A CGI revision policy is the part of your agreement that says how many rounds of feedback are included, what counts as a revision, what counts as a change to the brief, and what happens when a request goes beyond both. Get it written down before the first render starts and most disputes over time and cost never happen.

This guide is for developers, architects, planning consultants, estate agents and designers who commission property visuals in the UK. It explains the terms in plain English, shows where the line between a tweak and a new brief falls, and lists what to check in a quote.

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TL;DR

  • A revision policy covers four things: the number of feedback rounds, what a round may contain, how feedback is gathered, and what extra changes cost.
  • Fixing or refining what the brief already described is a revision. Altering the brief itself (a different layout, materials scheme or viewpoint) is a change and is normally priced separately.
  • Agree the policy in writing before work starts, and record every out-of-scope change in writing before it is carried out.
  • Consolidated feedback, sent once per round by one named person, keeps schedules and budgets predictable.
  • Ask for the revision terms in the quote itself, not in a separate document you find later.

Table of Contents

What a revision policy means for a CGI project

A CGI image is built, not photographed. The studio models the building, sets the materials, lighting and camera, and then produces the image. Every one of those decisions can be altered later, but each alteration costs time, sometimes a lot of it. A revision policy puts a boundary around that time.

The principle is familiar from the wider construction and design world. The Architects Registration Board’s guidance on terms of engagement says written terms create a shared understanding of scope, clarify fees and responsibilities, and give a basis for resolving misunderstandings before work begins. That guidance is written for architects and their clients, but the logic carries straight over to a visualisation commission: the written terms are what you both turn to when memory differs.

A good policy answers five questions:

  1. How many rounds of feedback are included in the fee?
  2. What may a round contain (corrections, refinements, or anything at all)?
  3. How should feedback reach the studio, and from whom?
  4. What happens to the schedule when a round arrives late?
  5. How is work outside the policy agreed, priced and approved?

We publish our own approach on a dedicated page, a fair rendering revisions policy for property CGI clients, and the rest of this article explains the reasoning behind that kind of policy so you can judge any studio’s terms, ours included.

Revision or change to the brief: where the line falls

This is the question behind most arguments. A client says “it’s just a small change”. The studio says “that’s a new image”. Both may be sincere.

The construction industry has long dealt with the same distinction. A RICS Journal article on UK construction law explains that filling in details the original requirements left open is generally design development, while altering the originally specified scope is a change. The practical test it points to is whether the request develops detail already implicit in the agreed requirements or changes the requirements themselves. The more specific the original brief, the easier that test is to apply.

Translated into CGI work, that gives a workable rule.

Usually a revision

  • Adjusting the colour or finish of a material already specified, such as a brick tone that looks different on screen from the sample.
  • Moving a tree, a car or a figure within the scene, or changing the planting density.
  • Correcting something that does not match the drawings supplied.
  • Adjusting time of day, brightness or sky within the mood agreed at the start.
  • Small text or signage corrections on the image.

Usually a change to the brief

  • Replacing the architecture after the model is built: a new facade, a different roof form, an extra storey.
  • Switching from an agreed viewpoint to a new camera position, which means setting up and lighting a new image.
  • Redesigning an interior layout or furniture scheme after it has been dressed and approved.
  • Adding images to the package.
  • Supplying updated drawings that differ materially from the ones the quote was based on.

The Synergist, a UK creative studio, makes the same cut for design work generally: a small wording amendment may be an amend, but redoing an entire design is effectively starting again. It also advises that a quote should state how many sets of amends are included and how feedback is to be gathered. That is the standard to hold a CGI quote to.

There is a grey zone in between. A planning scheme that changes after a pre-application meeting, for example, is a legitimate reason for new drawings, but it is still new information. A sensible studio will say so plainly and quote the difference rather than quietly absorbing it or quietly billing it.

How feedback, rounds and final approval work

Formats differ between studios, so treat this as the pattern to look for rather than a universal rule. A well-run project usually moves through stages, and each stage ends with a clear approval.

1. Brief and reference gathering

The studio receives drawings, site information, material references and a description of the purpose of the image. Purpose matters: a marketing image for a brochure, a verified view for a planning submission and an investor deck visual all call for different decisions. The brief is the document every later revision is measured against, so it should be specific. If you have a design intent, send it now, not in round three.

