Fellowes
PORTRAY
OFFICE PRODUCT CONFIGURATOR
PORTRAY is an immersive, interactive configurator tool developed for Fellowes Brands, a global leader in workspace solutions. This flagship experience anchors their newly redesigned Fulton Market showroom in Chicago, showcasing Fellowes’ commitment to innovation and creativity.
As part of a company-wide rebrand, Fellowes sought to establish a definitive brand experience center that highlighted their leadership in workspace solutions. To achieve this, they partnered with Showroom Experiential, specialists in cutting-edge creative technology integrations, to develop an experience that would stand out.
The Goal
The goal of the Fellowes project was to go beyond creating a technical tool and deliver an immersive experience. Our aim was to enable Fellowes, their partners, and customers to collaborate in designing custom workspaces, products, and solutions. The result is a highly engaging and interactive platform that transforms how clients engage with the brand.
To achieve this, the project required a dynamic interface and seamless product customization capabilities. Unreal Engine was selected as the backbone to realize this vision, allowing our team of developers to establish technical requirements and deliver an industry-first real-time visualization of customized spaces.
My Role:
As the lead 3D artist on the PORTRAY project for Fellowes, I was responsible for developing all aspects of the 3D content for this expansive real-time collaboration and visualization tool. This was the first project fully built in Unreal Engine for the Inphantry/Showroom team, and I drew on my extensive experience with real-time production to help develop and deliver a seamless, visually striking experience. My responsibility covered the entire 3D production pipeline, including 3D asset development, 2D texture creation, advanced material development, set lighting design, and in-engine assembly of assets, blueprints, and levels.
I worked with the dev team to build custom size offices that can fit in various spaces with user defined styles and colors. In order to accomplish this I created modular 3D assets that could be scaled and moved around in code.
PORTRAY enabled users to fully customize every product in the catalog, offering an immersive and intuitive design experience. I creating hundreds of wood, fabric, and glass PBR materials, along with a comprehensive set of 3D furniture models that featured multiple customizable elements.
Leveraging Unreal Engine’s advanced raytracing and Lumen lighting, Unreal delivered instant, realistic visual feedback on the 27-foot curved display.
While the project presented both technical and creative challenges, the end result was a powerful blend of immersive design and technology, which set a new standard for the office furniture industry.
UI DESIGN
Development
Brand Experience Center
Fellowes collaborated with the Showroom team to create a unique, technology-driven experience that went beyond visual appeal. Our goal was to design an interactive platform where Fellowes, their partners, and customers could engage meaningfully, gaining real insight into Fellowes products and the mutual value these solutions provide.
Design Evolution
Through numerous iterations, PORTRAY evolved into an immersive 27-foot-wide curved projection display controlled by dual touchscreen tables. By integrating physical tokens that represent products and materials with an intuitive digital UI, users can seamlessly configure everything from individual items like a stapler to complete office layouts.
Unveiling at NeoCon
PORTRAY made its debut at the prestigious NeoCon industry convention, receiving enthusiastic praise from attendees. Designed as a dynamic, evolving experience, PORTRAY serves as a central hub where Fellowes, their clients, dealers, and designers can continue to collaborate and explore new possibilities, ensuring its relevance and impact well into the future.
Awards
Winner of an Impressive 5 Industry Awards.
SEGD Global Design Awards - (Merit Award 2024)
A clever use a gaming platform to accelerate and enhance interior design projects. This project addresses a clear need: overcoming the lengthy and cumbersome process of visualizing how a proposed interior design would look “in real life.” Portray’s life-size interactive makes design decisions much more understandable for clients. It does not abandon material swatches and samples, but shows how new technology can render those choices much more accurately. Seems like something that will be copied very quickly and eagerly in the interiors industry.
The One Show (Creative Use of Technology - Experiential)
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry.
The Webby Award (Best Installation or Experience 2024)
Best, most innovative in-person installation or experience that is enhanced with technology, including immersive, virtual reality, or augmented reality.