Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer Reviewer's Comments
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Earning our “TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award” this year is Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer 8.0, by Chief Architect. Much like its home design counterpart, this product ranked 3rd for its visual aesthetics, user-friendliness, and detailed documentation.
Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer Screenshots. Click to Enlarge
Ease of Use:
There isn’t landscape design software that doesn’t require you to invest some time getting familiar with the program. Landscaping software in general is complex, but Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer didn’t require more than a few minutes to give our ideas form. The graphic buttons are indicative of their functions, and the overall interface isn’t as cluttered as some landscape design software.
Finding the professionally designed landscape plans could’ve been a bit easier, but once we did, the possibilities seemed endless. It really helps to see just what can be accomplished with a program when you’re starting out.
Features & Tools:
Landscaping and Deck Designer doesn’t have quite as many library objects as the higher-ranked programs, but there are still plenty of trees, trellises, and tulips to add to your landscape. If you’re unsure of what types of plants to add to your landscape, consult the hardiness zone map. You can also double-click any plant on your terrain to see all relevant information, including hardiness info and soil and watering needs.
Pretty much any tool you need is readily visible at the top of the screen in the form of small buttons. Deck, terrain, water features, sprinkler system, and roads are just a few of these tools, and using them is easy enough.
There’s also a professional design gallery that gives great ideas and in-depth analyses of some beautiful landscapes.
Support & Documentation:
Landscaping and Deck Designer is another great example of how to properly document and support a product. Better Homes and Gardens made a wise choice in Chief Architect, as their manuals, help, and video tutorials are superb. We also liked how their technical support phone number, hours, and email addresses were clearly printed in the manual and easy to find.
Summary:
Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer 8.0 is a great product for the average home user, and even for a landscaping pro that wants to give prospective customers visual form to their ideas with aerial and walkthrough videos. We would have ranked it higher if it were as tool rich as Punch’s Landscape, Deck, & Patio Designer, or as groundbreakingly easy as Idea Spectrum’s Realtime Landscaping Plus.
©2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc.
