How to Use Storytelling Architectural Visualization

Bringing Your Projects to Life through Architectural Storytelling

The architecture industry is more than just buildings and blueprints. As architects you know it is about creating experiences and shaping environments for people. These are the easier to convey by using architectural storytelling in order to evoke emotional connection with your clients.

By combining the power of design with architectural storytelling on 3D images, architects with help of 3D visualization studio, can bring their designs to life in ways that truly captivate their clients and audiences.

storytelling architectural visualization

Kloos Alblasserdam, Netherlands / Architecture: FSD x Bosch und Slabbers x Van Aken / Architectural exterior visualization: RNDR 

Advantages of Using Visual Storytelling on Architectural Visualizations

Let’s explore the power of storytelling in architectural 3D image tools and how it can help you create meaningful connections with your audience during architectural presentations and design process.

When it comes to renderings of architectural design, incorporating visual storytelling techniques on each image can be supportive in terms of showcasing unbuilt projects. More importantly, they allow you as an architect to picture the future perspective of reality in narrative way on storytelling images.

Here are some examples of possibilities of using this powerful tool to showcase your final design during projects presentations to clients, competition juries, investors, or any other laymen. Let’s see if there is any better tool to tell a story than through visual communication though 3D visualizations in architectural design.

interior rendering

Kids toys, Germany / 3D image visualization: RNDR

#1 Helps to Engage Viewers

Visual storytelling on architectural 3D illustrations is a technique used to engage viewers and clients to capture their attention. For example, by incorporating a story into your architectural project presentations on a 3D image, you can not only make it easier to understand the technical plans, but also make your project more compelling to absorb. This can be particularly helpful if you’re trying to communicate complex designs or ideas to your clients.

#2 Give Viewers a Deeper Project Understanding

Using visual storytelling on your architectural image can give viewers a deeper understanding of your project. It enables you to present the importance of certain aspects, like as shapes, light, or interiors and exteriors of your designed building. It also evokes stories created around your design. For example, it captures how users can spend the time in designed spaces, what functions and benefits will bring, how their home will look in detail, how many green spaces there will be, or what view will be seen from the rooftop.

As an architect you probably know how often your clients or audience are not skilled in reading technical plans. In these situations 3D images are very handy and user-friendly among all other presentation tools and techniques available. They help in exploring not only the basic idea and actual structure of the project, but also the narrative around it. Storytelling images help to grasp architect design ideas through one time shot with deeper understanding and connection with architects creation.

This can be extremely supportive in overall design processes, because they ensure that your audience fully understands your project and idea for future building. Architectural visualization enables to understand the real dimension of the spaces, including specific aspects, such as the materials selected, sizes and scale of the designed parts and the effect they evoke on overall project once they are presented visually.

storytelling architectural visualization

Kloos Alblasserdam, Netherlands / Architectural design: FSD x Bosch und Slabbers x Van Aken / Architectural visualization: RNDR

#3 Serves as a Complex Marketing Tool

Storytelling is an excellent marketing tool that can be used to generate interest in your projects. Firstly, you can show your project before they are built and market them. Usually this means quicker revenue from real estate developers investments, but not always.

As an architect you probably know this opens a whole world of possibilities and techniques to communicate your design to your assemblage during participation processes or while presenting your project to city laymen.

One storytelling CGI image can be used across all marketing channels, from your website and social media to print ads and email campaigns. They are also great for trade shows and other events. High-quality visuals will give the light to your projects and build design awareness before the constructions starts.

artistic rendering

World Heart Beat, London, United Kingdom / Design: World Heart Beat Foundation x ra. / Interior scene rendering: RNDR

#4 Builds an Emotional Connection

Storytelling in the art of architectural 3D image should strive to create an emotional connection between the clients and architecture. A well designed 3D architectural illustration can evoke feelings.

On one layer the emotions can come directly from the beauty of balanced composition of design, pictured on architectural portrait to the viewer. The feeling of beauty can be far right enough to present your project.

It can also achieve it through capturing the moment with all senses when taking a look at the artistic render. Let’s take a look at an example. First, take a look at the 3D image below. Let’s stop for a moment. Do you start to hear the sounds of the afternoon birds or feeling the warm sun on your skin? Does your clients dare to jump into the world full field with architect’s creativity?

