Interactive 360° 3D Environments for Course Content Using Blender

Overview

During my time at the National Design Academy I developed a series interactive 360° 3D renders using Blender, with the aim to help Interior Design students better visualise real-world lighting environments. This solution addressed the challenge of understanding how light interacts with furniture and spaces, improving learning outcomes and student experience in both online and in-studio courses.

Problem Statement

Due to student feedback, senior tutors we’re finding that Interior Design students often faced challenges in visualising lighting environments and understanding how furniture and surrounding elements impacted the distribution of light. Standard teaching methods, including 2D floor plans and static imagery, were insufficient to showcase these complex scenarios. This gap in knowledge not only hindered a students’ ability to make informed lighting decisions but also limited their confidence when applying these principles to their own projects.

Solution

To address this issue, and provide a better, more interactive learning experience for students I developed a series of interactive 360° 3D renders using Blender. These visualisations were designed to replicate real-world lighting scenarios, making use of IES lighting profiles to provide a realistic representation of light behaviour in interior spaces. The example environment, the "Small Modern Flat," was created to serve as an introductory experience, guiding students through the features of 360° visualisations embedded directly within their course content.
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My Role

I worked closely with senior Interior Designers to interpret detailed floor plans and design schemes. This collaborative process ensured that the 3D environments reflected real-world layouts and adhered to professional Interior Design standards. In Blender, I oversaw the full development of the scenes, from initial modelling and scene construction to final renders. This process included:

• Environment Creation: Each 3D environment was constructed using a combination of custom modelling and community-sourced assets provided by the Blender community.

• Lighting Design: I implemented IES lighting profiles to simulate real-world light sources, aiming to accurately capture how light interacts with furniture, textures, and other materials in a space.

• Camera Placement: Placement of 360° prioritised a visually engaging experience for users exploring the scenes.

• Embedding & Delivery: I prepared the final renders for integration into our course platform, ensuring compatibility with both online and in-studio delivery methods.

Outcomes

Tutors reported that students were pleased with the new interactive environments embedded throughout their course, and were seeing improvements in their ability to visualise and better analyse lighting environments. The 360° environments proved highly effective in both online and in-studio course formats. In-studio sessions accommodated groups of 15+ students. Both students and tutors provided positive feedback.

Personal Highlights

I love the Blender community and the program itself. In this project the use of open-source, royalty-free assets from the Blender community highlighted the importance of collaborative tools all design disciplines. This project demonstrated how resources could be utilised to achieve high-quality examples to improve the experience for students.