IES Profiles are increasingly available from lighting manufacturers and most rendering programs with support for IES Lighting include a fixed set of profiles to choose from. More realistic than basic lighting, even the provided IES files can be used to closely match actual fixtures.

Architects and Interior designers might select an included profile that matches their design for lighting even before a manufacturer's fixture has been specified. IES profiles can therefore be helpful to designers during early stages of design.

What is IES Lighting?

Here's a video: Introduction to IES Lighting

Material Styles makes it easy to explore design options and present alternatives to clients. The method is easy to learn and implement in any project workflow and for any project.

The image below illustrates 3 costume alternatives for Lisanne. These alternatives are created, stored, and recalled easily with Material Styles.

Architects, Interior Designers, and anyone who uses SketchUp as a design tool will appreciate the benefits of Material Styles to explore and present design options.

I've written a more detailed explanation/tutorial: Using Material Styles