Image Credit: Kedar Deshpande
A solution to improve your design workflows and enhance visual communications might be more evident than you think. As we see Gaussian Splatting becoming more and more important in the field of computer graphics and interactive techniques, we caught up with SIGGRAPH 2024 Birds of a Feather presenter Kedar Deshpande to discuss his contribution “Enhancing Visual Communications and Design Workflows With Gaussian Splatting.” Grab your notebooks, and enjoy this insightful conversation!
SIGGRAPH: Your project “Enhancing Visual Communications and Design Workflows With Gaussian Splatting” looks to use Gaussian Splatting to improve design workflows and enhance visual communications. What inspired you to pursue this work?
Kedar Deshpande (KD): I work at Freeman, a global event production company that specializes in designing and delivering live experiences that connect people. Creative and design teams collaborate with clients from day one to build out conferences, trade shows, and large-scale events, working through multiple stages of production for items such as exhibit designs, layouts, and visual identities, approved by a range of stakeholders throughout the process.
What inspired me to explore Gaussian Splatting was its potential to offer realistic, immersive views of proposed designs, providing both our internal teams and clients with a clearer understanding of concepts within the environment they were designed for: To enhance overall visual communications and facilitate productive conversations that lead to faster, better-informed decisions.
I also saw how this technique could serve as a creative tool for designers, giving them a clearer understanding of the space and leading to smarter, more effective design decisions. This freedom to experiment and explore ideas more fluidly was a major driver behind this work.
As the renowned graphic designer Saul Bass once said, “Design is thinking made visual.” This project is a way to bring that idea to life in new, immersive ways.
SIGGRAPH: Can you speak to the time when you maybe had an “aha!” moment when you recognized Gaussian Splatting could have a role in enhancing visual communications and design workflows?
KD: I was really impressed by the paper “3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering” which won the Best Paper Award at SIGGRAPH 2023. It was a few months later when I started experimenting with cloud-based tools like Luma AI and Polycam to capture massive spaces like convention halls that the full potential of the technique really clicked. Specifically, the connection between the ease of capturing footage and usability of the reconstructed environment.
Within the multiple workflows of a design and production process, all do not require the fidelity of environments captured with heavier, higher-precision scanning equipment.
The ability to use a mobile device to capture on-site footage, process efficiently, and share it with remote teams is incredibly powerful, providing an intuitive sense of the space at any time and reducing the need to revisit locations.
Traditional capture methods often result in large, cumbersome files that can be challenging to work with or require more robust software. The portability and flexibility of the 3DGS format has enabled web- and mobile-friendly experiences that load quickly and stream efficiently, ideal for sharing. Success of communication depends on the ease of shareability.
SIGGRAPH: By presenting at SIGGRAPH with the Birds of a Feather program, you are not only presenting your work but also opening it up to participants to share their experiences and insights. Did you have any major takeaways to consider implementing into your work from your session?
KD: One of my favorite parts about SIGGRAPH is hearing from people across various industries and learning how they are exploring technical capabilities for their own use. The Birds of a Feather (BOF) session audience included professionals from fields like mapping, gaming, and film production. The conversations were inspiring for everyone involved.
Personally, it was a wonderful opportunity to connect with people from the fields of architecture and construction who are implementing capture and visualizations using techniques I had not previously considered. Their approach and insights from presenting scans to clients have been valuable throughout the ongoing process of refining the user experience.
Hearing from those in film production at the session led to a collaboration that began at the event and is still ongoing! Filmmaking techniques have always pushed creative boundaries and combining them with Gaussian Splatting has opened new ways to create immersive visualizations, bring ideas to life, and spark conversation.
SIGGRAPH: As new trends and developments arise in computer graphics, how do you see Gaussian Splatting playing a role in computer graphics in the future? Do you see your work evolving over the next few years?
KD: The technology has been evolving rapidly since its release and an increasing number of graphic software and spatial computing vendors are embracing the technology and offering integrations that allow splats to be used natively.
It has been encouraging to see commitments from companies like Niantic’s Scaniverse and Unreal Engine who have enabled 3DGS plugin support for their game/content development platform. The latest release of the rendering engine Chaos V-Ray now provides the ability to integrate 3DGS’s into Revit BIM workflows, reducing manual effort up front, allowing teams to focus on higher order tasks.
We are seeing this technology is gaining traction in fields like education and consumer goods purchasing. The format naturally lends itself to self-guided, interactive exhibit activations that can be enhanced by layering data points, creating rich and immersive storytelling experiences.
To support more data-driven decisions, I anticipate graphic tools will continue evolving to merge the intuitive, lightweight 3DGS user experience and qualified data sets like point clouds and mesh data. This will open the door to developing robust simulation frameworks for events that could include environmental factors such as traffic patterns and lighting setups.
The ongoing R&D efforts have shown the entire workflow of capturing, processing, and sharing environments is becoming faster and more reliable. This evolution is making it cost-effective to scale content libraries to include not just large-scale venues but also smaller event spaces and expansive outdoor environments.
SIGGRAPH: What advice would you give to someone who is looking to submit their work to the SIGGRAPH 2025 Birds of a Feather program?
KD: My approach for the presentation was to highlight the technology being discussed and connect it to a real-world approach like visual communications that would resonate with a broad audience. SIGGRAPH draws a diverse mix of industry professionals, each bringing unique perspectives that can surface insights valuable to others.
I used the session description to clearly outline what would be covered and how different use cases would be explored for various audiences and needs. This helped attract an engaged group eager to explore the potential the technology offers rather than a specific aspect of it.
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Consider how you would share your content with the audience during the session. Many in the audience were interested in downloading the presentation, and setting up a QR code for the download in advance helped keep the conversation going post event.
I would also highly recommend setting aside time for open discussion during your presentation. In my experience, this was the most rewarding part of the session and truly captured the spirit of a BOF gathering.
Feeling inspired? Are you looking to showcase your awe-inspiring work amongst like minded individuals? SIGGRAPH 2025 programs are actively accepting submissions. Find the right program for your and submit your work today!
Kedar Deshpande is Vice President of Digital Experience at Freeman where he blends his deep background in technology and design to create experiences that help brands connect with their audiences in meaningful ways. With over two decades in the industry, he also serves on the Freeman AI Governance Council and focuses on digital initiatives and emerging technologies that drive business value.
Kedar holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from NYU Tandon and has extensive experience collaborating with creative teams to develop design-led solutions for Fortune 100 brands.
