8 Landscape Design Principles You Should Know About

Landscape design is at the forefront of sustainability and environmentalism and can be beneficial for both personal and professional reasons. However, not all landscape designers are aware of the principles below or how to incorporate these fundamental design principles into their work. Often, landscape design products and projects lack a strong foundation. As a result, the outcome is uninspired, boring, and oftentimes limiting in creativity. The following principles are essential to good design and serve as a guide for all designers to follow when creating landscapes.

Prioritize: This principle helps establish the most important aspects of a project in order to organize it appropriately. Consideration should be given to the placement of features throughout the landscape as well as their function in relation to one another. Emphasis is placed on purposeful components that are visually appealing and functional.

Optimize: This principle refers to organizing layout patterns such as pathways and hardscapes into efficient uses of space. This is also referred to as ‘right-first-time’, meaning that it is best to begin with the design element you wish to create and then add elements in order of priority. Attention often goes to the first few elements that are placed in the landscape and can disrupt the organized pattern of a landscape. These first few elements can be very minimal, but should be considered when properly placed.

Balance: This principle refers to creating harmony between materials, or function, within the landscape. Begin by identifying how two or more different materials or purposes within your landscape will interact at first glance. For example, consider strategically placing hardscapes alongside softscapes or using hardscapes as a contrasting form compared to softscapes. By considering placement of hardscapes, this principle helps to maintain proper balance between materials and also allows for a much clearer visual message.

Pattern: Pattern refers to using repeated elements in the landscape. The repetition of elements on the landscape can be a stimulating feature that provides motion and movement within the landscape. However, there are times when repetition should be avoided as it can become overwhelming and disrupts the flow of the design.

Readability: This refers to creating legible designs that include information such as street names, places, and landmarks. These elements help create emphasis on important details throughout the project which is useful for increasing communication and awareness of your project within its surroundings.

Scale: Scale refers to the size of elements within your landscape. This principle is important to understand when considering scale on larger and smaller scales. For instance, a small scale home may be surrounded by large rocks and boulders and will be limited compared to a large scale home that could include water features with much larger rocks.

Symmetry: Symmetry refers to creating balance through repeating similar configurations throughout the entirety of the landscape. While this principle can be visually appealing, it may lack the excitement that asymmetrical design provides which can create movement for greater interest.

Asymmetry: Asymmetrical design refers to creating balance through repetitive configurations throughout the entirety of the landscape but in an irregular pattern or sequence throughout your design.

Conclusion

When incorporating the landscape design principles above into your project, consider how they will interact with one another and how they will play a part in producing a successful landscape design. These principles are not meant to limit creativity; rather, they help produce more interesting and visually pleasing landscapes that help enhance personal and professional opportunities. These principles are essential to creating inspired landscapes that may help encourage clients, colleagues, or friends to become inspired themselves!