KeyShot

Why 3D and CGI Improve Ecommerce Sales and Customer Retention

Chidinma Iwu — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 23:48:51 +0000

Product visuals are the first of many touchpoints in a customer’s buying journey, and often a determinant of whether they’ll get to the next phase, or the last and most important one: checkout. Over the past few years, more consumers have become unsatisfied with just product-accurate photos and videos represented in 2D. Now, they look for a sensory product experience—visuals that are interactive, immersive and lifelike in 3D. They want a picture of a car elevated to one they can tilt, rotate and zoom into its interior. They want to imagine the driving experience through the lighting-accentuated features of the vehicle.

For over two decades, KeyShot’s 3D rendering tools (now called KeyShot Studio) have helped companies create the immersive product experience that customers long for. One of several case studies is Under Armour, the sports apparel company that pivoted to KeyShot’s 3D rendering tools 5 years ago and upped their visuals game. Justin Schlothauer, the company’s lead design engineer, considers KeyShot’s 3D visuals as more than renderings, calling them digital products because of their real-life product accuracy.

Creating an immersive product experience through visuals is only the start with 3D rendering software, though—many more underexplored benefits could boost sales and elevate your ecommerce business. Wondering how to get started on 3D rendering tools, what uses CGI serves, and the benefits it promises? Sit tight. This article gets into all the good stuff.

3D Rendering and CGI Use Cases

The question many ecommerce business leaders will immediately ask when trying out 3D and CGI technology is: How would 3D rendering actually help ecommerce businesses differently? Well, in a lot of ways as it turns out. Let’s look at the big three.

Create hundreds of product images and animations/videos with ease

If you’re getting marketing right, you’re probably constantly looking to build up buzz for your products ahead of their release using vivid visual assets. Pre-launch marketing is this decade’s marketing big thing. But how do you accomplish this when the product is still in production? A reliable 3D rendering software changes the game for you.

HiViz, a vehicle LED light company, utilized KeyShot Studio’s 3D rendering tool to produce realistic representations of their future products for marketing campaigns, allowing them to produce realistic visuals before the physical product was ready. Razor’s marketing team could easily swap out colors and sticker configurations to swiftly generate several options for their electric scooters using KeyShot Studio. With KeyShot, they had several dozen images to drive pre-launch marketing and cut down cost, human effort, and time constraints into seamless productivity.

Using KeyShot places you several steps ahead of your competitors as high-quality visual materials are no longer a time-consuming or expensive endeavor: as soon as you have your CAD model finalized, you can create an infinite amount of photo-realistic renderings for your marketing, ecommerce site, and packaging.

Showcase hidden features

Many products don’t sell today because their selling points—usually the technical and supportive features—are hidden. But 3D visuals let you comprehensively highlight them in ways customers can even interact with. One perk of KeyShot’s 3D visualization software is capturing all possible angles of your product and putting them in the spotlight.

If you’re selling a piece of furniture, customers can now see beyond its plushness or sturdiness. They can also explore how it would look pressed up against a wall, how the furniture’s anchor could blend against their carpet, and how it’ll fit in different room sizes. KeyShot’s 3D render engine utilizes several features including exploded and cutaway views to lucidly express every aspect of your product, convey tones, and describe real-life usability even more than professional photographs will. Looking for a change from the usual customer patronage numbers? Boost conversion? Sell like never before? Then you want customers to see all the features of your products and you want a software that helps you easily encapsulate them: KeyShot Studio.

Design, engineering, marketing and packaging teams play pivotal roles across the product go-to-market journey, but they lack the technology to carry advanced visualizations from first sketch to market delivery. KeyShot calls this concept “Product Design-to-Market,” consolidating leading 3D Visualization and Digital Asset Management software, and helping product companies facilitate a more efficient and collaborative journey from initial product sketch to market delivery.

“We envision a future where companies spend days instead of months designing a product; seamlessly deliver visual assets across go-to-market channels in a few clicks; and designers, engineers, and marketers work seamlessly together, without friction or confusion,” Thorsgaard said.

How 3D Visuals and CGI Can Elevate Your Ecommerce Business

Notice how ecommerce has largely shifted to visually-immersive social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? It’s the visuals. Other features that Instagram offers—like engagement metrics and purchasing pattern data—are simply add-ons. The evidence is clear: customers go wherever the best visuals are.

