CGI (computer-generated imagery) in interior design is a photorealistic 3D visualisation of a proposed interior before construction or installation begins. It allows clients and designers to see the finished space, test material choices, and identify issues early. The studio uses CGI selectively—not as marketing material, but as a decision-making tool during the Concept, Design & Specification stage when the outcome matters most.
What does CGI actually show in an interior project?
A CGI interior is a detailed 3D model rendered to photograph-quality realism. It displays the room layout, furniture placement, wall finishes, lighting conditions, and material textures as they will appear in daylight and artificial light. Unlike floor plans or mood boards, CGI shows spatial relationships and proportions at 1:1 scale—how a sofa actually sits in relation to a window, how light falls on a surface, whether a colour reads as intended under the room's natural and artificial lighting.
The studio generates CGI during the Concept, Design & Specification stage, after Discovery has established the room's purpose, constraints, and user needs. At this point, the design is developed enough to visualise accurately, but early enough that changes to layout, finishes, or specifications can still be made without waste. CGI becomes the reference document that guides purchasing, specification, and site execution. It is not produced for social media or portfolio—it serves the project alone.
Why does an interior designer use CGI instead of sketches or samples?
Sketches and mood boards are valuable for exploring ideas and conveying mood, but they do not show scale or spatial truth. A sketch cannot reveal whether a 3-metre sofa will obstruct a radiator, or how a paint colour will behave under north-facing daylight at 3pm. Fabric swatches are 10 by 10 centimetres; they cannot show how a material reads across an entire wall or how it interacts with adjacent colours and textures. CGI removes these unknowns. It shows the finished interior at the scale it will exist, under the lighting conditions of the actual room, with the exact materials and finishes specified.
This is particularly important in residential and commercial projects where mistakes are costly. The London Embankment Apartment, the Witham Project, and Tone at Canary Wharf all relied on CGI during Concept, Design & Specification to confirm that spatial proportions, material pairings, and lighting would work before Commission began. It allowed the team and clients to make confident decisions and move forward without uncertainty.
How does CGI fit into the wider design process?
The studio works through five distinct process stages: Discovery, Concept, Design & Specification, Commission, and Reveal. CGI is generated during Concept, Design & Specification—the stage that bridges initial ideas and detailed specification. In Discovery, the team gathers information about the space, the client's needs, and constraints. In Concept, Design & Specification, that information becomes a spatial and material proposal, and CGI visualises it. The client can see the proposal at scale, raise questions, and request changes. Once the client approves the CGI, the design is locked—materials are specified, suppliers are selected, and Commission (procurement and installation) proceeds with clarity.
After Reveal, when the finished interior is complete, the CGI becomes a historical record of intent. It shows what was designed and why. It is not used to promote the project online; it documents the process. This separation between design documentation and marketing is deliberate. The finished interior is the only proof that matters.
What kinds of projects use CGI, and which do not?
Complex residential and commercial interiors almost always warrant CGI. The London Embankment Apartment and the Witham Project—both residential—used CGI to resolve spatial and material questions before construction. Tone at Canary Wharf, a commercial project, used CGI to confirm that the interior would meet both aesthetic and functional briefs. Beaulieu Dental Practice, Fruittii Hair Salon, and Keystones Estate Agent each required CGI because client expectations, material interactions, and spatial performance needed to be verified before implementation.
Very small projects—a single room refresh with limited changes, or work where the existing structure and surfaces remain substantially intact—may not warrant CGI. The studio discusses this during Discovery and Concept. If the outcome is straightforward and both designer and client see the proposal clearly through drawings and specifications alone, CGI is not generated. The tool is used where uncertainty exists and where the cost of error is high. It is never used to create marketing material or to sell a project retrospectively.
What should you ask your designer about their CGI process?
When selecting an interior designer, it is reasonable to ask whether they use CGI, at what stage it is produced, and whether it is used as a decision-making tool or as a presentation device. Ask to see examples of CGI from completed projects alongside photographs of the finished interior—this shows whether the visualisation was accurate and whether it guided real outcomes. A designer who uses CGI as a means to explore and test ideas, rather than as marketing theatre, will show this in the relationship between the renders and the final work.
Ask also how changes are managed once CGI is produced. If a client sees the render and wants to adjust a material, colour, or layout, a responsive designer will regenerate the CGI to confirm the change works before proceeding. This iterative refinement during Concept, Design & Specification is where CGI proves its value. It is the conversation between designer, client, and visual reality—not a presentation that concludes the conversation.
How do you know if the CGI matches what you actually receive?
The accuracy of CGI depends entirely on the accuracy of the underlying design and specification. If materials, proportions, lighting, and colours are specified correctly, the render will match the finished interior. The studio generates CGI from the same 3D model used for construction and installation documentation, which means the spatial and material data are already locked and verified. When the Reveal happens—when the finished interior is complete—it should match the CGI within the tolerances of photography, viewing angle, and natural light variation. Minor differences in how fabric texture reads, or how paint colour appears at different times of day, are inevitable; fundamental mismatches are not.
This is why the relationship between CGI and specification is essential. The render is only as good as the specification behind it. The studio's process ensures that every material, finish, and fixture shown in the CGI is explicitly specified and sourced before Commission begins. There is no ambiguity between render and reality because the render and specification are one document, viewed from different angles.