Think illustrations and 3D animations are only possible with a big budget? Think again.

More and more organizations, large and small, are turning to these media types to tell their stories. How?

Whereas in the past these types of rich assets were reserved for heavy-hitting (and costly) initiatives, advances in technology have made them accessible today at a fraction of the cost. And pros in every industry are finding various ways to take advantage.

Check out the list below for five examples of industries that are using illustrations and 3D animation effectively:

Manufacturing

Marketers in manufacturing-driven businesses have an all-too-familiar challenge. They may have great products to sell, but the value of those products aren’t always easily communicated in words and pictures alone.

For example, let’s say you’re tasked with commercializing an innovative new component your company has developed for chemical processing systems. You can probably easily explain how it works in words, take representative stills, and even capture b-roll of that component installed within a system. But will any of those help your target customer visualize how it works? Maybe. Maybe not.

In instances like these, where it’s challenging to capture a visual representation of a product in action, illustration and 3D animation offer a solution. With these technologies, we can take customers inside the component, giving them a front-row view of the difference it can make.

Check out a few examples of how we’ve used 3D animation to complement standard product videos.

Healthcare

Healthcare is another industry making innovative use of these technologies, especially animation, where it’s used to teach and explain. Surgeons, for example, often use 3D animation to explain procedures to their patients. Likewise, medical teams may use it to guide their colleagues.

Marketers in this space also find it valuable, using it in various channels to drive brand awareness and attract interest.

Education

Similar to how it’s used in healthcare, educators are increasingly turning to 3D to teach complex topics to their students. Biology labs, for example, can use it to virtually assemble organs (i.e., no more frogs!). It’s also valuable for engineering and mechanic students, who can use it for lab practice and hands-on work.

Architecture and Design

No surprise here. Architects and designers have been using illustration and animation software for years to help bring their ideas to life. In recent years, consumer home goods brands have taken the use case further, offering animation-based tools to enable consumer-led buying journeys. For example, Wayfair and Houzz, e-commerce-based businesses, both offer 3D planning tools that help their customers in the buying process.

Media

Illustration and 3D animation and modeling have also become a storytelling staple for multi-media journalists. The technology is instrumental in reporting that touches on sensitive or abstract subjects such as climate change, a serious topic with hard-to-visualize consequences. For example, check out the sea level rise tool from Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization that analyzes and reports on climate science. The 3D modeling within the tool helps readers visualize how rising sea levels could affect coastal cities worldwide, enabling the gravity of the situation hit closer to home.

The above represents only a sampling of illustration and 3D use cases. We expect the trend will continue growing in other industries as well.

Have an idea for your business or organization that you want to bring to life? Drop us a line or give us a call – we would be happy to talk it through and discuss how we could help you build it.