Improved Ecommerce sales

A potential customer is 11 times more likely to purchase your product when they see it in 3D. They have a clear understanding of the product and are less likely to abandon their cart due to uncertainties. For you, this means increased sales. Many founders who have used KeyShot’s 3D rendering software corroborate this statistic with real-time feedback. One of them is BlendJet, America’s pint-sized blender company. Switching from photos of the BlendJet to KeyShot renders immediately increased their website conversion rate and sales by 20%.

Decreased product return rates

3D visuals reduce return rates, helping customers more easily understand the size, color, texture, and other details (especially hidden features) better than typical 2D visuals. One of the most common return causes is “item not as described” — and with a scientifically accurate visual, that matches the real item down to the smallest detail, customers are much less likely to be disappointed.

Improved customer loyalty

Your customers detest when they can’t see your product well enough to understand how it’ll solve their needs. Accurate and interactive 3D visuals and CGI build out a seamless and satisfying shopping experience for them and will encourage them to return for more purchases. Sometimes you don’t need to spend so much money on follow-up email marketing. You just need to get visuals right.

Outstanding marketing using high-end 3D visual materials also intrigues customers. If they associate your business with cutting-edge technology and superior service, from your use of advanced visuals, they’re likely to develop a strong affinity for you and stay very close.

It’s Time to Make the Move 3D

To stay on top of today’s quickly evolving ecommerce world, entrepreneurs need to be ready to make calculated pivots that directly respond to new buying behaviors. The world is now immensely visually-driven and your ecommerce business should be too. Forward-thinking entrepreneurs find the best 3D visual software and reap from the large sales it’ll help their ecommerce business drive. Many entrepreneurs choose KeyShot, others look elsewhere.

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KeyShot announces their Product Design-to-Market Suite and new SaaS category to help product companies leverage 3D to save millions and propel product innovation

Tara Cavanaugh — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:42:16 +0000

COSTA MESA, Calif. – KeyShot announced a significant expansion of its company strategy, pioneering a new SaaS category – Product Design-to-Market – and unveiling a comprehensive suite of tools to lead that category. KeyShot’s Product Design-to-Market Suite will help organizations of all sizes transform their product vision into market reality with unprecedented time and cost-savings.

Two decades ago, the 3D design industry was plagued by inefficient processes due to poor rendering technology. KeyShot changed that — introducing the first scientifically accurate render engine. This groundbreaking technology provided the fastest and highest-quality rendering of its kind and continues to lead the industry today. KeyShot software is utilized by over two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, from whom KeyShot learned firsthand about challenges in the product design and go-to-market process, seeing significant opportunities for efficiency and innovation. KeyShot calls this “The Efficiency Trap.”

The Efficiency Trap

At product companies of all sizes, the product design to market delivery journey is rife with siloed processes and redundancy, resulting in wasted time, lost money and slowed product innovation. Signs of the Efficiency Trap:

Data silos: Teams work on their own version of a product concept using specialty software and files stored on individual computers. This makes it difficult to track concepts as they evolve, and for data and visuals to be leveraged across design, engineering and marketing teams.

Convoluted decision-making: Stakeholders may not understand a concept without clear visualizations. Designers and engineers must ensure alignment and synthesize hundreds of changes on a concept. Feedback is not tracked in one place, and stakeholders often provide conflicting instructions.

Costly manufacturing and marketing errors: Details like colors and materials change frequently as a product is developed. Because there is no shared location to track these details, employees rely on memory or old files for their next phase of work. Companies risk manufacturing a product incorrectly or displaying inaccurate product visuals online.

Failure to leverage visualizations in marketing: 3D visuals sell better than 2D: according to Shopify, sellers using 3D see a 94% increase in conversions. But many marketing teams are unaware of the high-quality 3D visuals that already exist, forcing them to recreate product visuals or miss an opportunity to create ecommerce experiences that increase sales.

“We see three clear opportunities, all starting with the 3D data that is readily available within companies,” said KeyShot CEO Claus Thorsgaard. “First, improve employee productivity by leveraging this data to avoid asset duplication or manufacturing errors. Second, increase revenue via more rapid product iteration, by using 3D data to create digital prototypes in place of physical prototypes. Third, increase conversions with 3D product visualizations in sales and marketing.”

