You will work with a real designer, someone who cares about landscapes, gardens, and outdoor living. Some of the behind-the-scenes work (3D renderings, for example) may be outsourced but the actual design is not.
Your designer is expected to produce A LOT of designs. This is made obvious in job listings, but it also can be assumed from the business model. How do you offer designs at a lower-than-average price point and still make enough to pay your designer, all the people behind the scenes, advertising, and the Landscape Architects (who most likely no longer design on a daily basis) who founded the firm? Volume. In one interview a founder of one online design service said that, in the early days of starting her firm, she was personally completing around 20 designs a month.
The process is really slick. Online design firms are run well and will take you through the process with as little friction as possible. For this reason, many who hire them (according to one founder) are people who are intimidated by the idea of working with a local designer. If that’s you, online design could be a great solution.
Because of the focus on volume and “ease”, it is not likely you will be pushed to consider design concepts that may be different than what you were already envisioning. You will probably get a design that looks like what is already on Instagram, not what will be on Instagram. If you already know what you want, but just need someone to put it on paper, then this could be a great thing. But if you actually want design, it is not ideal.
If your home is a new build and/or you basically have a blank slate then pictures should be able to convey accurately your site conditions. A designer can do a simple design for a simple space with very little information. If that is what you want and what you have then remote design is probably the quickest and cheapest way to get there.
Virtual landscape design for mature gardens, large properties, and yards with even gentle grade changes can be really difficult. This is the reason I quit doing remote design. I can’t deliver a great design that can actually be installed as designed without walking the actual site. Are there designers and Landscape Architects out there that can do that better than me? Sure. But if you have a site that is in any way interesting or challenging, hire someone who can walk it with you.
Some online design services can connect you with a contractor or help you purchase plants. Eventually they may also be able to help you with maintenance. Finding someone to install the design is a big step so this could be a huge help and time saver.
Using their recommended contractors may not save you money though. The reason we didn’t join one remote design service’s recommended contractor list is because they wanted 7% added onto every project for them. Is a referral to a lightly (based on my experience) vetted contractor worth that markup to you? To be fair, this is a common practice in the design world. Some landscape designers (and landscape designer’s associations) are very against this, but many are not. However, when a local designer has their preferred contractor add a percentage on for them, the designer will usually then be actively involved in the project and so the homeowner gets tangible benefit from the markup- even if it’s never disclosed to them.
