Professional Landscape Design Extra: Designer’s Block Remedies

Experiencing a “block” is common for almost any professional in a creative field. Jim Lesti, senior landscape architect for Scapes, Marietta, Ga., avoids artistic ruts by taking pictures everywhere he goes – around Atlanta and around the world. A trip to Italy was particularly inspiring. “It just really opened up my mind,” he says. “The spaces are so urban – a lot of paving on overwhelmingly large scales. It makes you step back and be a little more simplistic.”

Lesti photographs anything that interests him, including different types of pavers or stones and unique architectural elements like columns, trellises or arbors. “If I’m ever stumped on a design, I’ll go back and look through my file of photos.” Plenty of pictures and frequent walks through nurseries ensure his plant specifications remain fresh, too.

Brainstorming is also commonplace at Scapes, which employs a 12-member design team. “Sometimes you get a unique result bouncing ideas off people and blending ideas. Sometimes the client doesn’t really know what they want, so you can give them two very different options.”