What are art, craft, and design?

ART

Art allows for freedom of expression. This expression can either stem from emotion, belief, or thought. Thus meaning that there are no rules in which an artist must follow in order to create a work of art. For example, the only reason why an artist may paint a flower next to a tree may not be because there is a rule that says you must, but because it is based on the artist’s personal views and emotions. Just like how an artist may paint based on their emotions, a viewer may also interpret based on their emotions, as well. Art gives room for not only the artist to be free but the audience as well.

Art is abstract – although a piece of work may seem concrete on the surface, the feelings in which were put into it and can draw from it are far from the practicality that the naked eye perceives. It can be anything and everything.

Essentially, art is the result of any one person’s ideas, thoughts, and emotions in physical form.

CRAFT

While craft does maintain an element of art within its object, it still carries its own characteristics. Craft is more meticulous and requires more attention to the process in which the object is being made. Craft is also specific to physical form that can be touched and felt, whereas art can be any type of form.

Art is to be put on display; it is for the viewers’ eyes, ears, and what have you. When an individual creates a type of craft, there can also be that option of just putting it on display (i.e. a sculpture) or there will be a specific purpose for the new creation. Take the chair as an example. Yes, the chair was an invention, but it was also a craft. Thus, the craft had an intended purpose: to be sat on. And while crafting the chair, there were specific steps in which the inventor took to successful create a stable object that can be sat on.

Of course, a chair can still be considered art. However, it is only the aesthetic beauty that the chair has that will be the art aspect and the practicality and function that is the craft.

DESIGN

Design is about how thing fit together, how things look like on a page, and the logical arrangement of elements. When a graphic designer is designing, he or she must consider the ‘elements of design’ that includes such terms as balance and unity. And, say, an architect (a designer of buildings) must consider the depth of a room, the measurements of the beams, and so on and so forth. Art is still an aspect in design, only which, design is not as free for a designer to roam like an artist is with a canvas.

Designed work has a specific purpose – usually targeted at an audience to get a blatant message across, or for commercial uses such as advertisements. In design, objects, words, and anything else on the page, has to make sense. There should be a reason for everything that’s there whether it be to emphasize a word or add balance to the design overall. And the target audience is especially important in the process of creating the design. One must be able to recognize the target audience’s interests so to create an effective piece of work.