Picture It
Shopify App for AR & Virtual Showroom Visualization
About the Client
Service Provided: App Development and Support
Callio is a product company that builds and scales SaaS applications, combining intuitive design with product maturity to deliver meaningful customer experiences.
Their flagship app, Picture IT, helps shoppers visualize artwork, posters, signage, and decor items directly in their space through a virtual showroom or augmented reality (AR).
The product focuses on realistic rendering, accurate scaling, and an intuitive experience for both merchants and customers.
Business Challenge
Callio needed an experienced technical partner to continue building out the application without hiring a full internal engineering team. As Picture IT grew, the platform required steady feature development, improvements to the merchant onboarding flow, and stronger 3D/AR capabilities that operate reliably inside Shopify’s constraints.
The client’s priorities included:
-
Implementing new features to attract and retain art merchants
-
Rebuilding pricing and subscription structure
-
Maintaining stable 3D/AR integrations without in-house specialists
-
Improving configuration and setup for merchants
-
Introducing marketing automation and analytics
-
Ensuring performance for stores with large product catalogs
Partnership Format
Callio engaged Grodas for ongoing Shopify development support. We provided a Shopify engineer with experience in 3D/AR, Shopify app architecture, and embedded app performance. The developer worked directly with the product owner and became a core contributor to the Picture IT roadmap. The engagement included rebuilding onboarding, preparing the app for Shopify review, implementing marketing features, and supporting new AR-related functionality.
Solution
Admin Panel & Configuration Overhaul
We redesigned Picture IT’s admin experience to make it more structured and easier to operate, especially for merchants managing hundreds of SKUs. This reduced setup time and improved consistency across merchant stores through:
-
Updated product configuration, global settings, and subscription management UI
-
Flexible preview settings: flat images, auto-framing, frame dimensions, styles, lighting, and matting
-
Unified logic for background categories, scene collections, and global rendering parameters.
3D & AR Functionality
Picture IT depends on accurate 3D rendering and smooth AR interactions. Our work focused on strengthening this core functionality, so AR previews became more realistic and loaded more consistently across browsers with:
-
Integration with Three.js for generating and rendering 3D and 2D frame models
-
A dedicated frame selector with adjustable style, color, lighting, glare, and canvas settings
-
Stable performance inside Shopify’s embedded iframe with its sandbox limitations.
Integrations & Automation
To expand the product beyond visualization, we implemented new systems for marketing and app embedding that strengthened the automation and data consistency with
-
Loops integration: automated user creation, updates, removals, email workflows, and subscription synchronization
-
Migration from ScriptTag to App Embed: reduced load times and enabled multiple preview scenarios without performance degradation
Technical Optimization & Performance
We optimized Picture IT to handle high-traffic Shopify stores with large product and variant counts, which increased performance reliability across merchant storefronts via:
-
Backend query optimization for stores for heavy catalogs
-
S3-based storage for frame and scene models, including transparent background support
-
Compatibility improvements for embedded browsers (common sources of mobile traffic), such as Instagram and Facebook
Cooperation Outcomes
Platform Recognition
Picture IT earned Shopify’s Built for Shopify badge, confirming compliance with the platform’s performance, UX, and technical standards.
Revenue Growth
Picture IT's revenue grew 300% since partnering with Grodas, demonstrating the solution’s market traction.
Higher Merchant Satisfaction
The app holds a 5.0 / 5.0 rating across 40 reviews, proving strong adoption and trust among art and decor merchants.
Improved Usability
Merchants now configure the app faster, benefit from more realistic previews, and work with expanded features without added interface complexity.
Stronger Automation & Data Flow
New integrations reduced manual processes and strengthened marketing operations.
Technologies and Tools
Backend: Node.js, PostgreSQL, GraphQL, AWS
Frontend: React, Shopify Polaris, HTML5, CSS3
Shopify Integration: REST & GraphQL APIs, Web Pixel, Bulk Operations
Project Management: Notion, Slack
Version Control & Deployment: GitHub, AWS
What Our Client Says
“Their understanding of the Shopify ecosystem is very impressive…Over the months, they have developed into becoming a key part of our team - offering education for non-technical members and establishing clear communication systems with leadership.”
Alex Le
CEO, Picture IT