A new SaaS category: Product Design-to-Market

Introducing the Product Design-to-Market Suite

The KeyShot Product Design-to-Market Suite was purpose-built to fulfill this vision, providing:

- Next-level design tools: KeyShot’s flagship software, now called KeyShot Studio, provides the most powerful 3D product visualization on the market. Designers enjoy a fast and easy-to-use tool that helps them create scientifically accurate and data-rich visuals to develop, manufacture and market new products.
- Seamless collaboration: Historically, design tools have focused on artistic output, but design teams have not had support for the critical administrative tasks also required throughout the creative process. KeyShot Hub provides comprehensive workflow support, with secure file-sharing, automatic version tracking and feedback tools that provide clarity, consistency and connection.
- Scalable marketing solutions: KeyShot Dock centralizes asset management and ensures efficient distribution across sales and marketing channels, with powerful integrations, automation and distribution capabilities. Marketers can now leverage the product visuals created across other teams and provide engaging customer experiences, leading to better sales and customer satisfaction.

A bold new vision for product design: Design for tomorrow. Market today.

“By reinventing the way products are brought to market, KeyShot facilitates a more streamlined journey from concept to customer, unleashing the power of 3D visualization to captivate audiences with engaging product experiences,” said Thorsgaard. “We are proud to launch the first-ever Product Design-to-Market suite, empowering businesses of all sizes to design with precision, align processes with clarity, manage workflows with efficiency, and deliver impactful products.”

Learn more about the Product Design-to-Market Opportunity

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Beeindrucken Sie Ihre Stakeholder während des Produktdesignprozesses mit diesen 5 KeyShot Studio Hacks

Tara Cavanaugh — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:39:39 +0000

The design process requires you to do more than create gorgeous visuals every step of the way – you also need to manage feedback, which can feel like another job entirely. Lucky for you, we’ve gathered tried-and-true tips for managing stakeholders and getting the most helpful feedback while making your own workflow easier.

#1 Increase the artistry and detail as your product concept becomes closer to completed.

This saves you from wasting time and energy on concepts too early in development, and helps stakeholders feel more confident in final products.

Don’t create gorgeous, photo-realistic visuals for the first few concepts. Use the toon material to show the outline, form and function of the product concept in early versions.
Save your most impressive renderings for the final versions.

#2 Use animations or exploded views to showcase product design, engineering and functionality.

Consider short animations or exploded views as your best friends for presentations or feedback.

Camera keyframing allows users to create more complex animations than simple turn tables and pan in and out effects, which are typically used. Being able to quickly keyframe camera positions lets you show off details and key elements of a design without the need for understanding more advanced animation techniques.

If you’re looking for visuals that will blow minds, a short, exploded view animation always leaves an impact. KeyShot Studio also supports importation of motion studies from SolidWorks, providing another level of communication when coupled with exploded view animations.

#3 Boost the photorealism of your visuals with a few simple tricks.

Depth of field can be used both in static images and in animations to significantly increase the realism of a scene. Photos naturally have some level of falloff due to a camera’s aperture, so by adding depth of field, you can subtly convince the viewer that what they see is an image of a real object.
Use ground planes to create seamless product backgrounds.
Rendering on GPU can often be much faster than CPU. Because of this, KeyShot Studio users can afford to increase the sample count of GPU render outputs to further maximize the quality of the final result.

#4 Working on a tight deadline? Get a speed boost.

Color blocking parts in CAD by assigning the same color to parts of a model that will share the same materials, significantly speeds up the process of materializing a model in KeyShot. This creates a link between those parts prior to importation of the model, ensuring that when one part receives a material update, all parts that share the same color block are updated as well.
Adding Network Rendering to KeyShot Studio is an excellent and affordable way to dramatically reduce your rendering time.

#5 Use KeyShot Web or KeyShot Hub to make it extra easy for your client, manager or other “approvers” to view the concept and provide feedback.

KeyShot Web allows viewers to see a concept in different views and colorways, as well as via AR/VR.
KeyShot Hub, the new tool for design teams, makes tracking feedback easy. Hub allows you to quickly send out several renderings to stakeholders, consolidates feedback into one place and can automatically save versions, ensuring no work is lost.

KeyShot rendering in the header by Tommy Cheong.

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Neue KeyShot Studio Plugins verfügbar für Rhino 7 und Rhino 8

Tara Cavanaugh — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 18:10:58 +0000

KeyShot Studio users can now download plugins for Rhino 7 and Rhino 8. The new plugins include added support for instancing, rebranded icons and strings, and improved mapping of Rhino materials to KeyShot Studio materials.

