Your design package, that is. Planning and building the landscape around your home poses a range of complex problems. Finding the right creative person to help you design and build your outdoor spaces is a real challenge. Choosing among different planning packages can be a difficult task and - in a perfect world, homeowner's shop for a landscape designer that they 'click' with. Professional designers need to have a grasp on a myriad of details, and a good knowledge of plant materials, hardscape elements, drainage and the choreography of construction. The right person will know costs and special plant varietals, availability and how to maximize value. A thorough and creative designer also gathers materials to make a great presentation for the client.
Presentations range in method and quality almost as much as the plant materials that can be presented. Your presentation may be more than a plan. Designers may or may not include catalogs, estimates and samples as part of a design agreement. Some designers are prompt, others can take months to finish – if they ever do. It's a minefield for consumers that offers a distinct opportunity for designers that are focused on what needs to be done. These days, resources are at your fingertips. Clients can review designers and contractors alike from online reviews and licensing records. Landscape designers, in turn - can get creative with what they offer clients, from drawings and plans, to estimates, catalogs, samples and continued consulting. In this competitive market, what clients are offered and how the work is presented will say a lot about how the final work is executed and managed.
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Homeowners looking for planning services might talk to a "designer" that hops out of the back of a truck and slaps out a free sketch on the back of a napkin or they might make an appointment with a 'cape & beret' designer that presents a lot of lofty concepts with paint and pastels at $150 an hour. Which is the better way to go? Well, neither - really. Some clients will invest an excessive amount and just get a relatively worthless and inaccurate watercolor painting or conversely, a complex plan set that in the end displays a project that is woefully over budget. A skilled and experienced designer might present a simple free sketch idea and follow up with detailed estimates and careful project management. As a potential client shopping for design services, it is difficult for you to parse through all of the options and select the best route to your finished project. The fact is, a skilled designer might be able to build an award-winning outdoor environment simply by pointing and guessing. Another designer can also meticulously cross all the T's - to build a project that ends up over budget and still under-performs. In the end, there is no "rule" about the right creative process. Potential clients need a place to hang their hat however. They must make careful choices and start on a process that is creative, methodical and most importantly, on-budget. That's why I recommend that my potential clients hire, (in order): me, but if they must shop around (sigh) - then I suggest members of APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers), or residential ASLA designers (American Society of landscape Architects) and finally, state landscape association contractors such as WALP (Washington Association of Landscape Professionals). We are members of all of these organizations.
As you do your research, you will of course be curious about your design investment. I had a fun opportunity to present a seminar about project budgeting to a professional landscape design association a while back and no single issue raised as much of a ruckus as the segment about design fees. I have a firm opinion about it, let's just say, as I do suspect that many designers are charging too high an hourly rate - while conversely keeping overall fees at a certain competitive level. This gives clients the wrong impression on two levels – first, that the hourly fee is artificially high and secondly, that the design work can be done rather quickly. To this point, most landscape designers are not charging appropriately for travel, meetings, concept time, mapping or printing. Maybe I'm wrong about this, (some of my peers say so) - but methinks not. As a landscape architect and design/build contractor, I am in the unique position of preparing my own plans and bidding work for installation from other designers as well. As part of these kinds of efforts, I commonly discover how the other designers work is presented, look at what the client invested and discuss with the client they feel about the design investment and the overall process. Sometimes it's very professional and they are quite happy.
More often than not though, not so much.
Sure, homeowners seeking a design can reasonably be assured of a professional design from most APLD or ASLA members. But I would submit that, taken overall - the quality, pricing, timeframe and presentation of landscape design packages varies greatly. This variance in fees, delivery time and quality is an overarching problem that residential designers need to address. I would suggest that a designer's willingness to present an equitable fee arrangement and follow up with the ability to present a comprehensive design goes to the heart of any successful client-designer partnership. It also informs the thinking behind the ever-present national contractor/designer rift. But that's another story altogether. So let's sift through some possible landscape design packages...
