Art vs Design – Difference and Comparison

What is Art?

Art is a skill that shows one’s imagination in various forms like visuals, scriptures, etc. Art doesn’t have a decided purpose, it comes from within. It serves as a universal language for expressing ones thoughts on various issues be it social,  political, or cultural. It connects people with each other.

Art is considered a therapeutic measure for maintaining one’s emotional well-being and mental health. Being consistent in any type of Art helps us to create discipline in our life.

Art is a form of self-expression, It allows oneself to be creative in his or her way, it helps in adding value in others’ life. Art has many forms like fine arts which consist of painting drawing sculpting Performing arts which consist of dancing music or drama. It is pervasive and is present in all of us.

What is Design?

Design is a plan used for the creation of any object be it a building, home, vehicle, or clothes. It helps in acquiring solutions for the user’s problem. In a layman’s sense, It is a plan to do something purposeful. It has to be performed with utter precession and knowledge. Innovative skills and creative thinking are required for creating any design.

For being a designer, one needs to acquire an adequate amount of Knowledge and Skills.

Design is not just limited to the concept of Art, It also includes the concepts of Science. It takes the creation aspect of Art and Problem-solving aspect of science.

A designer can convey his thoughts about a design project by his creation, he can show his creativity which is the part of Art, but that’s not the sole purpose of the project, he needs to address the need and its solution too which is a part of science.

Design is used in various fields like in computer and gaming sector, for creating games and virtual programs, in the automobile sector; for creating the designs of cars and motors. In the textile sector for creating a design for clothes and so on.

Difference Between Art and Design

  1. Art doesn’t always need to be understood by the viewer, It has varied meanings based on a person’s experience and emotions whereas design needs to be understood for a better understanding of the problem.
  2. Art is used to generate curiosity in the mind of the user. It sparks questions sometimes without answers. While Design is used to find the solution for the given problem.
  3. Art is a talent which is in person by birth, it can be refined but cannot be created or acquired by certain qualifications. Whilst, a design is a skill which needs to be acquired by certain qualifications and knowledge.
  4. Art is a free-flowing and flexible process it doesn’t have procedures and rules, whereas design needs specific procedures, Design projects are planned before designed,
  5. Art has meaning but it seldom requires any purpose, while design always has a purpose or use.

Comparison Between Art and Design

Parameters of ComparisonArtDesign
PurposeArt doesn’t always need a purpose.
It is used to intrigue the mind of the viewer.
Design always has a purpose. It is used for providing a solution for the client‘s problem.
Internal/External ConstraintsArt has internal constraints, i.e. it comes from within. It is not user-oriented.The design has external constraints, i.e. it is made according to the data and the given problem of the user. It is much user-oriented.
Created ForArt is created for artists. The purpose of creating an art is to convey emotions and provoke thoughts about any prevailing issue be it individual social or political.Design is created for clients or users. The purpose of creating a design is to take the problem and find a solution for it by applying creativity and knowledge.
QualificationArt doesn’t involve high degree of  qualification or knowledgeDesign requires qualification and adequate knowledge.
Flexibility in task. Artist doesn’t have to follow a specific set of rules and procedures. They can follow any procedure whichever they like.For solving any problem, the Designer has to follow a set of rules and procedures which differs from user to user.
Emotional/ Practical ContextArt has an emotional contextDesign has practical context

References

  1. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9781501721182/html
  2. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-92966-6_6