Renderings Can Assist a Design

There are several reasons preparing a rendering can be a benefit to the design phase of a project.  Primarily, it is used early in the design process to show how the project might look once complete. It can also be used as a tool to showcase the design in its surrounding Context and can be used to explore design concepts by illustrating materials and colors.

What is a Rendering and How Does it Benefit the Client?

A rendering, essentially, is a visual explanation of the design based upon a client’s desire. It offers an interpretation of the completed project and can explain the project’s “story”.  Its creation will help the client better understand how their instructions are being interpreted by the design team.  A rendering should convey the emotional meaning of the project.  With the creative inclusion of people and vehicles, the utility and intent of the project can be easily conveyed.  Multiple renderings may be used by clients when tailoring their messaging in marketing materials, announcements, sales pitches and public gatherings.

Benefiting the Design Team

Because each project’s design will differ, a rendering can be used as a visual tool to work through the potential challenges of the project. Producing the rendering at an early stage of the project forces the design team to think through all the elements that must be included in the final design, often making important discoveries that benefit the project.  A rendering helps the design team align the look and feel of a project with its budget, exploring the use of materials and colors in a visual way to consider cost conscious options.  A rendering is often the first opportunity the design team will have to accurately gauge client and public reaction to the design. A rendering produced at an early stage of a project becomes a tool that allows the architect to communicate, via a 3D image, the design to the client in a manner that is more closely linked to the look of a completed project.

 A rendering gives the project a knowable “face” early on that helps to define and control expectations during the time-frame between concept and grand opening before the building becomes reality.  This image will be the goal that all project team members, clients and the public will come to believe in and refer to throughout the process.