Or in other words what’s the value of design in a landscape? ? I’ve touched on this previously but was brought back to this subject while attending a DIAQ session the other night. The topic for discussion was ‘pitching and undercutting’ , something that has become more and more prevalent across all design industries. The reason for this is primarily due to the rise of inexpensive online design resources such as 99Designs, Elance etc coupled with everyone everywhere looking for ways to make projects happen for less. And when looking to cut costs it seems design is an easy target.

However designers (include this landscape designer) haven’t helped their cause by focusing on what we value in design rather than looking at what benefits it brings to our clients that they care about. From a design perspective we might focus on the aesthetics (‘ it will look freaking awesome!’) and  ergonomics (‘you’ll love being in this space’). And while I know I’m right these are very subjective, nebulous points of view and often don’t register with clients who have other concerns. So with that in mind lets focus on bottom line, nuts and bolts benefits to good design.

1)Avoid cost blowouts. If you haven’t got a plan then how do you know when its finished and what it will end up costing? In my experience clients who stop the design/documentation process early are far more likely to end up going way beyond their stated budget then those that don’t.

2)Avoid regrets. Spend the time and effort determining solutions to your lifestyle now or be prepared to live with those mistakes. Again I’ve seen it many times having visited projects where the design process was cut short  to save money.

3)Value for money. Clients might look to save some dollars by cutting short the design process and then go on to spend a lot more on elements that you know long term won’t be a good fit. Or they’ll decline your offer to source a good contractor for the sake of finding their own which is scary to watch.

So what’s the value of a good idea, I’d say it’s the avoidance of regret.