Designers Are Not Artists

Miscellaneous December 29, 2007

Designers are not artists. Most people confuse art with design, but there's a difference. Designers have artistic talent, but they are not required to be experts in graphics, typography, colors, etc.

The job of the designer is multi-faceted. Most importantly, it's to understand artistic elements and put them together to make something interesting. Designers have the concept, the idea inside their heads. Their goal is to express it to others, mapping out layouts, describing the vision, innovating.

Think of a few design professions out there. Interior designers do not craft the tiles, blinds, furniture, fabric, etc. Rather, they research and understand the various material types and figure out all the different ways they can come together to produce nice interior decor. Fashion experts don't necessarily make clothes, though they have an understanding of what items go together to make a decent outfit.

Artists express themselves but designers do the opposite. There's an element of psychology that comes into play because designers have to understand people and create things not for themselves but for the world to use. Designers can also do something that some artists can't: communicate ideas with all kinds of people, those who interact with the product and those who make it come alive.

While design is not art, design is AN art. It's an art of communication. It's about combining various skill sets to communicate a message to an audience. And while both artists and designers can make a statement through their work, the difference is this: artists create for themselves and designers create for others.

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