Art and design are words which are often used interchangeably. Can you call a piece of graphic design a work of art? Can you say that a piece of art was made with a particular design in mind? So are they similar and can we consider them to be synonyms? No, they are worlds apart and their differences can be seen from a variety of angles.

The difference between art and design stems from the basic angle of purpose. The creator of a piece of art and the man who designs something, have totally different purposes in mind although they may look similar. Actually you cannot even say that an artist has a purpose in creating the art because he is motivated by an emotion to express himself in something he finds profound satisfaction. So the purpose of art is art itself, and you cannot have any other motive to it. The work of design is undertaken with a definite end in mind. A particular end motivates the designer to create his piece of work. Art is considered more profound, as the artist wants to lose himself in his creation, whereas the designer holds himself apart, to see that his work has reached the objective for which it was meant.

Art is the result of inspiration, whereas a person designs something when he is motivated to achieve a particular end. Inspiration comes when the artist is moved by something he sees or hears and wants to capture that in his work. The blowing of the wind and the sound of a bird can inspire an artist to create an extraordinary piece of music. A designer already has an end in view and the motivation for him is only to achieve that end through his design. For example, a person wanting to sell a product will be motivated to design a sales letter in order to solicit a sale.

We just saw the difference between art and design from the point of view of their creators and now let us see how they differ from the viewer’s angle. Art evokes a sense of beauty and awe in the viewer, and can have different reactions in different people. A painting of an old person for example can invoke a sense of impermanency of life in one viewer, while another might appreciate the wisdom in the features brought out by the artist. The artist on the other hand had no intention of evoking anything and he created the art because he saw beauty in it and just wanted to express himself. While on the other hand if the reaction to a design is not exactly as what was planned by the designer than it is considered to be a failure. For example a sales letter is designed to evoke an action of buying from the reader and if it does not achieve that it has failed. Art in that sense is not utilitarian, as it is open to any response from its viewer, whereas, a designer creates something hoping to get a specific response from the viewer.

This brings us to the point of differentiating art and design from the angle of judgment. How does a viewer pass judgment over a piece of art and design? Judging a piece of art depends on the taste of the viewer, whereas a design is simply considered good or bad depending on the result it achieves. A piece of modern art can make no sense to a person who does not have a taste for it, and might find the work repulsive, whereas a person who appreciates modern art might find the same piece, a work of beauty. Critique of art can take many forms and will depend on the varying taste of the viewers, whereas a design is solely judged on the basis of the result that it obtains. If we again take the example of the sales letter, if there is consistent buying from people who read the letter then the letter’s design is judged to be good, otherwise it is just considered bad.

So what differentiates a good artist and a good designer? We say that a good artist is talented, whereas a good designer is skilled in what he does. A person can either be talented to be an artist or not, whereas a person can develop skills to become a good designer. An artist can enhance his talents by working on different topics, but basically he should have the talent to start with. A designer can learn the craft from the very basics and develop his skills through experience and does not need any talent to start. Designing can be learnt but art can only be enhanced.

A piece of art is subject to interpretation while a design has to be understood exactly as it was meant to be. For example looking at a painting will invoke different interpretations from different people as what the artist is trying to convey through his work. In fact many a time an artist is not trying to convey anything but only trying to capture something which he envisions. For example the artist might be trying to capture the frailty in an old face, in his painting but might get interpreted as wisdom by some, whereas the sales letter can only be understood as just that.

In certain instances art and design seem to converge and is very difficult to distinguish them. If we take the field of architecture and see some of the old structures it is difficult to see where design stops and art begins. Of course the design part is the plan in holding up the structure, but that in itself, has been rendered so beautifully that it can be considered to be a perfect blend of art and design. You cannot pinpoint and say whether the artist was inspired to design the structure or the designer in a bout of inspiration came up with the design of the building. But basically you can still differentiate between art and design from the points already discussed.