Graphic Design Icon Milton Glaser Cleverly Explains Why ‘Design Is Not Art’
Image via Shutterstock
One common misconception the layman perceives is that designers and artists are one and the same.
Speaking at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City back in 2017, graphic design icon Milton Glaser denounced the myth that artists and designers are motivated by the same things.
“Design is the process of going from an existing condition to a preferred one. Observe that there’s no relationship to art.”
Designers and artists might both be good at drawing and use the same tools like pens and Adobe software, but that’s where the similarities between the two end.
For designers, drawing or sketching is a means of thinking. It’s how they visualize solutions for creative projects like logos and websites.
Glaser elaborated that art’s power is mysterious and isn’t something you measure, whereas design’s value can be quantified by a client’s goals.
“It’s good to understand that design has a purpose and art has another purpose… As you get older you get clearer about that distinction about design and art.”
The designer passed away on his 91st birthday on 26 June 2020, a loss undoubtedly felt by creatives the world over.
[via Quartz, images via various sources]
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