Get a 2x speed boost and smaller KeyShot file sizes

The new plugins allow you to upload Rhino files to KeyShot Studio up to twice as fast — see a side-by-side comparison of the new upload speed below. Once imported and saved as a KeyShot file, it will be up to 90% smaller.

Download plugins for Rhino 7 and Rhino 8

Due to technical differences between Rhino 7 and 8, we’ve had to split the plugins for these versions in order to facilitate the above changes. We recommend installing the plugin from the Rhino Package Manager, but you can also find the appropriate downloads below.

Rhino 7 Installers

MacOS: https://download.keyshot.com/plugins/rhino/keyshotstudio-1.6.11-rh7-mac.yak

Windows: https://download.keyshot.com/plugins/rhino/keyshotstudio-1.6.11-rh7-win.yak

Rhino 8 Installers

MacOS: https://download.keyshot.com/plugins/rhino/keyshotstudio-1.6.11-rh8-mac.yak

Windows: https://download.keyshot.com/plugins/rhino/keyshotstudio-1.6.11-rh8-win.yak

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Unsere bevorzugten Lernressourcen, die Ihnen helfen, ein Rendering-Meister zu werden

Tara Cavanaugh — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 22:50:31 +0000

There are so many ways to learn about KeyShot Studio and 3D rendering online that it can be a little overwhelming to know where to start. Whether you’re a brand-new beginner, an advanced render-er or anything in between, here are our favorite learning resources to take your work to the next level.

For getting started

If you’re just getting started with KeyShot or you’d like a refresher, start with the UI 101 videos on our YouTube channel. These super-short videos show you where to find commonly used tools and helpful shortcuts in the user interface.

For learning the latest in KeyShot Studio

KeyShot is updated regularly, so if you want to learn about the newest features and additions, check in on Quick Tips.

Recent Quick Tips

Environment Brightness Animation

Animating Depth of Field

NEW: KeyShot in Spanish – Consejos Professionales: Cómo crear un Material de Cartón

For in-depth learning

Sometimes it’s refreshing to treat yourself to an in-depth creativity boost. Dive into KeyShot Webinars on our YouTube channel, taught by on-staff KeyShot experts and by designers just like you – like a 2D artist turned 3D designer, a product designer for a gaming company.

We also recommend tutorials by Will Gibbons, a product visualization specialist who provides truly excellent step-by-step guidance.

Webinars to watch

Advanced Camera Animations in KeyShot

Mastering UV Unwrapping

Tips & Tricks to Optimize Your Workflow

For a super quick answer

What’s convenient when you’re working in an office? Being able to throw out a question and get an immediate answer from someone nearby. If you need a quick answer but an expert is nowhere close, turn to the Pixel Fondue KeyShot videos. Produced by New Balance Director of 3D Visualization William Vaughan, these videos show you exactly what you need, without having to weed through a 40-minute video to find it – most of these are around 30 seconds long.

Einführung in das KeyShot Botschafterprogramm für Studenten

Tara Cavanaugh — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 23:13:46 +0000

We are excited to launch the KeyShot Student Ambassador Program for college students! Read on to learn about benefits, program structure and responsibilities, and who we are looking for.

Introducing the KeyShot Ambassador Program

The KeyShot Student Ambassador Program offers a unique platform for students to connect, create, and showcase their talents within a vibrant, global community of like-minded individuals. As a KeyShot Student Ambassador, you will have the opportunity to represent your university while gaining valuable experience in leadership and collaboration. This program empowers you to take the lead in organizing events, sharing insights, and inspiring others in the world of 3D visualization. By becoming a KeyShot Student Ambassador, you’ll not only enhance your own skills but also contribute to the growth and innovation of the design community at large.

Who we are looking for

KeyShot is seeking passionate and driven students who are currently enrolled in an accredited university, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, to join our Student Ambassador Program. Ideal candidates are those who not only have a deep enthusiasm for 3D visualization but also possess strong communication skills and a creative mindset. We’re looking for individuals who can lead by example, embodying the innovative spirit of KeyShot while effectively representing their university within the broader design community. If you’re someone who thrives on creativity and is eager to share your knowledge and insights with your peers, we want to hear from you.