The second layer is making the visualization activate the senses. It plays a large role in setting the mood of the image. To awaken the feelings, involve the senses, provoke the imagination to work in order to transport you and your clients to a designed world of architects.

landscape architecture visualization

Vondel en Zwaan in Netherlands / Architecture: FSD x Rijnboutt / Architectural exterior renders: RNDR

How do You Extract the Visual Qualities of Your Designs on Renderings?

As an architect you do not have to know how to use the world of tools of 3D artists, such as 3Ds max, V Ray or Forest Pack, and develop skills to use them. You can focus on the story creation while outsourcing 3D rendering services.

The right architectural rendering company can make all the difference in picturing an unbuilt building and its context. When choosing a 3D firm, you want to make sure they have the experience, skills and expertise to create renders that accurately reflect your vision and are relevant to your professional niche.

exterior visualization

Wintergames, Yukon, Canada / Architect: FBA / Exterior 3D rendering: RNDR

8 Ways to Incorporate Storytelling Into Your Projects

There are a few different techniques and tools to incorporate visual storytelling into your architectural visualization. More so to find an approach that works best for your project with a team of 3D artists from a render company you work with.

Let’s take a look which features should be incorporated in the architectural 3D illustrations in order to create appealing visual storytelling on 3D images.

interior visualization

Mumbai University in India / Design: Foster + Partners / Architectural interior renderings: RNDR

#1 Building Visual Stories

Tell a story through every architectural render. It is easy to write, but how do you achieve it?

Building a narrative of architectural design comes from understanding. This part of our work as 3D artists comes from the conversations with our clients. First we need to understand who their audience is in this particular project and what information needs to be shown to address them.

That is why we do not only show the architecture but present the attitude toward it. In order to achieve it, the visualizations needs to include people engaging with your architectural elements, like vehicles, moving people, and artistic detail like unique features of the design or bringing the local identity elements into the renders. These features plays a key role in visual storytelling and develop ability in representing architectural ideas that help drive visual narrative behind each project.

A story can be extracted throughout the sequence of 3D renders, so don’t be afraid of creating contrasting images in mood, light or dynamic, because arguments needs more than one type of image and overall vision for the whole project.

Adding a story and considering how architectural presentations can reveal the priorities of the design can be a captivating way to engage with investors and create an emotional impact on the viewers.

Urban renders and real estate renderings are a helpful marketing tool for developers

Vondel en Zwaan in Netherlands / Architecture: FSD x Rijnboutt / Architectural exterior renders: RNDR

#2 Choosing Captivating Angles

Our perception of architectural design depends mostly on the angle from which we view it. Therefore, selecting the right angles is one of the most important things 3D artists and architects do to enhance visual storytelling.

It comes from framing, where you decide what will be shown and what will stay unsaid. A very important stage of selection for your architectural project presentation is where you decide which project feature to extract and under which angle and project qualities to underline visually.

Another topic here is dynamics. Choosing the angles defines the image impact and how it will be received, in more calmer way, in more forceful or somewhere in between. This comes from an overall project idea or functional spacing.

In determining your 3D rendering angles might come from a purpose, other choices are suitable for competition, pitch, or marketing visuals. That is why each framing of design scenes should be evaluated individually.

interior rendering

Private house in Ibiza, Spain / Design: Desarrollos Vista Alegre S. L. / Villa real estate scene: RNDR

#3 Visual Play by Using Lighting

Lighting is key to creating a storytelling image. While framing helps to compose and choose what is shown, then light highlights specific parts of the image. It helps to enhance forms, create a mood, portray details, and evoke visual interest and grasp attention.

Light can bring magic. Atmospheric lighting can help create unique 3D visuals, but only if a 3D rendering company knows how to set it in 3DS max and V Ray or Corona. Just by considering how the light source interacts with the objects in a scene matter can be transformed into a visual story involving various forms. Since every architecture design is different, it needs artistic input to rightfully showcase the concept.

exterior visualization

Watergeus in Leiden, Netherlands / Design: FSD x Architekten Kombinatie x Delva / Urban renders: RNDR

#4 Showcase the Lifestyle, Not Just the Features

While designing 3D architectural renderings, you do not have to show everything. It is better to focus on the top qualities of particular design than to show the list of its features. Picking elements that uniquely represents and shapes the elements of the project and helps in achieving consistent storytelling.