2. Early review of the model or composition

Before detailed finishing, you should see the composition: viewpoint, massing, rough lighting. This is the cheapest moment to change anything, because nothing has been polished. Changes to camera angle or massing belong here. Our advice is to give this stage proper attention, because it is where a change to the brief costs least.

3. Draft images and feedback rounds

The studio sends a draft. You respond with feedback. The studio applies it and issues the next version. Each cycle is a round. The policy should say how many are included.

Four habits make rounds work:

  • One voice. Collect comments from the whole team internally and send a single consolidated list. Contradictory comments from three people are the most common cause of extra rounds.
  • Specific, not vague. “Make the brick warmer, closer to the sample in the attached photo” can be actioned. “Doesn’t feel right” cannot.
  • Marked-up images. Annotate the draft itself so every comment is tied to a location.
  • Everything at once. Staggered comments across several days effectively turn one round into several.

The Synergist also points out that a quote should state how feedback is gathered, and the ARB’s client checklist makes a related point for architects: clients should clarify the contact person and how often updates will come. In CGI terms, name who sends feedback and who has authority to approve.

4. Final approval

Approval should be an explicit message, not an assumption. Once approved, the studio produces the final files in the agreed resolution and format. A request made after approval is, in effect, a new piece of work. This matters especially for planning submissions, where the approved image may be tied to an application document and altering it afterwards can create inconsistencies across the pack. If your images support a submission, our guide to the role of visuals in planning permission explains what planners look for.

5. Delivery and archive

Final deliverables arrive as digital files. Agree up front what you need: print resolution for brochures, web sizes for listings, layered or separate versions for different uses. Re-exporting at a different size is not usually a revision, but confirm that in the quote.

What to check in the written agreement

The ARB’s June 2025 guidance lists what good written terms contain: project scope, the fee or how it is calculated, each party’s responsibilities, liability limits, dispute and termination procedures, insurance, data handling and complaints arrangements. Its client checklist adds the questions to ask: what work is included, how the fee is calculated, what additional costs may arise, who is responsible for what, how progress updates work and how disputes or cancellation are handled.

For a CGI quote, turn that into a practical checklist:

Check What a clear answer looks like
Number of images and viewpoints Listed individually, with the purpose of each
Included feedback rounds A stated number, per image or per project
What a round may contain Corrections and refinements within the agreed brief
Feedback method One consolidated list, from a named person
Out-of-scope work Quoted and approved in writing before it starts
How extras are priced A stated rate or a fixed quote per change
Delivery times Days or weeks per stage, and what happens if feedback is late
Approval A written sign-off at each stage
Final files Formats, resolutions and usage rights listed
Cancellation What is payable if the project stops part-way

If the quote is silent on any line, ask. A studio that answers promptly and specifically is usually one that has run into these questions before and settled them.

Delivery times and late feedback

Delivery times in a quote assume feedback arrives on time. A policy should say how a delay on your side affects the schedule, because a studio often plans its work around the agreed dates and may have other projects waiting. If your project has a hard deadline, such as a submission date or a launch, tell the studio at the start. Our own positioning is built around predictable deadlines and direct communication with the person doing the work, but any studio can only hold a date if rounds arrive when agreed.

What to do when requests fall outside the policy

It happens on nearly every long project: the scheme evolves, a new stakeholder joins, the client’s own client changes their mind. The question is how the extra work gets handled.

The Synergist’s advice for studios is direct: tell the client the request is outside the scope, agree whether extra amends carry a new fee or are absorbed, keep them informed of any extra time, and consider whether goodwill is appropriate. The same sequence works from the client’s side. If a studio says a request is outside the policy, ask for three things: what exactly is being treated as out of scope, what it will cost, and what it does to the delivery date.

For larger changes, the construction world’s discipline is worth borrowing. RICS’s change control standard, reissued in 2024, recommends an agreed, formal and consistently documented change process, with submissions acknowledged and a register of changes maintained. UK contract guidance from Manchester Professionals similarly suggests that a proposed scope change be submitted in writing with enough detail to assess its effects, and that an agreed change be recorded in a signed change note or variation.

