Design

Art or Design?... Is a questioned asked and has sparked numerous debates. In my mind art is more inspiration based one of a kind projects while design maybe inspired by art but is created to solve a problem. A chair for example made by an artist would be this crazy off kilter object that is or is not functional and can not be reproduced easily. But a chair made by a designer has a function and is always made to be reproduced whether it is 5 or 100,000. Although a designer may take inspiration from an artist's work, I would not consider it art. Art is also more sensual and more emotional way of creating things, while designs want to have some sort of a relationship with you. You can have a favorite chair or plate you like to use at dinner. Art in my opinion does not cause me to relate to it but feel an emotion or sensation about it.

But what happens when a Designer creates art? Well in that case it’s an expression, a brief expression or spur of the moment object. Something they just need to get out of their system and just make. Every person in life acts out of character sometimes. And this is what happens to designers. Personally being in the industrial design field, I do miss fine art sometimes. I may not be very good at painting or sculpture but I do get a craving to pick up a brush or clay once in a while. And when I do I do not call anything I create a design, it is art. As a designer I can not really say if an artist has this same impulse or if the just create to create.

Then it brings up the question, which came first Art or Design? Did the first people problem solve for a task or did they draw on the ground in the dirt? There is no way of truly knowing all we have is opinions and feelings, which everyone is entitled to. And many people seem to forget this. I guess this old debate will go on forever and there is no true answer.