"A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines." Frank Lloyd Wright
Types of designs: there are a wide variety of ways to present landscape design work, from sketches, to plans done in cad or by hand, as well as renderings, diagrams, elevations, axonometric views, sketch-up scenarios, digital images or even complex animations. In addition, designers might present their own portfolios, color boards, catalogs, samples, magazine clippings or digitally submit manufacturer links, Tumblr, Pinterest or One-note catalog pages. Here at The Outdoor Project Company, we typically meet hundreds of potential clients a year. In doing so, we will usually estimate first, so as to get a general list of elements and may present a design contract as part of an initial proposal, perhaps at one out of five meetings.
These plan packages vary as to investment level, but all will typically include:
1. The initial complimentary meeting. This is a plan presentation meeting, usually up to 2 hours with plan discussion, sometimes laptop estimating and always, a discussion of "what-if" scenarios. We will usually offer a catalog of plant and hardscape materials for you to keep and may also bring sample materials.
2. A cad-drawn and scaled plan that shows the entire property with existing botanicals and site features. The landscape plan should describe all of the design elements and include the company name, a title, scale, orientation, project notes and some general disclaimers.
3. On the plan above, a clear description of the new design is shown with plants listed or a plant pallet. In our case, though, with no notations of quantity or size. We do this because we want to refer specifics on an attached and flexible attached proposal. This proposal, at least the plant portion – may change after a followup nursery consultation.
4. A color, logo-stamped folder that contains the following:
a. Reduced 11x17 PDF's of the plan. (To show everybody at the office!)
b. An estimate / proposal to build the work as well as a 'phase one' on budget proposal if appropriate.
c. Some plant and/or manufacturer material catalogs.
5. In addition, and importantly - we offer a single followup revised and re-estimated plan and proposal that will be provided after you have a chance to review and comment later.
This requires a signature on a mutual design agreement, a 50% deposit - and will most closely describe what the client wants, we think. The process is predictable, creative and prompt. Creative ideas, pragmatic budgeting and real material choices, reflect site, topography, access issues, architectural integration and stated and implied uses. Most critically, the proposal for installation is turnkey and more often than not - within 10% of the initial estimate budget.
This is how we do it at The Outdoor Project Company. As I noted, other designers will do the design package differently.
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is." – Yogi Berra
Types of charges: Designers are all over the map regarding how they charge for their services.
The most common charges are based upon:
1. An hourly rate. This should have a contracted "not to exceed" number. If not, I recommend that clients not hire this way. If so, it should include a defined list of deliverables and duties that the designer will perform as well as a firm 'due-by' date. You don't want to have to pay more for a revision. This is what happens with an open hourly rate. In essence, you may be paying for a designer's error.
2. A lump sum. This may be derived from an estimated number of hours at an hourly rate and may also include materials, printing, mobilization and other anticipated expenses. This I think is the best investment. If it includes a revision as ours will, you are covered.
3. A "cost of construction - plus percentage". This to me is the least professional way to go, as it is usually open-ended and can greatly increase the designer for extra costs. I would suggest that potential clients run from a designer that suggests working this way.
Determining the design investment. So how does a client assess value and how then do you estimate the investment for design? There are several items to consider, from distance traveled, to complexity of the site, to all of the design elements, subcontracts and the all-important (and too often overlooked) issue of having magically sympatico client-designer personalities. Importantly – and in advance of noting to the potential client what we ask that a client invest for design, we tell potential clients that fees should not exceed 5-10% of the projects installed value. This gives the client a metric that their design investment should always stay within. Designers should always offer competitive value, cover two-way travel and at least one revision. Your designer should be creative, know plant and construction materials and be able to name contractors and sources. A successful designer will be timely, smart and do what they say they will do. Look for a thorough and well-written contract. Clients should expect a design agreement that indemnifies both parties appropriately, defines the scope of work, what the client is paying and what happens if the client does not pay in a timely manner or if the designer does not deliver as agreed. The designer should clearly define what is to be provided, as design packages can include plans, details, specifications, estimates and revisions. There may also be a provision for continuing project management as well. Designers need to know "who/what/when/where & how" items will be proposed before any meeting.
In the end, research who you'll be meeting, and prepare notes about what is desired and when it's needed. Ask a lot of questions. See our FAQ page.
