Different privacy fence designs do more than just change the look of a privacy fence. The design you choose can also affect the performance. Here are a few privacy fence designs, and some of their benefits.

A stockade privacy fence offers the most complete privacy solution, especially if installed in heights exceeding six feet tall. A stockade fence contains vertical slats with no gaps between them.  Sound and wind are both deadened by this design.

A picket privacy fence is similar to a stockade design, but the slats have a certain amount of gapping between them. The size of the gap will affect how much people will see when peering through the fence, and how much wind and sound will get through.

A shadowbox privacy fence, also knows as board-on-board, also contains vertical slats. The difference is that every other slat is attached to the opposite side of the fence. These alternating slats have no horizontal offset between them, but the rails running through the center of the fencing does cause gaps between the slats. If you stand at a sharp angle to the fence, you can see through these gaps, but only marginally. This style allows more sound and some wind to pass through, but still provides a high degree of privacy from spying eyes.

A lattice privacy fence consists of diagonal slats that cross over one another. In the case of chain link privacy fence, these can be fairly tight, working as a wind break and to keep people from looking in your yard.  Made from other materials, such as wood, there might be more gaps between the slats, and therefore might not afford quite as much privacy.

Other things to consider as well is the decorative effects added to a fence, usually along the top. These choices do not affect the performance of the fence, and are strictly for visual appeal.

Vertical privacy fence slats can be dog-eared. Very simple, this means that the top corners of each slat are cut at an angle, giving them the appearance of a dog's ear.

A scalloped or concave privacy fence design has a downward curve between each support post. This give a simple, wave-like appearance between the fence posts.

On the other hand, a halfmoon or convex privacy fence has an upward curve between the fence posts. These look more like rolling hills.

Another common option is to include a lattice fence along the top of another fence design. This provides the visual appeal and interest of lattice, without sacrificing the privacy offered by stockade or shadowbox designs.

Of course, for a more utilitarian look, you can simply keep the top of the fence flat and straight.

So there you have it, many options for privacy fence designs. Combine the ones that work for the particular look you want to achieve and level of privacy you desire.