high resolution version
Part 2 – Photo-Realistic 3d Architectural Visual Marketing Illustrations
Under the direction of the Marketing Firm that was in charge of this product launch, I created several 3d architectural renderings and illustrations for the installation catalog as well as some 3d photorealistic animations for a product video.
