The creative industry has always been plagued by the question of how art is different from design. Are the two related to one another? Is art and design interchangeable?

Art is an expression of thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires. Art is personal to the artist, serving as a method of self-discovery following which the end product created is an ode to themselves and life through their eyes.

Many people create art to offer others the opportunity to view the world through a different perspective, and for many others, art is an extension of their personality.

Students of Fine Arts and Illustration at The One Academy (TOA) have time and time again produced art pieces that appeal not only to the eyes but also allow the viewer a glimpse of their personalities.

Art is a form of communication. Rather than through spoken or written words, art communicates thoughts, techniques, skills, feelings, emotions and more, in a language universally understood by many. This is also what sets art apart from design.

How design differs from art

Design is about progress. Where art is the process of transferring feelings onto a medium, design is the act of conceptualisation and the creation of new things.

There are many things that can be created through design which include ideas, information, interactions, books, posters, systems, services, solutions and more.

Designers are tasked with imagining and offering a solution to various problems we face in everyday life.

However, design does not always present itself as an answer. Sometimes, design helps bring ease and convenience into our lives.

Designers are also expected to research and think about the basis of their work and how their design will make the future better.

Multimedia and Graphic Design

Here students are given the freedom to research, plan and execute their designs, which gives them the opportunity to present their best efforts and create spectacular work.

It is also important to note that while art is almost always regarded in a creative sense, design exists in several different industries, some of which are not related to the creative field.

Simply put, where art focuses on the creator and the process that goes into creating art, design focuses on the user and how they will be benefit from this.

Interior Design

Firstly, good art sends a different message to everyone while good design sends the same message to everyone.

Art is created through the eyes of another. This means that when ten people look at one piece of art, chances are they will form ten different opinions of it. This is because different individuals have different interpretations of art.

The intent of art is not to promote a service or sell a product but rather solely as a way of self-expression. The message taken away from art is not fact but a feeling.

On the contrary, design is meant to send the same message to everyone.

If a design is good, then there will be no different interpretation of it. This is because often times, a design is offered as a solution, and if the masses do not grasp the solution the same way and utilise it, it is not a good design.

A good example is when choosing the right interiors for a living space. The masses tend to favour furniture that maximises space, is easily arranged and so on.

However, students at The One Academy who are pursuing Interior Design are often challenged with producing designs that not only solve problems but also have aesthetic appeal.

Another stark difference between art and design is that designers fulfil objective criteria whereas artists fulfil subjective interpretations.

Objective criteria refer to factual pieces of information pieced together to form an agreement of sorts.

For example, a good design should fulfil a certain criteria or prerequisite in order for it to be functional or usable.

However, artists who produce art fulfil subjective interpretations which differ from party to party.

Digital Animation

The Earth has one moon. This is an objective interpretation as it is a known fact, but whether the moon is pretty or otherwise is open to subjective interpretation.

Similarly, whether a particular work of art is good or great or bad is often open to subjective interpretation whereas a design serves to fulfil objective criteria only. In some cases, both art and design is needed to produce an end result.

At TOA, students of the Digital Animation course often rely on both art and design to produce characters, backgrounds and components for their various projects and films.

Starting with art and sketching their ideas, they then use design to bring their vision to life.

Fashion and Pattern Making

The third difference between art and design is that art inspires and design motivates. When an artist takes to a blank canvas, he or she aims to pour out their feelings and thoughts onto their masterpiece.

The art created is to be shared with the masses, to allow them to feel what they feel, relate to what they are seeing, and learn from what is displayed and be inspired by it.

Till today, the most popular and famed pieces of art are those that have successfully created a bond between the artist and the audience.

However, art is not limited to just conventional mediums. TOA students who study Fashion and Pattern Making here often produce masterpieces through fabric, needles and thread proving that art can exist in various mediums.

When a designer sets out to design something, they almost always have an idea of what they will be producing in their minds, be it a message, an image, an idea or a fixed starting point.

The designer isn’t tasked with creating something new but rather communicating something that already exists for a purpose.

The purpose that lies behind design varies, but usually it is to motivate the audience to do something like buy a product, use a service, and gain information and so on.

In contrast to artists who form emotional bonds, the most successful designers are those that effectively communicate a message to the audience and motivate them to carry out a task.

There are many differences between art and design but the best ideas are those that are able to seamlessly incorporate the two elements to produce pieces that not only appeal aesthetically to the audience but are also able to provide solutions.

Article contributed by The One Academy, +603 5637 5510, www.theoneacademy.edu.my.