Showroom Experiential Redefines the Fellowes Brand Experience Centre with PORTRAY

Showroom Experiential recently created PORTRAY, an immersive visualisation experience for Fellowes, a global leader in workspace solutions. Leveraging a 27-foot-wide curved projection display and driven by a pair of 55-inch interactive screen tables, the permanent installation blends the physical and digital to help dealers, designers, and clients visualise the possibilities of an interior design project – brought to life instantly by the striking realism of the Unreal Engine’s state-of-the-art real-time ray tracing technology. PORTRAY comes on the heels of Showroom Experiential’s launch as a studio specialising in immersive solutions for showrooms, experience centres, and retail spaces. 

Clients and designers use PORTRAY’s intuitive token system to envision Fellowes products by exploring configurations, finishes, and materials options at scale within virtual environments. Users no longer have to wait for lengthy CAD renders to see their projects come to life, instead witnessing their changes in real time. After their on-site or remote design session from Fellowes’ Chicago showroom, clients walk away with lifelike renders, detailed summaries, and a personalised PORTRAY card to easily access and continue their session in the future.

“We found that the early stages of the design process were somewhat clumsy; there was a visualisation challenge that often happened later on in the cycle,” says John Fellowes, president and CEO of Fellowes Brands. “PORTRAY has brought a higher level of client engagement and enthusiasm to our design and experience centre by putting full creative control into the hands of its users. We’ve seen and felt the difference. Showroom was a true partner in our journey to innovate this process for Fellowes and the industry. Their curiosity to learn our business and products in-depth led to valuable insights on making this experience even greater than we imagined it could be.”

“Something like PORTRAY didn’t exist in the industry until we built it, so it was important for us to drill down and understand where the real friction points were happening for Fellowes stakeholders, from team members and design partners to clients and industry experts,” adds Kevin Lee, CCO and co-Founder of Showroom Experiential. “Each group revealed its unique set of challenges and complexity of needs. The crucial finding that emerged from this process was that we could make the most transformational impact at the genesis of any design project.”

The pre-specification stage of interior design, traditionally characterised by extensive collaboration among multiple parties, often leads to misalignments and inefficiencies between client expectations and final designs. PORTRAY streamlines this early-stage communication, significantly reducing the need for multiple revisions and lengthy CAD renders. 

To create a tool with the highest visual fidelity possible, Showroom leveraged the Unreal Engine as the foundational technology. This entailed its own set of challenges, as the game-oriented platform required a good deal of custom-built software to achieve everything from communication with the interactive table hardware to the unique UI-heavy interfaces. The end result is a captivating centrepiece where users can pull from physical and virtual products and design with peerless visual precision.

“With PORTRAY, we set out to create an experience that goes beyond showcasing products,” concludes Derek Tran, CTO and co-founder of Showroom Experiential. “It’s created a space where each user group can collaborate and share ideas. PORTRAY facilitates clear conversations between designers and clients, helping them understand what's possible. The ideas in your head no longer get lost in translation.”