You do not need a heavy process for a CGI commission. An email thread can do the job if it follows the same shape:

  1. You describe the change and attach any new drawings.
  2. The studio replies with the effect on cost and delivery.
  3. You confirm in writing.
  4. Only then does the work start.

That sequence protects both sides, because it records the request, its consequences and the decision before extra work proceeds. It also stops the unpleasant surprise of an invoice for work you thought was included.

Keeping extras small

The cheapest way to stay inside a revision policy is to front-load decisions:

  • Send final or near-final drawings, not work-in-progress sets.
  • Choose materials from samples, not descriptions.
  • Settle viewpoints before modelling is finished.
  • Involve every decision-maker at the early review stage.
  • Say which images are for planning and which are for marketing, since the standard of accuracy differs.

When the purpose is persuasion, the style of the image also affects how many rounds you need. Our piece on rendering styles that win client design approval shows how choosing the right look at the start reduces second-guessing later.

Different projects, different revision needs

A single policy does not suit every image type, so expect the terms to flex with the work.

Planning visuals and verified views. Accuracy depends on survey data, camera information and the agreed design. Because the image has to match the scheme being submitted, changes to the design after the image is built generally mean rebuilding it. Agree the design freeze point carefully. See CGI for planning applications and our photomontage and verified view services.

Architects. Design development often continues while visualisation is under way. Agree which version of the drawings the images represent, and treat later versions as a change. Our page on CGI for architects covers how that works in practice.

Interior designers. Furniture and finish choices tend to shift as procurement progresses. It helps to lock the scheme before dressing begins. Details are on CGI for interior designers.

Developers and estate agents. Marketing imagery is often needed early, before the scheme is fully resolved. Agree which elements are provisional and plan for an update later, as a separate piece of work if the design moves. See CGI for developers.

Cost is also tied to scope. If you want a feel for how project type affects budget, our guide to property CGI costs in the UK is the place to start.

Different projects, different revision needs — overview diagram

Our perspective

We work as a single in-house operator, with no outsourcing, and that shapes how we think about revisions. When the person you brief is the person producing the image, feedback does not pass through layers, and the policy can be simple because nobody is translating it.

What we see is that revision trouble is almost never about the number of rounds. It comes from the brief being loose at the start, from feedback arriving in pieces, or from a change in the design that nobody labelled as a change. A policy cannot fix a vague brief, but it can make the problem visible early, when it is cheap to deal with.

So our advice to anyone commissioning, with us or anyone else, is this. Ask for the rules in writing. Send one consolidated list per round. Say out loud when the design has moved. And expect an honest answer when a request is bigger than it looks, because the alternative is a schedule that quietly slips.

— Paride

Working with Visual Trick

If you are planning a commission and want the revision terms clear from the start, our services page lists what we produce, including architectural visualisation, 3D rendering, planning visuals, interior and exterior CGI, floor plans, virtual staging and animation. Send us your drawings and the purpose of the images, and we will come back with a scope that states what is included and how changes are handled. Our revisions policy page sets out our approach in more detail.

FAQ

How many revisions should a CGI quote include?

There is no fixed industry number, so the quote should state one. What matters is that the number is written down, along with what a round may contain and how feedback is collected. If a quote says nothing, ask before you accept it.

Is changing the camera angle a revision?

Usually not. A new viewpoint means setting up, lighting and finishing a new image, so it is normally treated as a change to the brief. The cheapest time to adjust a viewpoint is the early composition review, before detailed finishing starts.

What if my design changes after the CGI has started?

Tell the studio straight away and send the updated drawings. Design changes are normally treated as a change to the brief, so ask for the effect on cost and delivery in writing and confirm it before the work goes ahead. Telling them early nearly always costs less than telling them late.

Can I ask for changes after I have approved the final image?

You can ask, but it is generally treated as new work, because approval closes the agreed scope. This matters most for planning submissions, where the image may need to stay consistent with the rest of the application documents. Check what the studio’s terms say about post-approval changes.

What should I get in writing before work begins?

At minimum: the images and viewpoints, the fee, the number of included feedback rounds, how out-of-scope changes are priced and approved, delivery times and the final file formats. The ARB’s guidance on terms of engagement is a useful model for what clear written terms cover.

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