Ever since human being decided living in caves was bad for their quality of life, building shelter has remained a constant thread throughout history. And even in those first rudimentary twig and grass-made structures, design communication and architectural visualization was a vital component in the process of construction. Something as simple as drawing a few lines in the sand was meant to show people the ‘thing’ before it was built.

We have come a long way since then, but the principles of architectural visualization remain the same. It is a tool used to bridge the gap in understanding between architects, clients, and builders. If you aren’t communicating the design and explicitly telling the outside world what it is you are doing, it will be misinterpreted by the builder and misunderstood by the client. Spoiler alert: these are both very bad.

Thankfully, architects no longer have to rely on the design professionals themselves to spend their (expensive) time doing presentation drawings. That work can be outsourced from London to Tokyo to a community of artists who are dedicated to showing off architecture.

Connecting with freelancers who specialize in that work has never been easier, either. London based job-finding firm Easy Render specializes in connecting architecture and design firms with freelance artists who can immediately meet their rendering needs. This is especially useful for smaller firms who can’t afford to keep a full-time staff of artists.

And 2D rendering is just the beginning. With VR recently hitting the mainstream, designers have the power of giving clients a virtual tour of their building before a single building permit is applied for. This not only impresses the person signing your checks, it cultivates an environment of trust, and gives the architect the functional latitude to push the boundaries of design.

We are far from the knuckle dragging neanderthals who crawled out of their caves to make better lives for themselves, but we still enlist the same basic principles when it comes to design and construction. Communication is key, and producing informative and engaging architectural visualizations is the difference between a beautiful, free-standing straw hut and a pile of soggy leaves.