Art vs Design

 

In my opinion, despite all the various disagreements and quarrels on the principles of design and art, what it comes down to is that the exact definition of  ‘art’ versus ‘design’ is subjective, and varies according to a person’s beliefs. Though, with respect to the material that we have been studying in class- it seems that the main difference is that ‘art’ is created with the intent of having a set fourth audience look at it and having it stimulate their intellect and imagination. Design, on the other hand, is created with the intent that it will serve a mechanical purpose—relating back to our project, “lead someone to a point.”

 

The juxtaposition that is design and art is not one that embodies great differences. At first, the concept can be hard to grasp because the two words are almost used synonymously.

 

As stated in Norman Potter’s article, a designer can even sometimes be the one in charge of an artist. “The designer usually has the further responsibility of supervising the work” (Norman Potter, is a Designer an Artist?).

 

One thing that is important to note from Potter’s article is that he states “It may indeed be necessary to the designer to make loving, scrupulous and over-adequate drawings for his own self-satisfaction and to preserve his own standards. Only in this sense are design drawings ‘self-expression.’” Artists are always defined as being expressive, either with self-thoughts, or other’s thoughts. If a designer, by definition, is not allowed to embody ‘self expression,’ than indeed, an artist is different from a designer.

 

In short, the artist has the freedom of mind and hand to get an idea across, whereas the designer has the freedom of hand to mold somebody’s mind into understanding a given idea.