Student Ambassador benefits

Becoming a KeyShot Student Ambassador unlocks a range of exciting benefits that will enhance both your personal experience and professional profile. As an ambassador, you’ll have the opportunity to earn exclusive rewards, including a free KeyShot Studio license, access to limited-edition KeyShot swag, and more. You’ll also connect with a global network of fellow ambassadors, expanding your professional connections and collaborating with like-minded peers. Additionally, your role as a KeyShot Student Ambassador can be proudly added to your LinkedIn profile, showcasing your leadership and expertise in 3D visualization. To top it off, there’s the potential for your work and achievements to be featured across KeyShot’s social media channels, giving you the spotlight in a worldwide design community.

Program structure and responsibilities

The KeyShot Student Ambassador Program is structured around a three-tier system, where your progress from Beacon to Radiance, and ultimately to Brilliance, is measured by the points you earn through your completion of various tasks. This flexible system is designed to accommodate your academic schedule, allowing you to participate at a pace that suits you. As an ambassador, you can earn points by organizing design competitions, leading KeyShot workshops and demos at school, engaging with the Luminaries Community, creating quick tip tutorials, as well as participating in other creative initiatives. Each contribution you make not only brings you closer to the next tier but also ensures that your efforts are recognized and rewarded, all while balancing your studies with your passion for 3D visualization.

Applications open now

The KeyShot Student Ambassador Program is your chance to enhance your skills, connect with a global network of like-minded peers, and make your mark in the world of 3D rendering. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. Applications are open now, so take the leap and start your journey as a KeyShot Student Ambassador today!

KeyShot Student Ambassador Program Details

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Einführung von KeyShot Hub : Die neue Workflow-Lösung für Designteams

Tara Cavanaugh — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 17:05:40 +0000

We recently updated you on our broader vision to reinvent the way products are brought to market, and today we’re introducing KeyShot Hub, a first step towards unifying design teams in the product design-to-market journey.

After decades of working with design teams of all sizes, we know that creating beautiful designs takes more than artistic talent. Your team needs to work together, incorporate feedback, keep track of specifications and revise, revise, revise.

With KeyShot Hub, your team will have even more support to cover everything it takes to get the job done. Improve collaboration, streamline workflows, and track iterations, all in one centralized place. With KeyShot Hub, you can focus your energy on what you do best: designing impactful products that customers love.

KeyShot Hub: Designed for design teams

It’s no wonder that design teams are struggling to manage their work today. With files stored on separate computers, feedback provided in separate channels, and versions frequently changing, it’s easy for important information to get lost, and it’s hard for team members to navigate the chaos together. After hearing about these challenges from designers in teams of all sizes, KeyShot developers came up with a solution: KeyShot Hub.

Organized project assets

KeyShot Hub connects design teams to work together on projects and library assets. Team members can work directly from the Hub to access their KeyShot Studio data (materials, scenes, renderings) as well as manage other project files such as CAD models and Adobe files.

Centralize project files and library data

Safeguard designers from creating duplicate files and data

Ensure all team members work on the most recent files

Centralized feedback

It’s easy to lose important feedback when it’s delivered via a variety of channels – email, messages, meetings. Hub makes it easy to keep track of all feedback in one place. Reviewers can make notes directly on the visuals, so feedback is never lost in the shuffle.

Entire team can view, comment and understand design decisions

Annotation tool allows reviewers to make comments directly on visuals

Save time and avoid confusion

Stay synced between KeyShot Studio and KeyShot Hub

Adjustments made to Hub-based assets (materials, textures, models) are automatically updated in KeyShot Studio libraries, ensuring everyone is working on the right content.

Publish documentation directly to KeyShot Hub from KeyShot Studio

Adjustments made to Hub-based assets and tags are reflected in Studio libraries

Delete or create new tags for KeyShot-generated documents and assets within Studio and Hub

Details make all the difference

You know that details make or break a design. We’ve carefully honed the features in KeyShot Hub to help your design team with every task in their workflow.

Check in/check out files

“Check out” files to prevent others from making changes and check them back in when finished, preventing file corruption and unnecessary overlap

Version history, audit trail & quick side-by-side comparisons

Hub provides an automated time history of file versions. Roll back to previous versions when needed and look at the audit trail to see who has accessed or changed files.

Hub also provides a way for you to quickly compare visuals side-by-side with changes automatically identified from the metadata. Instead of having to open similar images in another application like Photoshop, in Hub you can select two images to scrub side-to-side to see the visual differences, and you can also select any two files to compare the metadata and the Hub system will highlight any differences between the files.

