Client
Duration
Mikado Chair — Visual Experiment
A clean CGI visual study of the Mikado chair by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby, focusing on studio presentation, material accuracy and alternative colourways for high-end furniture communication.
About the project
The Mikado chair by Vitra is a highly refined upholstered seating system defined by its soft form and precise engineering. This project was a personal CGI study exploring how the product behaves under controlled studio lighting and different material finishes. The aim was not to reinterpret the design, but to explore how presentation choices influence perceived quality and commercial appeal.
The visual set focuses on three key outputs: clean studio hero shots, material close-ups, and alternative colourway explorations.
Each render was built around clarity and restraint — avoiding unnecessary environment or storytelling so the product itself remains the focus.
The studio lighting was designed to highlight:
Upholstery texture and fabric depth
Subtle curvature and structural form
The softness of the seat and backrest
Material transitions under controlled light falloff
Additional colour variants were created to explore how different tonal directions affect the perceived mood of the product — from lighter, more architectural finishes to darker, more premium interior-focused options.
Detail shots were included to support closer inspection of material quality, helping communicate texture and craftsmanship at a level suitable for high-end furniture marketing.
Challanges
The main challenge was restraint — ensuring the visuals stayed minimal without becoming flat or generic.
With upholstered furniture, there is a fine line between clean presentation and losing material richness.
The key focus areas were:
Preserving fabric realism without over-emphasising noise or imperfections
Maintaining consistent lighting across different colourways
Ensuring close-up shots still felt connected to the full product language
Avoiding over-stylisation that would reduce commercial usability
The goal was to create a set of images that could realistically sit on a high-end furniture website without needing additional interpretation or context.
Summary
This study demonstrates how controlled CGI presentation can elevate even well-established furniture designs.
By focusing on lighting, material accuracy and composition, the project shows how small visual decisions can significantly influence how premium a product feels.
The final output is designed for use across:
Product pages
Marketing campaigns
Colourway development
Brand communication assets
It reinforces the value of CGI not just as visualisation, but as a tool for shaping perception and supporting commercial presentation.
DISCOVER MORE
