A practical procedure for obtaining calibrated material colors for CAD Systems

CAD systems for interior design often present 3D rendering photorealistic features for the project. It is possible to download accurate photometric data of luminaires from lighting manufacturers' websites, but the same cannot be said for the colors of materials and finishes. Excluding laboratory procedures for measuring the BRDF, which are not within the designer’s reach, in this essay we are presenting a practical procedure based on the use of an SLR Camera. The correct acquisition and virtualization of a sample according to a standard, reliable and repeatable procedure is the first step for an evaluation of the project materials based on faithful visualizations. This can be done through the Color Management, the use and the transformation of color profiles of each device used in the process. We will see a possible and correct procedure to acquire a sample of material through a digital SLR Camera, how to set up the photographic set and the surrounding environment and how to create a color profile linked to the device and the lighting conditions of the shoot. Finally, we will show how to associate the color profile with the images taken by the camera and how to convert them into images that have a standard color profile recognized by the major CAD software, to provide a solid starting point for the subsequent steps that must be followed to obtain an as much as possible correct perception of the colors present in the project, regardless of the device used to display it.