Imagin3D – Reece’s 3D Bathroom Planner

For many homeowners, undertaking a renovation project is an exciting time, a chance to turn dreams into reality. But it’s also fraught with unknowns, which can leave people feeling overwhelmed and disempowered. Research commissioned by Reece found that more than a third of bathroom renovators agreed that one of their biggest pain points was not being able to visualise the end result. Reece need a tool that gave customers full planning power so they could visualise the look, feel, and scale of their space in real time, reducing future changes and ensuring a positive experience for customers and showroom consultants.

To offer a seamless user experience, the combined Reece, Thoughtworks and Trout Creative Solutions team had to simplify the complexities of 3D architectural design so that it felt intuitive for consumers. The tool features natural drag and drop interactions, millimeter-precision positioning and measurements, and beautiful 3D visuals rendered in real-time on both desktop and mobile. Running discovery and delivery in parallel allowed the team to learn from customers in real time, delivering business value while reducing the risks of releasing a new product.

A key goal of the tools's development was to empower customers to gain confidence in their ability to design their own bathrooms, and to increase their confidence over time. The seamless, user-friendly design and cutting edge 3D technology made it significantly easier for customers to select products and feel confident about their bathroom design, and also improved the experience for showroom consultants and tradespeople by reducing friction in the path to purchase. In its first three months after Imagin3D's launch, over 30,000 customers brought their dream bathrooms to life.

Reece and Thoughtworks engineers applied industry best practices including pair programming, test-driven development and continuous delivery, to ensure the tool meets the highest technical and quality standards. Technologies like Three.js, WebGL and React Three Fiber ensured the team were harnessing the latest innovations in web-based 3D technology. Importantly, new features can be developed and released to users in days, rather than weeks or months. To enhance the feeling of planning a real-life bathroom, a glassmorphic design style (emulating the quality of frosted glass to add texture and dimensionality) was used to add a touch of realism. https://imagin3d.reece.com.au/3d-planner/