Poltrona Frau @ Salone del Mobile 2017

The collaboration between the vocation to innovation of one of the most important international design brands and the 3D technologies of Protocube Reply created the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer, star attraction at the Salone del Mobile 2017.

“The goal of the collaboration between Poltrona Frau and Protocube Reply is to expand the user experience when it comes to the interaction with the Poltrona Frau product in order to make it personal and exclusive. Going beyond the level of imagination, to virtually touch and redefine, based on your own needs, taste and preferences, a product destined to become an integral part of your spaces, of your home, of your life. The pursuit of a unique and exclusive experience in the interaction with the product, combined with the highest realism that technology can offer, it’s the mission on which the creative process of the new Digital Experience of Poltrona Frau is based.” stated Nicola Coropulis, General Manager of Poltrona Frau.

A goal reached after a long research and development process, aimed at creating a realistic and engaging experience, fully consistent with the image of a brand that does not need introductions. The result is a new Digital Experience, intuitive and realistic in every detail, to allow the Salone’s visitors to explore and customize both the new collections and the great design icons of Poltrona Frau.

The home screen of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer. (credits Protocube Reply)

THE STAND AT THE SALONE: A CUSTOM EXPERIENCE

The installation of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer comprises two coordinated devices. An interactive touch-screen, to choose and customize the collections, and a large display, to catch the eye of all the visitors of the stand.

The graphic interface rigorously articulates the guidelines of Poltrona Frau’s corporate image based on the operational requirements of the device, to guarantee the absolute recognizability of the brand at all times.

A minimalist UI/UX design allows the completion of any operation with the lowest number of clicks. All the necessary tools are constantly available to the user, to set up (Configure), discover the details (Zoom) and compare different versions of the same product (Compare).

The interface comprises two coordinated configurations. The touch-screen panel allows the access to all the options provided for the configuration, while the screen visible to all the visitors shows exclusively the result of the operations that were carried out. (credits Protocube Reply)

DISPLAY AND CUSTOMIZE A UNIQUE BRAND: THE 3D CUSTOMIZER

The heart of Poltrona Frau’s interactive exhibit at the Salone del Mobile 2017 is the 3D Customizer, the tool designed to offer a 360-degree Digital Experience, from the presentation of the products to the customization of every detail.

The users become the actual main characters of an experience that allows them to choose from a vast range of pieces, from the timeless icons, such as the Vanity Fair, the Chester or the New Deal, to the modern collections designed by Poltrona Frau. This serves two purposes. Communicating and describing the product in all of its features, in addition to making the users feel like they actually own the item, thanks to the live feedback of all the configurations they created.

The Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer lets you choose the item to customize from the collections and the corresponding models. (credits Protocube Reply)

Each product from the collection is accompanied by a specific description of its main features. (credits Protocube Reply)

DIGITAL REALISM, A MATTER OF LEATHER

The interface of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer hides the technological challenge that characterized the development of the installation: guaranteeing to the user the highest realism of Poltrona Frau’s collections.

Digitalizing the legendary Pelle Frau ® was a real issue of responsibility towards a material icon of design, internationally renowned.

Protocube Reply’s R&D team collaborated at length with Poltrona Frau to understand the Intelligence of Hands that distinguishes the tradition of the company from Macerata. An essential journey to understand meticulously the qualities and the spirit of a material made unique by the characteristics it acquires in the manufacturing process, based on twenty one different stages. It’s more than twice the stages commonly used in the field of high quality furnishings.

The collections were recreated based on high-detail 3D models, to which the Poltrona Frau 3D customizer is designed to transmit the added value given by the exclusive treatments of the materials. It’s therefore essential to bring to life virtually the Pelle Frau ® EMotion, that “organoleptic” experience that forms between the product and its user with time, especially with a day-to-day use.

The Pelle Frau ® textures used by the 3D customizer are the result of a high-definition digitalizing process, obtained via the use of hardware scanning systems. (credits Protocube Reply)

The Pelle Frau ® collections comprise a wide variety of finishes and colors, recreated digitally based on the physical samples. (credits Protocube Reply)

THE TOOLS OF THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

The realism of a virtual experience is the result of two factors. The likeliness of the digital models needs to be accompanied by a high level of engagement between the user and the product itself.

The Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer lets you experience Poltrona Frau’s EMotion thanks to three moments of interaction. After selecting the desired product, the following options are available:

Configure – The user can customize the selected product in all its parts, accessing all the configuration options available in the catalog and rotating it 360 degrees to appreciate the result from every angle.

The CONFIGURE tool of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer. (credits Protocube Reply)

Zoom – A magnifying glass lets you focus on every detail, to virtually touch the Pelle Frau ® EMotion.

The ZOOM tool of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer. (credits Protocube Reply)

Compare – A practical and intuitive slider lets you scroll through different configurations of the same product, so that you can find the one that best suits your inclinations.

The COMPARE tool of the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer. (credits Protocube Reply)

The user is therefore free to choose and interact without having to follow any strict sequence. The feeling of freedom and of contact with the product is at the base of an engagement aimed at making virtual and real experience coincide. The new Digital Experience is the result of the synergy of many 3D technologies, optimized to guarantee an instantaneous feedback in the interaction and in the real-time rendering of all the operations carried out with the Poltrona Frau 3D Customizer.