WOUD - Perfect CGI replaces traditional lifestyle images

Challenges

WOUD sells Scandinavian furniture and accessories globally. Beautiful, authentic lifestyle images are essential to inspire customers, but relying solely on traditional photoshoots was exhausting and required too many internal resources.

What we did

We create detailed 3D lifestyle images that showcase WOUD's high-quality products in inspiring settings. To achieve this, WOUD collaborates closely with one of our experienced stylists. This stylist provides creative guidance and helps ensure the marketing materials have the perfect look.

Client

Company: WOUD
Industry: Furniture
Country: Denmark
Website: Check out their website

About WOUD

Since 2014, WOUD has designed timeless Scandinavian furniture and accessories using high-quality materials and great attention to the little details. They sell their products worldwide to architects and B2C through retailers and a strong online presence.

Immaculate digital presence

An international focus from the start

When Danish furniture and accessory company WOUD began their journey 10 years ago, they had an immediate international focus. The family-owned company was looking to enter markets worldwide—from Europe to Australia and the US—and they have succeeded.

From the beginning, WOUD recognized the importance of having an immaculate digital presence to attract the increasing number of online shoppers. As a result, they have consistently invested significant internal resources to produce beautiful lifestyle images that highlight their high-quality Scandinavian products and inspire their customers.

The challenge

Photoshoots take up a lot of time and resources

Scouting for locations, planning the photoshoots, styling the scene, and all the other practicalities connected to doing traditional photos took a toll on the internal personnel resources, and the whole process was very costly. Therefore, Nicholas Koed, Co-founder of WOUD, started looking into the possibilities of using CGI to create their lifestyle images.

"We had thought about using CGI for a while and had a couple of test projects with other agencies. However, it was very time-consuming and took a lot of work and back-and-forth to get anything close to what I had imagined. The quality we were looking for was just not there, so we kept focusing on traditional photoshoots," says Nicholas Koed.

Photorealistic CGI

WOUD's inspiring lifestyle images

13540_woud_SS24_Project_05_Kitchen_Cam_02

The solution

Perfect CGI replaces traditional lifestyle images

After years of wrestling with the challenges of traditional photoshoots, a lucky coincidence sparked a game-changing collaboration.

"A stylist from Cadesign reached out to borrow one of our sideboards and lamps for a project. Afterward, he was so kind to send me some images featuring our products, and I was just... Wow, okay, that's how it can look? I couldn't even see that it was CGI. After that, we were convinced that we should work together with Cadesign. Both because of their skills, but also because they have stylists working with them. And for the last two years, we have exclusively done 3D lifestyle images," says Nicholas Koed.

By shifting to CGI, WOUD not only reduced production time but also gained unparalleled control over their brand's visual storytelling—something traditional photoshoots couldn't consistently deliver.

Saving time on production

The advantages of working with the same stylist

WOUD always works with the same stylist from Cadesign—actually, the same stylist who reached out to Nicholas Koed in the first place. According to Nicholas Koed, this is a huge advantage because the shared history and deep understanding of WOUD's brand, visual identity, and preferences make the collaboration much easier and faster, resulting in marketing visuals that hit the mark.

A conviction Emilie Heilskov shares. She is Marketing Manager at WOUD and in charge of the daily, hands-on collaboration between WOUD and Cadesign.

"Working with the same stylist each time makes so much sense for us. He knows all about our brand, our visual identity, all my little quirks, and how I like to work, and that makes the collaboration run much smoother," says Emilie Heilskov, and continues:

"Regardless of whether I already visualize a scene precisely the way I want it or have only a broad concept, I always get excellent advice on styling and how to get the best results fastest and for the best price, which I really appreciate."

WOUD

"Working with Cadesign feels like a true collaboration"

"It's important to us to have a good relationship with the people and companies we work with. A mutual respect. Working with Cadesign feels like a true collaboration where we learn from each other, which I really appreciate. Cadesign understands the WOUD brand and our ambitions and knows how to best challenge us."

Nicholas KoedCo-founder of WOUD

photorealistic CGI

WOUD's inspiring lifestyle images

Creative consultancy

Perfecting the styling for a new market

A common thread in WOUD's products and marketing visuals is its pronounced Scandinavian heritage. However, WOUD is also aware that even though Scandinavian furniture is very popular, customers style their homes differently in other countries. These differences are what WOUD wishes to embrace in their marketing materials while maintaining their strong visual identity to better inspire their target audiences.

"We are an international brand, and it's always been an exercise in finding the balance between a Scandinavian style and the international touch. We have always used a delicate, beige palette in our visuals with soft beiges, light flooring, and lots of natural light. But we wanted to challenge ourselves, and our increased focus on the American market was the perfect excuse," says Emilie Heilskov. She goes on:

"We started researching how Americans style their homes and gathered some references we liked. Afterward, our stylist from Cadesign was great at identifying what we were looking for, challenging us with relevant interior design trends, and convincing us to make some visual choices that were different from what we were used to."

Developing the visual style

Scandinavian DNA with an American twist

It was essential to WOUD that the new images still clearly communicated their visual identity while challenging the status quo. The result is lifestyle images with more pronounced contrasts, more diffused light, more props, dark wood, and black details, making the products shine while appealing to the American audience.

"We really love the visual direction of these new lifestyle images with warmer colors and more contrasts. Our stylist has done a tremendous job incorporating interior design trends that match our brand. Actually, they have become part of our favorites, and we've decided to move more in that direction with our future marketing materials, which is very exciting," says Emilie Heilskov.

Bringing contrasts into the lifestyle images

3D Images

Product configurators

Film

Augmented reality

Digital sales tools

Technical files

E-books

Blog

Live talks

Insights

About

Contact

Perfect CGI replaces traditional lifestyle images at WOUD

An international focus from the start

Photoshoots take up a lot of time and resources

WOUD's inspiring lifestyle images

Perfect CGI replaces traditional lifestyle images

The advantages of working with the same stylist

"Working with Cadesign feels like a true collaboration"

WOUD's inspiring lifestyle images

Perfecting the styling for a new market

Scandinavian DNA with an American twist

Updated visual direction

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