Is Design Art? It’s the question that’s been asked by a thousand design firms and colleges to a million aspiring students, designers and aesthetic theorists alike. While most would probably hold both sides can be properly argued for in a given circumstance, and that the argument is largely subjective, I’d like to present a view that I feel holds some merit. I want try and rid any sort of bias from my argument, as such: I want it to be equally compelling to a web designer or to a professional painter or to a steel worker, for that matter.

So, with the formalities out of the way, let me jump to a hasty conclusion and explain how I got there along the way: yes, design is a form of art/artistic expression. Web Design, too. The main point of contention, from the side that says that design is not art, seems to be of the opinion that:

1. Designers make money with their design.
2. The value of art is not contained merely in its commercial worth
3. Therefore, Design is not art.

Well, that’s sort of compelling. Especially if you consider design blogs whose very names reflect the opinion (and don’t get me wrong, WMMNA is a wonderful blog). But still, I want to say that there is more to the argument than that.

In fact, I want to say that making money is a function of some kinds of art. Pop art, specifically. Let’s divide art into three categories by my model here, shall we?

1. Pop Art. Art created with money in mind. Can be good or bad, based on how well it performs commercially.
2. Folk Art. Art that represents its creator and his/her/their cultural identity. Can be good or bad, based on how well the surrounding culture reacts to it.
3. Fine Art. Art for art’s sake. Hard to judge good or bad: Hindsight being 20-20, upon serious reflection we might at a later time be able to judge how the art holds up.

So, this looks pretty nice. Concise. Still, being the type to want to appeal to the masses, let me try and tie this into an aspect of popular culture we should all be familiar with. I’m talking about The Beatles. I think they strongly show three very definitive stages of their lifespan, and all three can be properly attributed to one of the types of art in my schema. Let’s take a look.

1. Pop Art: Early Beatles. Beginning stages through till mid-1965: Includes Please Please Me, Hard Day’s Night, Help!, etc. Songs and records are produced to turn a profit. Beatlemania ensues, much to the delight of the record companies, but the fab four are hardly reinventing the wheel, musically, at least yet. Good Art, since it did well commercially. Very well.
2. Folk Art: Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s. ‘65 - ‘68. The Beatles during this period show their cultural identity as icons of mid-sixties Britain. These albums could not have been produced by any other group in any other country during any other decade. Good Art, since it was culturally significant.
3. Fine Art: White Album, Abbey Road, etc. Right through to the breakup. Art for Art’s sake, at least on the majority of the tracks. Try and convince me that Happiness is a Warm Gun would’ve worked during any other stage of art. Good Art, based on the fact that nearly 40 years later, our critics still give it top honours.

Maybe I’ve been a little off base here. Some people might argue with me on more than a few points: Didn’t the last Beatles’ Albums come out mostly as moneymakers for the record execs? Isn’t there some crossover between artistic stages?

Of course, there’s some crossover. That’s how artistic expression flourishes! Remember the stages developing from a geocities-user to a full-fledged standardist? It didn’t happen overnight, did it?

Well, let’s tie it all back together, now. We have our three stages of art, Pop, Folk, and Fine. Where does Design fit into this? Web Design, specifically?
Well, how do you judge a site’s design as “good” or “bad”? If you’re a company hiring a web designer, you judge it on revenue. This makes web design pop art. However, if you’re making a personal page and trying to add to the community of the internet as a whole, then what you’re creating is folk art. And finally, if you’re delving into the very being of aesthetic web design, creating new identities for their own sake, I would dare to say that you are doing fine art.

In any case, design is art. For better or for worse, it shows the same characteristics as painting, ballet, or drama.
So there you go. Maybe a little more lengthy than I’d planned on being, but I certainly hope that I’ve cleared the argument of prior bias.

Happy artistry!

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