We have this debate in the design department all the time.
Usually, it happens late in the afternoon, right when the studio is buzzing with energy. Someone will look at a particularly striking prototype or a beautifully functional space and ask the inevitable question:
“Is this art, or is this design?”
It’s a conversation that never really gets old. And honestly? The lines are getting blurrier by the day.
In today’s creative landscape, we hate putting things into boxes. We want to be everything all at once. Sometimes people look at my interior projects or my photography and call me an artist. I always smile and take the compliment, but deep down, I know that label doesn't entirely fit what I do.
So, where exactly do we draw the line?
Over the years, working with countless students and running my own practice, I’ve realized it boils down to two simple things: Intention and Functionality.
Let’s talk about Design first.
Design is calculated. It is premeditated. When we design something whether it's a chair, a branding campaign, or a spatial layout—we are creating a roadmap. The goal is to solve a specific problem. It must be functional. In our industry, we don't say a great product happened "by creative intuition." We say it happened "by design."
Then there is Craft.
Craft is deeply intimate. It’s what happens when someone’s brain connects directly to their hands. Yes, it is functional, but it’s less about a rigid master plan and more about the fluid, highly skilled act of making. A craftsperson often discovers the final soul of the object while they are shaping it.
And Art?
Art is the rebel. It can be highly planned, or it can be a sudden splash of pure intuition on a canvas. But unlike design and craft, art doesn't carry the heavy burden of having to "work" or serve a practical purpose. It exists simply to express, to provoke, or to make you feel something.
Do these three worlds overlap? Absolutely.
The most fascinating work usually happens right in those murky, overlapping spaces of a Venn diagram. The boundaries are meant to be pushed. But understanding the core distinction helps us understand our own creative identity. It gives us a compass.
It makes you stop and ask yourself: When I sit down to create, what exactly am I trying to do?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Where do you find yourself on this spectrum?
