ART, DESIGN & CRAFT

Published:
January 2023

In our practice, we often question the difference between design and art, or rather ‘when is it art or design?’ At times, we wonder if there is even one and if this distinction should be recognised.

However over the years, we realise that it is important to clearly define and differentiate each term so that we can better understand our roles as designers or artists, and also when to be which. After much contemplation, we arrived at a conclusion.

Art can be defined as a type of new standard — one that is novel and at times radical. Art is an individual’s discovery or expression of a new philosophy, thinking, idea, concept, vision or methodology. We call this ‘the greater concept’. It is rare, controversial and often deemed unacceptable or impossible. It is highly individualistic, if not, even egoistic. It is not something that everyone can understand right off the bat, and therefore requires explanation, interpretation, persuasion and conversion.

This is where design comes in.

The role of design is not only to solve problems. Design is required for a ‘greater concept’ to be understood, applied, practiced, used and experienced. It is also used to translate complex concepts into simple and palatable ideas for as many individuals as we can – the greater mass. Therefore, the practice of design is socialistic by nature and its outcomes can’t be perfect or absolute.

When an outcome is imperfect, it inspires opportunities for improvement and evolution. This is when craft – the reinterpretation, further expression and exploration by another individual, comes in. The spirit of craft is the almost-obsessive, boundary-pushing pursuit of new possibilities in order to conquer the 'impossibility’ of an existing standard. When an individual conquers the impossible – art emerges.

We are often tempted to add complex, abstract or individualistic thinking into design in an attempt to make the outcome artistic or creative. This often confuses the simplicity of a solution with another layer of thought.

We believe that art is not something that one can add to design. Rather, it is a by-product that occasionally emerges during the process of design and through craftsmanship. As such, we conclude that art is a new standard, design is the proliferation of a standard and craft is its reinvention. 

With such thinking, we constantly remind ourselves that the objective of design is to serve the mass, and art does quite the opposite. Design is to investigate and answer, whereas art is to provoke and question. Design is to make the impossible possible and art is the other way round. We can’t create art with what is already possible –art reveals itself in the process of questioning the impossible.