Flexible tagging

Not only can you categorize and sub-categorize files and data in KeyShot Hub, but files can be represented in multiple locations as a single file. This was created to dramatically reduce the need for duplicate or copied content, providing an easy-to-search database that can be organized by team, project, product, or brand.

Share multiple assets easily

Need to send out several images for review? Hub allows you to select multiple assets and send them out as a link or a “collection.” The recipient doesn’t need access to Hub to view and download the assets, and you can set an optional security setting to revoke access after a set date.

Design teams have needs that go beyond basic file storage

The static filing systems you have relied on in the past simply aren’t sufficient to manage thousands of renderings and revisions. KeyShot Hub was created to keep your team together every step of the way, as the central place for ideas to converge, evolve and come to life.

KeyShot Hub Features

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Neu bei KeyShot: Die nächsten Schritte in unserer Unternehmensentwicklung

Claus Thorsgaard — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 08:15:55 +0000

In April, we announced that Luxion and Digizuite united as KeyShot. We are now one integrated company, with a bold vision to reinvent the way products are brought to market by seamlessly connecting every phase of the product design journey.

Today, I’m excited to share an update on the steps we’re taking to deliver on our expanded vision and unveil our new brand look – designed to inspire the innovation, creativity and collaboration central to our next chapter.

Not only have we updated our website and branding, we’re introducing new names for our main KeyShot products, and we’ve also launched an entirely new tool for design teams called KeyShot Hub.

All this newness is a result of the fresh vision and direction at KeyShot, to help our customers facilitate a more efficient and collaborative journey from product concept to market delivery. We know from working with designers, design leaders and executives that companies are bogged down in processes rife with inefficiency, redundancy and confusion. A Product Design-to-Market strategy provides ample cost and time-saving opportunities, freeing up precious resources for delivering innovative products to your customers.

We have been hard at work behind the scenes with these developments, and I am so excited to share them with you.

KeyShot software is now called KeyShot Studio

The KeyShot rendering software you know and love has a new name: KeyShot Studio. We’re honored to provide the virtual studio where designers bring their creative visions to life, and our dedication to our rendering software is stronger than ever. Today, we are excited to announce the impactful release of KeyShot Studio version 2024.2. This update brings several significant enhancements designed to elevate your day-to-day workflow, including:

Upgraded Web Viewer now featuring export preview, material matching and texture baking
Customer-requested UI upgrades, including a more user-friendly Move Tool with customizable hotkeys
Import updates, including animation files

Learn more about recent upgrades to KeyShot Studio

Introducing KeyShot Hub for design teams

Over the two decades that industrial designers have relied on KeyShot, they’ve shared with us their workflow challenges and best practices. We’ve learned that there is a significant need for team workflow solutions, including help with managing scenes, library assets and renderings; version tracking and control; and keeping track of feedback during reviews. Designers have told us that they spend a lot of energy on these tasks, but they’d rather be focused on their designs.

That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce KeyShot Hub, the new collaboration tool that keeps design teams together throughout the entire product design pipeline. Now you can rely on a team-integrated library for materials, textures, environments and scenes. Make your KeyShot Studio data even more useful by adding tags, connecting related assets and tracking versions, from initial creation to completion of the visualization process. With Hub, your team can better focus on what they do best: designing beautiful products and visuals that customers love.

Learn more about the new KeyShot Hub

Digizuite DAM software is now KeyShot Dock

In April, Digizuite officially joined forces with KeyShot and now, Digizuite’s digital asset manager (DAM) is KeyShot Dock, featuring enhanced capabilities.

Our customers are increasingly seeking solutions to capitalize on the shift to 3D visualization to captivate their audience with stunning product experiences. With KeyShot Dock, we aim to deliver a state-of-the-art DAM that embraces the power of 3D, centralizes asset management and ensures efficient distribution across all sales and marketing channels.

KeyShot Dock continues to provide powerful integrations, automation and distribution capabilities tailored to your needs. Updates released today include:

Upload assets directly to an existing folder and streamline folder tagging.
Choose preferred asset format when sharing a single asset without creating a collection.
View asset crops directly on the asset card with crop indicator.
Follow on-demand download progress with status indicator.
Generate AI metadata on multiple assets at one time.

Going forward, you will see us introduce features tailored to 3D assets, while continuing to invest in capabilities that reduce cost and boost productivity.

