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Bill, I agree that in the wrong hands, photo imaging could be a dangerous (and litigious) weapon. I've always said that someone with no real plant knowledge could produce a photo design that may look good but is fictional. You could size down plants and stuff them into a small spot or add plants that are not hardy and some unsuspecting customer might say, "Ooh, that looks pretty."
But to that I say, that's their fault for hiring a con artist.
In the same vein, I guess some novice in retaining walls could produce a authentic looking detailed schematic that showed wall heights and grades etc. but, oops, left out the reinforcement grid. And the same unknowing customer might say, "Ooh, that drawing looks professional." They may end up in court as well.
When I do a design I know what plants go where and what's hardy. I usually do a design so the plants are shown at a stage that depicts them 2-3 years from installation and I tell the customer that. And I use reference points when I'm placing a walk or wall in. It's really a simple process and quick. I've probably done over 150 design and installs with the process and never one complaint that the design was misleading.
I will admit that alot of my preference for the photo imaging designs is that I find it so much quicker, which is quite important come spring time when the avalanche of work hits (as well as having 2 kids in Little League). I can show up at a prospective clients house, take a few pictures and a few key measurements and go do the the design when it fits my schedule. And when I do the design I don't have to draw in the existing house, drive, elevations, trees etc. it's already there. I've created a seperate library of specific plants we generally use, along with examples of our own stone walls, steps, walks and boulders, so I simply plug them in and reshape and size them and I'm done. I then email the photo design to the customer to see if it's what they envisioned, if yes I email the estimate or if not, I make changes. It's shaved hours off my previous estimating/design process.
It's also aided my creativity during the design process because often as I'm adding, let's say, one type of plant I see it next to another in the design and I realize a third type would create a nice combination. Or that a small water feature can be worked into a grouping of boulders etc. etc. I don't know if I would get the same inspiration staring at a bunch of squiggly icons or lines.
Of course, for some a design might just come to them all at once in an epiphemy as they stare at the bare dirt in front of a house and there is no need for any alterations. Lucky them. Unfortunately, my designs come out of an evolutionary process of adding and removing. The DesignWare helps me do that.
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