The question ‘…but is it art?’ has become something of an inside joke in many art communities, as people try to track down the elusive line where a piece of work steps into artistic territory. While debate rages on topics such as postmodern art, today we’re looking at another hotly debated side of the creative world: design.
What is Design?
A design work must be, above all else, for a specific purpose or goal. The design of a TV ad must clearly communicate information as well as catch the eye, and the design of a car must not only be visually appealing be also incorporate technical features. Design can also range from large scale, like the examples above, to smaller examples that fall under microdesign.
One industry in which design has specific importance is the entertainment industries, particularly in the world of online games. For example, online casino sites have to ensure that every aspect of a game from the buttons, to the animations, is carefully controlled for maximum effect. Part of the reason that people play online slots for real money so commonly these days, is that great efforts are taken to ensure maximum user experience for each game through specifically chosen and unique design features. This shows the importance of design within entertainment industries, whilst also ensuring games are eye-catching and exciting.
Artistic Design Examples
Many argue that, because of its functional nature, design lacks the pure expression associated with art. However, there are plenty of examples where designers have clearly gone above and beyond to produce creative and exciting design.
Take, for example, the now-famous example of the advertising for the TV show Dracula from the BBC in England. By day, a billboard for the TV show just had the show title and a number of wooden ‘stakes’ pushed through it. However, at night the lighting configuration gave those same stakes a vampiric shadow, cementing the image of Dracula in the mind of the viewer and drawing extensive media attention to the artistic design of the billboard.
Alternatively, look at the website for New Zealand company Resn, constantly updating their homepage with bizarre but undoubtedly eye-catching design features.
Finding a Line
Ultimately, people are going to draw their own lines on the separation of art and design, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that the two cannot ever be entirely divided. As shown by the Dracula and Resn examples above, creative and artistic expression are core parts of design, even if they are not purely for expression’s sake.