Learn more about KeyShot Dock

Thank you for joining us on our journey

While we’re pleased to bring these updates to you today, we’re not taking a break – we are always working hard to provide the very best Product Design-to-Market Suite. As we keep our focus on the future, we are so grateful that you, and thousands of other customers around the world, continue to take part in the KeyShot story. Thank you for choosing KeyShot – we believe the best is yet to come!

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Hilfreiche Upgrades für einen schnelleren Arbeitsablauf jetzt verfügbar in KeyShot Studio 2024.2

Tara Cavanaugh — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 08:00:43 +0000

You know what we like to say: We bring the tools; you bring the talent. KeyShot Studio (formerly KeyShot) 2024.2 is now available, featuring several updates to improve efficiency and creativity in your day-to-day workflow.

Import glTF animation files into KeyShot Studio

Node animations saved in glTF 2.0 can now be imported into KeyShot Studio. If the glTF file to be imported has an animation attached, simply select the “Import Animations” check box when importing. (Skeletal or morph animations are not supported.)

Export Preview added to Web Viewer + more materials supported

Say goodbye to the guesswork: Now when you’re preparing renderings for a design review with Web Viewer, you can see a preview of how your work will appear, allowing you to adjust the scene as needed before processing the final upload. Also, all Web Viewer uploads are now processed using texture baking.

Another upgrade to Web Viewer is material matching. The materials that now look identical in the Web Viewer account for 96% of the material usages in actual KeyShot Studio scenes (according to KeyShot analytics).

Move Tool improvements

You asked, we answered. The Move Tool is now more user-friendly for your convenience. The first notable change is that the position entry boxes are now always visible while the tool is active. The second is that the XYZ axis within the window are now color coded and correlate directly with the corresponding axis on the Move Tool Gizmo.

Additionally, with the Axis Lock-In, it is now possible to lock the Move Tool Gizmo along the X,Y or Z axes by toggling the radio button next to each individual axis in the Move Tool Window. When toggled, the axis locks to the mouse cursor for more refined movements along that specific axis.

New hotkeys have been introduced to help (and can be customized or changed in Preferences):

T: Translate gizmo
R: Rotate gizmo
S: Scale gizmo
X: lock into the X-axis
Y: lock into the Y-axis
Z: lock into the Z-axis
Import updates

Plus, these common CAD formats are now supported:

Sketchup 2024
CATIA V5 3D Read: V5-6R2024
Parasolid 3D V36.1
NX 2312 Series (until 2312.4000)

Download KeyShot Studio 2024.2

View the 2024.2 Release Notes

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Wie man das richtige Digital Asset Management System auswählt

KeyShot — Fr, 31 Mai 2024 14:56:45 +0000

Ever wondered how your organization can streamline content operations, unlock new revenue streams and boost efficiencies – all at once?

Choosing the right digital asset management (DAM) system is your key to all these benefits, which is why it’s a decision you shouldn’t take so lightly.

The deal is this: The right DAM system will not only efficiently manage your digital assets from one central archive (what we call a “single source of truth”). It will also efficiently align with your company’s future goals and unique needs.

In this article, we discuss how to choose the right DAM system, the challenges that come along with it, key steps and some common pitfalls to avoid.

4 biggest challenges when choosing a DAM system

In order to reap the biggest benefits of having a DAM (like having all your digital assets organized in one place, efficiently located with metadata and shared securely) – you must make sure your system fits your organization.

Beyond just being a match, here are the biggest challenges when it comes to choosing a DAM system:

Needs are complex: Every single company, no matter their size, (if it’s medium-sized or enterprise) has different needs and requirements to take into account. All based on factors like their industry and current digital infrastructure. The right DAM needs to meet all these needs in the most effective way possible, to be worth the investment.
Range of use: More often, companies realize the true potential and key applications of DAM when it’s too late. For example – a system that’s thought to benefit one department or team can probably have much broader organizational benefits, which unfortunately are overlooked.
Integration and ability to scale: The DAM system you choose needs to be able to integrate harmoniously with your existing systems. Plus, it needs to be able to scale to your future demands, technological advancements, not to mention your growing amount of digital content.
Aligning with stakeholders: Making sure that all your relevant stakeholders are actually taken into account during the entire decision-making process can be daunting – but it’s crucial that it’s done right for a truly successful DAM adoption.

What are the main steps to choosing a DAM?

Once motivated to choose the right DAM, it’s crucial to know the steps on how to do it.

