BEFORE DESIGN
AFTER DESIGN
“Design results from human decisions. You can design with intention, which means you have a chance of doing it well, or you can let it happen, which means you will probably bungle the job. Design happens whether you’re aware you’re doing it or not paying attention. Nothing is un-designed. Things are badly designed, well designed, and points between”. –Mike Monteiro – from the book “You’re My Favorite Client”.
Design solves a problem. Without the presence of a problem, whether it involves function or aesthetics, design is relative. Design is created when one causes form to offer easier function within the space. Aesthetics also become a major role.
Simply recall the last time you were in a poorly designed parking lot, or better yet, parking deck. Do you recall the emotions involved with this memory? We like to steer clear of these kind of emotions.
Now imagine yourself taking a relaxing shower after a rough day. All of the day’s tension melts away. You are left feeling refreshed and relaxed. Would you say the engineering of the many pieces of the puzzle, to create your shower, was built on the foundation of good design?
“When you think about the design of a chair, you consider both how it looks and how it feels to sit on. A well-designed office chair corrects your posture and enhances your productivity, while a well-designed living room chair lets you lie back and relax, watch TV, play with your iPad, and take a nap. An airline seat is purposely designed to fill you with regret and levels of sadness unknown in human history outside the Spanish Inquisition”. –Mike Monteiro – from the book “You’re my favorite client”.
There are many factors to consider when you are seeking to design your landscape or garden.
- Is there a problem or concern you are wanting to remedy?
- What is your Hardiness Zone?
- Do you know what types of soils you have?
- Are there pests and herbivores present in the area?
- What direction does the area face?
- Do you know what plants will be hardy for this site?
- Do you understand the pest presence in your environment and the susceptibility of chosen plants to common pests?
- Will the chosen materials function in the environment as well as offer an aesthetically pleasing effect?
- Will it in fact present with low maintenance?
- Will the plantings outgrow the space?
The biggest question, will the design solve a problem, create a form that makes function easier, comfort natural and offer the concerted eye ease of view?
BEFORE DESIGN
AFTER DESIGN
Why hire a designer?
If you are a designer whether by trade or artistic heart then you really have no need for this as you have been to this rodeo before.
Though if landscape/garden design are new areas to you, I can 100% guarantee you, you will want to hire a designer.
Those plants look adorably cute at the garden center. Until they sprout up like teenagers and take over your entire home. Then you will hear these words echo through your mind, ‘I should have hired a designer’!
Save time. Save money. Save your sanity!
