Is Art different from Design? Find the answer here.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ART as - the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects. For example; the art of painting landscapes.

Cambridge Dictionary defines DESIGN as - a drawing or set of drawings showing how a building or product is to be made and how it will work and look.

Generally, the concept of what art and design are is a thing of much controversy and even at times, arriving at a conclusion about the topic isn't easy. The fact is that, art and design are related or have things in common that make it difficult to identify or state a clear difference between the two. However, there are some unique features or characteristics that distinguish the two.

Read this post to the end to uncover some insights into some differences there are between art and design.

Art and Design - The Differences

Many times these two words are used as if they mean the same thing and in some cases, the difference isn't far-fetched but in certain instances too it is very hard to state. 

• Art falls within these parts of speech: Nouns and verbs.
• The Design falls within these parts of speech: Verb and noun

Art	Design
1)Subjective	Objective
2)Emotional	Functional
3)Aesthetic	Goes through a process
4)Not technology dependent	Supported by technology

 1) Subjectivity and objectivity

The subjective nature of art means that the feelings, thoughts and ideas of the artist form the ultimate composition of the product. A painting for instance is a very subjective work in that it can be abstract, realistic or decorative. No matter how it is done, the artist has a meaning for it that a viewer might not understand unless appreciation of the work is done for understanding.

For design, the designer creates with an objective, purpose, or reason in mind to be accomplished. Design in this case a noun, can refer to a lot of things from architecture, packaging, graphic design, and engineering to other areas. Cars have the basic purpose of transporting goods and people from one location to another and this is the objective or rationale for creating the car. This particular notion informs the car size, and seater capacity among other features.

2) Art forms like painting, sculpture, music, dance etc are emotion-centered or steered in that the emotion of the artist determines the outcome and art forms also create particular emotions in the minds of the target of these works.

Design, on the other hand, is function-oriented. In fact, every component of a design work or piece has a function to perform. This being said design has art in it because the two are not so distinct from each other. E.g There are more than 1.9 billion servings of coca-cola drinks each day in more than 200 countries.

Advertising plays a huge role in this sales volume and it must be said that the emotional impact of art is part of the ads to actually be able to convince users to buy the product.

3) Aesthetics which is normally referred to as the art of beauty is a very integral part of certain artworks. Unlike art, design is more geared towards achieving a purpose than offering an aesthetic appeal.

4) Design is technology-enabled whereas, with art, its production is not really affected by technology use. Considering the production of packages, and furniture among the many other products of design, technology enablement makes it easier to do mass production and increase production speed. This also means that more quality work is produced within a very short time.