Why I Build Every CGI Model for Change
There’s a moment in almost every NPD project where someone asks: “could we just look at a slightly different size?”
It sounds like a small request. And it should be. But depending on how the original CGI model was built, it can mean anything from a five-minute adjustment to a full day’s rework, new geometry, new proportions, new renders, back to the beginning.
I’ve been working in beauty and skincare NPD for nearly twenty years, and I’ve built my entire CGI process around making sure that small change request costs as little as possible. Here’s how, and why it matters.
Briefs change. That’s not a problem, it’s the nature of NPD
Anyone who has worked in product development knows that a brief is rarely fixed. Formulations evolve. Retailer requirements shift. A product that was conceived for one format turns out to work better in another. Capacity changes. Sometimes the whole direction pivots.
This isn’t a sign that something has gone wrong. It’s the process of new product development. The question is whether your design process is built to handle it, or whether every change means going back to square one.
How parametric modelling works
When I build a CGI model in Cinema 4D, I work with splines — essentially creating the fundamental profile framework of a form — combined with object generators like Rotate and Extrude that define how that skeleton becomes a three-dimensional shape.
The key is that all the dimensions are driven by values on those splines, not baked into fixed geometry. If a capacity changes — say from 200ml to 150ml — I adjust a single node. The entire model updates: height, shoulder profile, wall thickness, proportions. Everything recalculates from that one change.
The same logic applies to caps, closures, and actuators. Each component is built to update, not to be redrawn.
In practice: What would take another designer most of a day takes me a matter of minutes. The model is already built for change.
A real example: exploring the same formulation across different retail channels
I work with one client on an ongoing basis, helping them explore what new product ideas could look like before they go to market. Their process is genuinely exploratory - they use CGI not just to visualise a finished concept, but to think through options, test different formats, and understand what’s possible before committing to anything.
Recently, they had a formulation they wanted to take to a major retailer as an exclusive. I created the renders, they presented them, but the timing wasn’t right and it didn’t move forward at that stage.
Rather than losing the work, they wanted to explore the same formulation in a slightly different format, with packaging suited to a different retail channel and price point. Because the original model was built parametrically, adapting it wasn’t a new project. It was less than an hour – not an afternoon!
That kind of flexibility is what makes CGI genuinely useful as a thinking tool, not just a presentation asset. It means a client can explore, change direction, and respond to commercial realities without the design process becoming a bottleneck.
Why this matters beyond the time saving
The efficiency argument is obvious: faster changes mean lower costs and less friction. But there’s something more important underneath it.
When clients know that changes are easy, they don’t feel locked into early decisions. They’re more willing to explore, to question, to ask “what if we tried it this way?” That openness leads to better products.
Conversely, when every change feels expensive or complicated, teams tend to stick with their first direction even when it isn’t quite right. The CGI becomes a constraint rather than a tool.
“When clients know that changes are easy, they don’t feel locked in. That openness leads to better products.”
Building flexibility into the model from the start is, ultimately, about building confidence into the process. It’s one of the things that makes a real difference to how smoothly an NPD project runs.
Working on an NPD project where the brief is still evolving?
That’s exactly the kind of project I’m here for. If you’d like to talk through how CGI could support your process (whatever stage you’re at) I’d be happy to have a conversation.
Get in touch at helen@hlwdesign.co.uk or book a call.
