Enhancing Visual Identities with 3D, with AI as an Ally
Since its emergence, 3D has gone through multiple stages: it was once a novelty, then a trend, and at times, an overused resource. For a long time, it was perceived as a complex tool, reserved for technical or specialized profiles. But today, that has changed. Thanks to more accessible tools, three-dimensional design is becoming increasingly natural, approachable, and functional.
This evolution not only expands the visual language but also streamlines the creative process, opening new opportunities to create value through visuals, storytelling, and experience.
In the redesign of Switch Software’s website, we explored this opportunity through a strategic approach: integrating 3D elements not merely as decorative features but as an essential part of their visual identity.
The Value of Three-Dimensionality in Digital Design
Incorporating 3D elements into digital products goes beyond aesthetics: it is a strategic tool that strengthens presence, personality, and the visual identity of a brand.
Just as the physical objects around you right now might evoke different feelings or emotions through their unique characteristics, design comes to life through form, light, textures, and movement. It fosters greater closeness, depth, and dynamism, enriching the user experience by bridging the digital and physical worlds. It also optimizes workflow timelines, enabling faster iteration and quicker idea validation. In this way, 3D stops being a technical challenge and becomes an opportunity to craft memorable, recognizable visual identities with unique assets that distinguish a product from any other.
Purposeful 3D Application: The Switch Case
The Switch Software project centered on redesigning their website with the goal of building a strong, direct, and professional visual identity that clearly reflected their methodology and value proposition at first glance. The brief was clear: position themselves as tech experts while maintaining a close, disruptive, and friendly essence.
One of the key pillars was the strategic incorporation of three-dimensional elements. But… for what purpose? For whom? What did we want to communicate or evoke through them? These are the questions we always ask ourselves early in the process to define the goal before deciding how to achieve it. With Switch, we understood that 3D could help us add impact and presence to the new visual identity, contributing personality while maintaining visual coherence within a clear, timeless identity.
Our first focus was on the Switch isologo. Although its shape and colors were predefined, we opened the field for exploration: what would happen if we took it into a three-dimensional space? We developed it as the hero element of the homepage and featured it across other key sections of the site, experimenting with variations in color, lighting, orientation, materiality, and style. From shiny, vibrant versions to matte, translucent, or muted alternatives, each test and iteration sought to balance visual impact with elegance and functionality. Together with the client, we ultimately chose a more minimalistic and refined version that enhanced the brand without overwhelming it.
Then came the moment to add, as we call it at Paisanos, a "chiche" — a special touch. We aim to create "wow" moments that add an extra layer of sensation to the creative piece, and that’s exactly what we did for Switch. In seeking to add movement to the 3D element, we tested rotations, translations, and interactions triggered by scrolling or cursor movement, enhancing the user’s interactive experience. These explorations were done with Spline, allowing for quick iterations, idea validation, and contextual testing before final integration into Webflow.
The second key point was the representation of Switch’s internal studios — the specialized teams that shape the company's work structure. The goal was to establish hierarchy both collectively and individually, enabling each studio to project itself as an independent business unit. The process started with the creation of 2D symbols that abstractly and conceptually represented each studio’s specialty and value proposition, aiming for greater recognition and representation.
Seeking to enhance their presence, we decided to take these symbols into 3D. We used Endless, a tool that allowed us to maintain a unified aesthetic: consistent materiality, orientation, lighting, and texture across all elements, while giving each its own unique shape and color. This way, each studio developed its own distinct visual identity and representative symbol without losing coherence with Switch’s universe.
Artificial Intelligence as an Ally
Artificial intelligence is now part of our creative toolkit. It’s a medium that enhances our creative processes, making us more specialized, versatile, and—most importantly—faster. AI’s greatest value lies especially in exploration stages, enabling rapid iterations, quick validations, and the generation of countless material and texture variations, so we can then focus on the fine details for final production.
This potential frees up valuable time, allowing criteria, sensitivity, and critical thinking to concentrate on adding differential value — those nuances that make a product truly unique.
Conclusion
The combination of 3D and artificial intelligence is not just a technical trend — it represents a new way of building visual identities. Our challenge lies in identifying how and when to use these tools meaningfully. What once seemed distant and complex now integrates naturally into the day-to-day of digital design, allowing us to create with greater flexibility, speed, and quality.
How do we put it into practice?
Check out the full Switch case study here https://www.paisanos.io/projects/switch-website-case-study