"Art" vs. "Design"

As my first post to this blog, I thought it would be good to start off with an often controversial subject... that being the real difference between Art and Design, or rather, what it means to be an artist compared to what it means to be a designer.

photo credit: jessekunze.com

As I know it, a designer generally is someone who creates their work based from trends (marketing) or attempts to convey a clear message to its viewer. Designers are often limited, restricted to a certain look, feel, approach to what the ultimate message is. Artists, on the other hand, are able to produce art with no bounds, no restrictions, complete freedom - a real "blank canvas".. literally. Artists aren't necessarily creating a piece of work based on how the audience/viewer will respond, but rather based on self expression and unique exploration.

Personally, I find being an artist, producing pieces with absolutely no reference, nothing to compare to or pull ideas from... that is much more difficult than throwing on my designer hat and putting something together last minute for a client who by the way (most of the time) already has a basic concept of what they are expecting. And yes, there are many designers who are also artists and vise versa.. but I think its important to realize the delineation between the two.

On the AIGA website you can find a very good article by Craig Elimeliah on the subject of Art vs. Design... a recommended read. I agree with Craig when he mentions near the end of the article that designers should aspire to put themselves in situations where they have absolute freedom to create anything, as they feel inspired.. releasing themselves from the bounds of design.  Not that design doesn't have its place.. there is something comforting (and still very creative of a process), reassuring about being able to find something you like, perhaps it be complex and hard to replicate, and reproducing it in your own way.. making it your own unique experience.

I'm not saying art is more important than design, especially when it comes to how it is applied in the "real world", in our daily lives as consumers. Personally, I feel being a "true" artist is more difficult and often seemingly impossible since there really is no such thing as originality anymore.. its all been done before in some small way or another. One could even argue there is no such thing as a modern day artist, that we all are designers... save the extreme, chaotic and seemingly desperate artists who are struggling to find new forms of expressing their art.. even if its by means of drastic or intentionally bizarre methods. Of course what was once bizarre or grotesque is now trendy and the accepted norm. Perhaps in time we would learn to accept the change as we have in the past?