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Back in 2017, after we started selling 3D rendering services to furniture manufacturers, we began to notice some clients customer feedback explaining that some of the product images were too heavy for their websites and some images seemed too perfect. This is when we started realizing the potential of the so-called low poly images, a rendering technique that has proven vital to our workflow. 

What Are Low Poly Images? 

Low poly images are basically the 3D models with fewer polygons than the traditional high-resolution renders. Polygons are, for examples, the building blocks of some 3D models. Imagine tiny, triangular tiles that form the surface of a furniture piece. A low poly model has the representative furniture part with a sufficient amount of these planed tiles or polygons to provide the essential shape and character. 

With this approach, we have been substantially improving the online furniture catalogs. While a high-poly version of a dining chair, for example, could use 100,000 polygons, in a low poly version, it could be effectively represented with just 5,000 to 10,000. The benefits of this approach are faster load times, improved user experience, and surprisingly good visual quality.

Why Furniture Companies Are Choosing Low Poly

When it comes to digital presentation, the furniture industry has some unique problems. Customers want to examine furniture from different angles, view different fabric selections, and scroll through fabric selections at their own pace. They do not want to wait for images to load. And this is exactly the issue that low poly images have the potential to address.

We recently collaborated with a manufacturer of commercial office furniture to showcase more than 200 configurations of a single chair on their website. If they would have used high-resolution renders, their page loads would have been excruciatingly slow. Using low poly images, their product pages loaded three times more quickly, and they still showed the chair design details that architects and interior designers care about.

This method greatly benefits the manufacturing sector, specifically modular furniture systems. Customers often find it difficult to envision how different components work together, but low poly models give them the ability to use real-time configuration tools that would not be possible with heavy, high-poly models.

Finding Value in Quality and Performance

Over the years, we have rendered furniture for numerous industries. Within those years we have learned that not every product requires fully rendered photorealistic details. A minimalist steel bookshelf or modern acrylic coffee table can look stunning in low poly.

Just because we may render low poly, doesn’t mean we produce low quality. We make use of the best optimizations for rendering. We focus on the best character of each piece. The best design, the most unique grain, the proportions that make the design special. Notice how we choose what best to emphasize, what we can simplify, and what crucial details we capture.

Based on our experience, for upholstered furniture, we noticed that the strategic placement of polygons creates the illusion of placement of fabric, in the absence of each modeled thread. For the wooden pieces, we use textures with no grain details preserved to overall form. With this method, professional, authentic images can be rendered without bloating the file size.

Where Low Poly Images Work Best

In our years of experience rendering different segments of furniture, we have pinpointed where low poly images work best:   

E-Commerce Sites

These sites need product images to load in seconds. A potential customer could be looking at 10 different sofas. They will not wait for images to load for 5 seconds. With low poly image, you can still provide an option to view images in a way that is appealing and will drive that impulse to buy.   

Interactive Configurators

In these tools, customers can select finishes, fabrics, and various options. They need to be able to do that in real time. This is only possible with low poly models, which can be rendered while the user is making selections. We have successfully built these systems for manufacturers of kitchen cabinets and modular shelving.   

Mobile Experiences

Shopping for furniture now almost always starts with a smartphone, so low poly image work well because they are easily mobile compatible. They load quickly, even in low-quality connections, and use less space on the screen while remaining clear and aesthetically pleasing.   

Augmented Reality

AR is a standard feature of furniture retailers now and is expected by customers. People want to see how that dining table looks in their actual space. With low poly models, customers have a smooth AR experience instead of a glitchy, frustrating one.

The Competitive Edge For Your Business

Aside from speed, low poly images help your business in many ways. They take less storage, are easier to update, and rendering them takes less time. If a furniture line finish needs to change, low poly images can be updated in a fraction of the time it takes to re-generate new high poly renders.

In addition, low poly images are great for any tech doc and assembly instructions. Customers can see the geometry, which helps to understand how the parts fit together. They do not get lost in a sea of photorealistic detail that obscures the relevant information.

Read Also: 3d Product Rendering Cost

Where to Find The Balance

To be frank, most furniture companies are finding a mixed method to be the most beneficial. Some of the time, Hero images and lifestyle shots justify high poly treatment. While most of the time, low poly versions are perfect for product thumbnails, configuration tools, and technical views. We assist our clients in finding the best mix for them based on the nature of the business and the needs of the customers.

In an industry where customers demand information on a digital platform without delay, the rendering method of low poly images can help companies remain competitive without compromising quality. More than just cutting corners, low poly images are about working efficiently.