A simple poll posing the question “Is graphic design art?”
I’ve always separated the idea of art and design in my own mind. I’ve always considered myself to be a designer rather than an artist, and I would rather be referred to as such. The distinction I feel should be made is that design is visual problem solving, communication, and attempt to serve more than just the designer. Vignelli designed the New York Subway system, not to hang on a wall, but to serve the good of those who travel on the subway. Adrian Frutiger designed Frutiger so that you could find your way to the gate your plane is departing from, not so it could be sold at auction for millions.
As a student at a college with both Art and Design in the title, I’ve debated the question “What is art?” many times. I’ve always come to the conclusion that there is no solid answer. You get very similiar answers to questions like “What is pornography?” So of course the question can’t really be answered, but in short, do I think of graphic design as art? No. I find it to be beautiful often times. Some design work I find stunning. But I’ve always thought of design and art as serving two very different purposes. I don’t think it’s a slight agaisnt graphic design to say that, no, I wouldn’t consider it art. It’s a visual form all it’s own.
As another graphic design student of a certain design school, I can’t say agree 100%. The notion that design is purely functional with an independent purpose from art is a remnant philosophy of the Modernist mindset that is becoming more and more outdated as culture evolves and graphic designers begin to take authorship of their work. And honestly, it just seems like a reflection of our own insecurities. We want design to be taken seriously. We don’t want to be lumped in the same categories as people who work to “express themselves”. Boo hoo.
While, I believe there is a distinction between art and design, the lines are more blurred today than ever. I’m sure we’ve all seen those trendy design posters with a ironic message set in nice big type. The posters themselves actually serve really no function at all except to illicit a response from the viewer, an audience mostly made up of graphic design nerds. As hackneyed and cliche as they are, they are more self-expression pieces than anything, yet you can validly argue that thoes are a form of graphic design. Once you call that art, and separated it from design, a quirky part of our practice just disappeared.
Ultimately, it’s the intent of the work, the creative field is such a grey area that if you intend something to be art it’s art. You mentioned the New York Subway map that Vignelli designed. I have that map, framed, hanging on a wall in my room. But I live in Los Angeles and I purchased it for a lot more than it was probably intended to be worth. It’s was so nicely designed, and did it’s job so well, that it has become a work of art to me.
I also think it’s dangerous to try to run away from an association with art. When typographers become more like engineers than artisans, they may produce work that is technically amazing, but many times their work now lacks the seductiveness and peculiar quality it once had. They become customer service. They become cold, sterile business people who just answer the question. I would hate it, if in actuality, we’re only problem solvers and nothing more. Bankers are problem solvers. Accountants are problem solvers. Those are great jobs but they’re not my job. Design and Art inform each other and ultimately they rely on each other to push each other forward. We are not only a practice, we are a culture. Even if we finally agree that graphic design isn’t art, there will still be a part of me, that thinks and acts like an artist on top of a problem solver, to keep myself from being bored.
