By introducing Material Studio, an AI-powered visual search experience developed in partnership with Stylib, Creative Materials Corporation is making it easier for architects, designers, commercial project teams, and its own sales organization to explore architectural surfaces. Just six months after launch, the platform is supporting more than 1,000 searches per month.
About Creative Materials
Creative Materials Corporation is a US-based supplier of architectural surfaces exclusively serving the commercial market. With more than 30 years of experience, the company supports projects across hospitality, retail, restaurants, automotive, healthcare, workplace, multifamily, and other commercial environments.
Offering an extensive portfolio of porcelain and ceramic tile, natural stone, luxury vinyl tile, and other architectural surfaces, Creative Materials partners with architects, interior designers, multi-unit national brands, developers, installation professionals, and commercial project teams to simplify material selection, specification, and supply. The mission is to help clients design and build better communities through a committed, consultative approach.
Beyond its product portfolio, the company provides expertise in Design Services, product sourcing, custom product development, specification review, quality assurance, and project logistics. Its National Tile Supply Programs also help multi-location brands manage material consistency, availability, and delivery across their portfolios.
Creative Materials teams work directly with clients throughout the project lifecycle – from early design exploration and product selection through specification, procurement, and delivery.
Making its product portfolio easier to explore visually is an important part of the company’s commitment to simplifying material selection and helping customers make more informed decisions.
The ambition: Making material discovery more intuitive and accessible
Material selection often begins with inspiration rather than a specific product.
An architect may be working from a rendering, an interior designer may have a particular color palette in mind, or a national brand may be exploring materials that align with an established design concept. Contractors and project teams may also need to identify suitable products that meet aesthetic expectations while accommodating project-specific requirements.
Translating those starting points into relevant material options can be time-consuming, particularly when navigating extensive product catalogs through traditional categories, keywords, and filters.
Creative Materials recognized an opportunity to simplify this process by introducing a more visual and flexible way to explore its portfolio.
The goal was to support a broader range of discovery needs, from independent exploration to collaborative product selection with a Creative Materials consultant. Rather than requiring users to know exactly what they were searching for, Creative Materials wanted to create an experience that could help them move from inspiration to relevant product options more efficiently.
The ambition was simple: make material discovery easier, more engaging, and better aligned with the way clients approach their projects.
“Material Studio represents an important evolution in how we support our partners and the standard we set for their experience. We wanted to go beyond understanding the challenges they face when searching for products and give them immediate visual solutions. Material Studio helps them connect what they envision with relevant material options”
Kristi McSween
Director of Marketing and Design Services
The solution: Introducing Material Studio by Creative Materials
Working with Stylib, Creative Materials introduced an AI-powered visual search experience integrated into its existing website.
Rather than positioning visual search as another website function, the company developed a dedicated identity for the experience: Material Studio by Creative Materials.
The decision and name reflect the company’s ambition to make material discovery more intuitive, engaging, and accessible by aligning the digital experience with how clients search for materials.
Material Studio allows users to search for architectural surfaces in several ways:
- Search by Image: Upload a photograph, rendering, or visual reference to discover products with similar aesthetic characteristics.
- Search by Color: Explore materials based on a specific color or palette, making it easier to identify products that align with a design direction.
- Search by Intent: Refine their exploration through available product filters, narrowing results to options relevant to their project.
Material Studio is accessible through multiple entry points across the Creative Materials website, including a prominent camera icon and individual product color swatches. These connections make visual discovery a natural extension of the existing browsing experience.
Importantly, Material Studio complements the company’s consultative approach rather than replacing it. Product discovery is just one part of the specification process. Creative Materials continues to offer the technical guidance, sourcing expertise, and project support needed to evaluate and select materials for commercial applications.
“We didn’t want to simply add another search function to our website. We wanted to create an experience that makes exploring our portfolio feel more natural, regardless of where someone is in their design or selection process. Material Studio gives our clients and our team another way to discover possibilities, while our expertise helps turn those possibilities into practical material solutions.”
Kristi McSween
Director of Marketing and Design Services
The results: More than 1,000 searches per month
Six months after launch, Material Studio is supporting more than 1,000 searches per month, demonstrating continued engagement with this new approach to product discovery.
The platform has introduced an additional way for clients and Creative Materials’ internal teams to explore the company’s vast architectural surface portfolio, whether independently or as part of a collaborative selection process.
Creative Materials has supported adoption through a coordinated marketing effort, incorporating Material Studio into its website, social media, email communications, and product-focused content.
By establishing Material Studio as a branded experience, the company has also created a recognizable destination for visual exploration within its broader digital presence.
Connecting inspiration, product discovery, and commercial expertise
For Creative Materials, introducing Material Studio was about more than improving collection navigation.
It was an opportunity to make product discovery more accessible to the diverse audiences involved in commercial material selection, while strengthening the connection between digital exploration and the company’s consultative services.
From architects and interior designers developing new concepts to national brands evaluating materials for multiple locations, the platform offers a more flexible way to begin the selection process.
Material Studio also supports Creative Materials’ broader commitment to simplifying commercial material selection and supply. By helping users identify relevant products earlier in their journey, the experience creates opportunities for more informed conversations around aesthetics, performance, availability, and project requirements.
The collaboration with Stylib demonstrates how AI-powered visual search can become a meaningful part of a commercial supplier’s customer experience.
When paired with product expertise, specification support, and an understanding of real-world project needs, digital discovery can do more than surface visually similar products. It can help connect inspiration with practical solutions.