Here are 6 key steps that can help you get on the right track:

Understand your company’s digital maturity: What do we mean by “digital maturity”? Basically, assessing what your current organization’s capabilities are when it comes to digital asset management. How digital content is organized and shared across departments. And what does it want to achieve by implementing DAM?
Define your company’s clear requirements and vision: This next step is all about setting up a clear and cohesive outline on what the company wants the DAM to solve, plus, how the DAM will strategically fit into the organization’s broader strategy.
Consider all relevant stakeholder needs: Next, it’s recommended that you include key stakeholders from different teams and departments to make sure the chosen system actually meets cross-departmental needs, and not just a handful.
Choosing vendors and requesting demos: Talk to several vendors to find the systems that meet your needs. Focus on hands-on demos that show how the system works in real-life situations, which will help you better evaluate its effectiveness.
Implementing and testing: Our fifth step (and tip) is to choose a vendor that meets your strict criteria during the initial demo phase. After that, set up a pilot project with real-world scenarios and examples to thoroughly test how well the system works.
Plan for long-term adoption: Make sure that the system you choose is able to scale alongside you (and the growing amount of content you produce). Planning for a more long-term adoption and implementation of your DAM involves support, training and continuous assessment of what kind of impact the system is making on your company.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

When choosing your DAM, there’s a few pitfalls that can derail the process altogether.

Here’s our best practices on how you can avoid them:

You underestimate the scope entirely: A lot of companies realize the true potential of the DAM too late. If you envision its use across multiple departments (as well as different external and internal teams), you’ll be closer to a higher ROI than before.
There’s inadequate stakeholder representation: Oftentimes, the buying committee is limited to top management or IT employees, which neglects input from other important end-user groups. The solution is to expand the buying committee altogether. Include reps from all potential end-user groups to ensure decisions reflect your diverse organizational needs.
Poor timing of vendor demos: Here, the main challenge is that your vendor demos come too early. The solution is to wait to view demos until you clearly understand all your DAM requirements, helping make sure that you focus on the features and capabilities that matter the most.

All in all: If you’re aware of these pitfalls before you start looking at which DAMs you’re most interested in, you can guarantee a much more streamlined and comprehensive DAM selection process. One that aligns with the specific goals of your organization.

Implementing and adopting a DAM

So, if you’ve followed the steps to choosing a DAM, and (hopefully) swerved away from the main pitfalls, implementing the right DAM should be a breeze.

However – implementing DAM is just the start. Ensuring wide-spread adoption and integration into your employee’s everyday workflows across the organization is, naturally, the ultimate goal.

At its core, this involves:

- Solid training and continuous support: Continuous training sessions and robust support systems are crucial to guide your staff to successfully adopting and embracing the new system.
- Consistent feedback and iteration: We suggest encouraging consistent feedback from all employees and user levels – and that you always strive to refine the system to meet your evolving needs as they come along.

DAM implementation success story: How Dura-Line uses DAM to deliver cohesive content experiences

Dura-Line is a leading global manufacturer of telecommunications solutions.

In 2020, as part of a digital transformation, they went ahead and implemented our DAM solution (alongside a new PIM system and CMS) to streamline their overall marketing efforts.

Thanks to this integration, the marketing team, although small, was able to perform at the level of much larger teams. All by simplifying content management across multiple digital channels and ensuring better brand consistency.

Our DAM became a central hub for Dura-Line, “a single source of truth”, allowing employees to easily access critical sales and marketing materials. Plus, supporting a powerful visual selling strategy with the most current and up-to-date product images and videos.

The result? A huge boost in efficiency of the sales teams, empowering them to do what they do best – closing deals faster and improving overall customer experiences with more accurate, detailed visual aids of the products in use.

Conclusion

To sum up:

Choosing the right DAM for your company is crucial if you want to boost the efficiency of your content operations, be successful with omnichannel marketing, and, at the same time, and unlock new revenue streams.

In this article, we’ve outlined the challenges, steps, and common pitfalls in selecting a DAM system that aligns with your organizational goals.

Plus, as shown through Dura-Line’s success story with our DAM, choosing and implementing a robust DAM system can truly transform a company’s marketing efforts and empower sales teams.

That’s why authentically committing to this process is key to make sure your DAM investment supports your company’s growth in the future.

Interested in learning more about how our DAM can benefit your business? Book a demo here.

Questions from buyers:

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