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---
title: The Difference Between Art and Design
description: The subtle differences between art and design and their impact on society.
date: 2012-08-19 00:00:00
category: writing
layout: post
---
As I was skimming [a list of observations on art versus design][list], I was struck by one entry in particular:
> Genuinely honest art is created without the market in mind — you are simply creating. Design is created with the market in mind — and the medium does not matter. If you’re a musician or painter, and purposefully crafting your work in order to sell, you’ve become a designer.
This particular explanation, unlike some, seems to be quite specific and leave no question as to which category a given work falls under. (There are several other excellent quotes on the list; I highly recommend reading it through.)
This particular line, though, made me wonder why we still call some things _art_. Immediately, the music industry popped into my mind. There are certainly many musicians who are truly artists, but they aren’t the ones that get rich off their music. The people who get rich off their music, more often than not, are simply writing songs (and if you’re lucky, they’ll be the ones actually writing them) about things that people will buy. These so-called “artists” slave away in recording studios, repeating each line over and over until its delivery is approved by the marketing team. Hollywood faces the same situation. This commercialization of art is not in fact art at all, but design. Hearing popular musicians revered as “artists” always sounded a little wonky to me.
There several other entries on the list comparing the subjectivity of art to the objectivity of design. This is another of the fundamental differences. As one quote states, in art, “red” can never be _wrong_, while in design, “red” _can_ be wrong and specific reasons for its being so can be enumerated.
This is not all to say that art is pure and design is evil. They are similar expressions with different intentions. As a designer, I find fascination in poring over every detail of a project and making sure it is perfect. I like to build things, then tear them apart and make them better. Reason must be applied to the creative process. If something won’t make sense to the user, it can’t be part of the project. Design is the implementation of subconscious communication.
Based upon all I’ve discussed and read about the differences between art and design, here is a short list of my distillation:
* Art makes you think; design makes you do.
* Design is making things simple, while art is making them complex.
* Art can’t be wrong, but design can.
* Design is creating the world; art is interpreting it.
* Design is consistent; art is spontaneous.
* Art is for the artist; design is for the user.
[list]: http://reinholdweber.com/2012/04/11/random-observations-about-art-vs-design/
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