SPARCO 3D CONFIGURATOR

Sparco is a true point of reference for every racing enthusiast in their ability to support the career of every driver from their first kilometers on a Kart to their biggest dream: Formula 1. Each driver has their own identity, hence the need to customize all the details of the Racing Experience. A goal that can be achieved thanks to a long process of research and development with the aim of creating a realistic and engaging experience.

The result of the collaboration between Sparco and Protocube Reply is the dawn of a new Digital Experience that is intuitive and realistic in every detail, to allow racing enthusiasts to customize products born to offer the maximum level of performance.

The Sparco 3D configurator was created as a tool to improve the Digital Experience on the official website of the company, replacing a traditional 2D configurator. One of the basic requirements to be met was the integration with the e-commerce system already present on the site, supporting a User Experience aimed at selling customizable products.

THE REAL-TIME 3D CONFIGURATOR: REALISM AND INTERACTION FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE BEST

The Sparco 3D configurator is born specifically for the online experience and is based on the WebGL graphics technology developed to optimize performance on any browser and device. The goal is to provide the user with a fast and easy product customization process.

Real-time rendering guarantees the user an immediate and direct feedback with the product, reducing the perceptual distance between the online experience and the real one. Little or nothing is left to the imagination; anyone can modify the parts of the products and automatically receive a faithful preview of the result.

The customizable products include some models of SUITS, SHOES, GLOVES and a series of OFFICE ARMCHAIRS, whose line is clearly inspired by the seats of racing cars.

The customization of the product is based on the definition of three phases: COLORS, TEXT AND LOGOS.

Starting from a basic, neutral version, you can select the parts of the product and customize them as you wish. The manufacturer can update details and finishes related to every single detail at any time..

In some predefined areas of the product you can customize nationality, name and blood type.

Branding products with the brands of your team and your sponsors is a fundamental requirement in the racing world. In order to better support the graphic customization process, a 2D editor has been developed that allows the positioning of the brands with extreme precision, without renouncing, at any moment, the realistic 3D preview.

UI / UX DESIGN RESPONSIVE

The user interface has been designed with the aim of reducing to a minimum the number of commands and operations required, in order to make the interaction between the user and the product to be customized as direct as possible. The interface is designed with a responsive logic to optimize the user experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

The selection of the parts to be configured can be done either by clicking directly on the 3D model or on the convenient side menu. (Credits Sparco)

THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE: TAILOR-MADE SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS ANY NEED

In addition to guaranteeing the free customization of the individual parts of the product, the Sparco 3D configurator has been developed to flexibly manage all particular cases, for example:

Regulations: a technical garment designed for motor racing cannot disregard the sector regulations. An example is the FIA labels, which must necessarily be shown on the collar of the suit. To combine the needs of style and readability, a series of automatic pre-configurations have been provided.

Sparco branding: the color of the Sparco logo varies on the basis of some preset rules. For example, the possibility of configuring a tone-on-tone logo, which would be poorly identifiable on the parts of the product, is precluded. The 3D configurator can incorporate a series of rules and constraints to scrupulously respect every brand design and image need.

Product Specifications: this is the case of the seams of the suit, which can be in a single color or contextualized tone-on-tone on each part of the suit. A detail that can significantly change the look of the product with a simple click.

Sizes: In addition to the final preview of the customized product, you can define standard or custom sizes. In the latter case, a virtual assistant helps the user with a tutorial related to each requested measurement.

The selection of the parts to be configured can be done either by clicking directly on the 3D model or on the convenient side menu. (Credits Sparco)

THE 3D CATALOG: THE BASIC CONTENT OF THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

A realistic 3D configurator relies strictly on accurate digital models. After a thorough analysis of the characteristics of the products, in the case of gloves and shoes, we started with a 3D scan of the samples provided by Sparco in order to obtain a “raw” digital model used as a reference for the construction of the 3D model implemented in the product catalog.

A very similar digitization process was used for the office chairs, although it was adapted in many details to respond to the different characteristics of the product.

3D TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE ADVANCED SIMULATION OF TECHNICAL FABRICS

The Sparco technical suits are a particular case, so we decided to proceed with an entirely digital creation process starting from the 2D paper patterns supplied by the company. The 3D models of the suits were created with a faithful representation of all the parts, folds and seams thanks to the advanced consultancy of tailoring specialists and the hybrid use of multiple 3D technologies capable of correctly simulating the physics of fabrics.

As far as the digitalization of the fabrics is concerned, the textures of the materials were obtained thanks to high resolution 3D scanning of Sparco’s physical samples.