What allows architects and a 3D artist to frame an experience is by incorporating the unique elements that best express the design idea. Architectural renders should not be about populating the space with thoughtless elements, but rather showcasing the lifestyle of the proposed architectural concepts.

interior architectural visualization

Private house in Melbourne, Australia / Design: CBA / Architectural 3D image: RNDR

#5 Curate a Cohesive Scene Composition

When we switch our focus from one element to another, especially on an image, we often establish a sense of direction in our minds because our eyes are designed to focus on one thing at a time.

By arranging elements within the frame to lead the viewer from one place to another, or at least to one place before leaving them to explore the rest of the image, we can create a sense of movement within the frame that produce a visual story, where the 3D visualization has a clear beginning and end.

3D exterior rendering

SAFA in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia / Architecture: PARALX / Final design 3D image: RNDR

#6 Addition of Contextual Elements Awakens Imagination

Contextual items bring additional value to a 3D rendering. For instance, daily objects like reading glasses, a cup of coffee, a laptop on the table, etc., are some of the moments where viewers make a connection with the 3D visual.
Through these small objects used in everyday life, we can understand how a person uses that space on regular basis, and evoke emotions of a future user. Such visualization is much more engaging than just a snippet of a polished and perfect interior space.
It is important to understand that every object has a unique story and every element has a role to play in the storytelling process. Therefore, adding some realistic imperfections helps in building each visual story and bring reality to the created architectural visualization.

bird view render

Kloos Alblasserdam, Netherlands / Final design: FSD x Bosch und Slabbers x Van Aken / Architectural bird view visualization: RNDR

#7 Attention to Detail

When architectural renders pay attention to unique elements in your project or create the stories through details, it can take the design reception to the next level.

Humans are visual beings and images stick in the minds and memory of anyone who sees them, especially when they are well designed.

From how we frame architectural visualization with elements like lighting, reflections and textures, you can almost feel coming off the page.

architectural rendering

Private villa in Ibiza, Spain / Design: Desarrollos Vista Alegre S. L. / Villa real estate render: RNDR

#8 Close-up Perspective as the Art of Each Project

For interior architects and furniture designers, who want to show their clients the finishing elements textures, or close ups of design forms, architectural visualization is very helpful. It is harder to show the clients the attention to all design parts though technical drawings and how it will be playing within the light.

This is the point where narrative 3D visualizations scene can be used to picture even the smallest parts of the designed reality.

furniture render

Sitting Beauty, Netherlands / 3D image visualization: RNDR

Every Architectural Story is Unique

An architectural narrative is a composition of a series of layers and design parts told though plans and sections. Unfortunately, these are not understandable and easy to grasp by a everyone. That is one reason why designers craft them into visual storytelling with the help of a 3D rendering company and consider how their presentations have the power to reveal the priorities of a project.

The narrative composition is created through the architectural features, such as the intended use of a building, its shape, location, or concept. For instance, architects can show their clients each stage of the project as visuals and guide them through the plot. On top of that architect can highlight a certain concept or vision and present it to their clients.

Therefore, every architectural story is different, and that’s what makes storytelling in architectural visualization so powerful. It helps to highlight the design unique features in detail and bigger picture.

Are You Ready to Unleash the Full Potential of Your Designs?

Contact us today by clicking below, so we can help you tell your story through architectural visualization.

Malgo Widaj

Malgo Widaj

founder and owner of RNDR, art director, and head of all operations at RNDR

After 10 years of designing public spaces around Europe in both projects and competitions, a desire was born to start an international atelier with an inclusive and sustainable approach, that focuses on meaningful beauty creation driven by tech. And it happened!

Now RNDR teams are helping product designers, architects, and developers around the globe to increase visual communication through storytelling images, improve media presence, win project competitions or leverage sales through rendering experiences.

DO YOU HAVE THE TIME AND SKILLS
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DO YOU HAVE THE TIME AND SKILLS
TO CREATE HIGH-QUALITY RENDERS?