There are many tremendous benefits to working with a designer. Each designer has their own process and experiences that they draw from to steer your project. If you have worked with multiple designers before you know firsthand that there are a lot of similarities in the process whether you are working with a landscape designer/architect, an interior designer, an architect, or even a graphic designer. If you have not worked with a designer before here are some tips to get the best results.
Be prepared to answer a lot of questions.
The more your designer knows about you, your lifestyle, and your personality the better they can mold the design into something that perfectly suits you. Kismet Design has a detailed questionnaire to get the design process started that helps us get to know you before we even meet in person. The better we get to know you the more informed and prepared we will be to give you a design that fits you.
Your input will be the driving force of the entire design.
We ask a lot of questions before getting started with the design but the more thoroughly you can answer the questions the more informative it will be. Don’t be afraid to completely brain dump random ideas, a good designer will be able to sort through it just fine. Getting your feelings on what you have, what you want, and what you don’t want will all help inform the design.
It is ok if you don’t have your mind made up,
being open about indecision on something will be a good indicator to your designer that you need to see some options showing multiple possibilities to make up your mind.
Trust.
In the design process trust is sooooo important- I really should have listed it first! You have made the decision to hire a professional, you need to trust them to do what you have hired them for. Your designer will use the information you have provided, their industry knowledge, their past experiences, and research they conduct for your project specifically to formulate the best design for you and your space. Trusting in your designer will give them the creative freedom they need to create something fabulous for you.
Be prepared to make decisions.
You may not have a clue what the final outcome will look like at the beginning of the process but as the design develops there will be many decisions your designer will ask you to make. There will be decisions to be made regarding layout options, materials, budget, scope, etc. that your designer can present to you but at the end of the day you have to live in the space and you need to love it. Being able to decide what you want when presented with options and educated about the options is important. However, keep in mind that you don’t have to know how it will be accomplished – that is up to your designer.
Make sure they know your budget.
Landscaping can be expensive and there are many ways to value engineer a design to conform to a budget that you are comfortable with but within reason. Having the budget conversation up front will ensure that your designer doesn’t lead you to love something you cannot afford or keep them from holding back ideas that may be exactly what you are looking for. Your designer can also evaluate your budget and tell you if it is reasonable given the scope of the project to make sure that the process is enjoyable from start to finish. We strive to give every client a design that maximizes the value of their landscape for the best price possible by catering the design layout and materials to best suit the site and budget.
Now that you are prepared for the design process, are you ready to get started? Start here by filling out our questionnaire to help us get to know you!
