Turning on-site store surveys into remote, AI-powered 3D design sessions for MODE Aquariums.
Project Overview
A commercial aquarium systems leader outgrowing its old sales process
MODE Aquariums has designed and engineered commercial aquarium rack systems since 2005, supplying fish stores, aquatic retailers, laboratories, zoos, and educational institutions across the US and internationally. Their modular systems form the backbone of complete aquatic retail departments, so a single store build typically combines several systems into one large, multi-unit order. With 50+ stores built and a growing dealer network, MODE partnered with Eleven Softwares on a six-month engagement to modernize both how they present their brand and how they design stores with their clients.
The Challenge
Every order depended on a site visit and a hand sketch
For a company that sells complete store layouts rather than single products, the hardest part of every large order happened before the sale: working out how the finished store would actually look. MODE's custom process began with a floor plan, a hand sketch, or an idea, and often required an on-site visit to measure the space and plan where each system would go. That meant travel, scheduling, and several rounds of back-and-forth before a client could see what they were buying.
It also made large orders harder to close. Committing to multiple systems is a significant investment, and asking a store owner to sign off from a flat sketch or a verbal description leaves too much to the imagination. The longer and less tangible the planning phase, the slower the path from first conversation to confirmed order.
What We Built
A remote planner that turns a floor plan into 3D in minutes
Over six months, Eleven Softwares delivered two things: a full redesign of MODE's public website, rebuilt to match the quality of their systems and to support their nationwide and distributor expansion, and, at the center of the engagement, a custom internal tool that replaces the on-site survey entirely.
With the new tool, a MODE rep sends the client a video-call link, opens the planner, and draws the outline of the client's store on a 2D plane, which renders live, side by side, as a navigable 3D space. Every MODE product exists in the tool as a true-to-scale 3D model, so systems can be placed into the layout by hand, or the rep can hand the room's dimensions to an AI that designs the entire store automatically. Once the layout is set, the tool generates photorealistic images and video walkthroughs of the finished store, so the client sees exactly what they're ordering before they commit.
- 2D floor-plan drawing that renders live into an explorable 3D store
- The full MODE product catalog available as true-to-scale 3D models
- Manual product placement, plus AI-generated full-store layouts from room dimensions
- Photorealistic image generation of the finished store
- AI-generated video walkthroughs for client presentations
- Runs remotely in a single live client session over a video call
Tech Stack
The Outcome
On-site surveys are no longer required for the planning phase, store design now happens remotely in a single live video session.
Clients see a photorealistic preview, images and video of their finished store, before placing a large, multi-system order.
A complete store layout can be generated by AI from room dimensions in minutes, rather than planned by hand.
Planning that once involved travel and multiple rounds of sketches now happens in one interactive session.
MODE's public website was fully rebuilt to support its nationwide and distributor expansion.
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