Art & Graphic Design: A Thesis
Where is the grey area between art and graphic design, and when does one become the other?
When I first started studying graphic design in college, I was told that graphic design is not art, and we are not artists. However, after this, we were required to take illustration, printmaking, and photography classes, are these not art?
When I first began considering the question of “where is the grey area between art and graphic design, and when does one become the other?” I thought about what these two things are. The dictionary defines art as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Whereas graphic design is “to improve the visual appearance and function of messages and information,” according to AIGA.
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Illuminated manuscript
If graphic design is a visual means of communication, can art be considered graphic design as well?
What could fall under that definition which may not traditionally be recognized as graphic design, and why? Thinking about this, I began to consider early renditions of biblical text, these often included images as a means of storytelling for a public who was largely illiterate. From this starting point I began to consider that all religious art could in this way be considered graphic design, as they are a visual representation of scenes from the bible.
When does the craft of creating stop being art and become design? Are the Moulin Rouge posters created by Toulouse-Lautrec not art, or are they strictly graphic design? Does a poster print made of a painting stop being art and become graphic design? Can they be both, or is there a line drawn in the sand separating the two from each other? Perhaps the answer lies within this grey area. Maybe art and design are mutually exclusive, and also related. They exist simultaneously, and their lines of definition are parallel and intertwined.
I began my visual exploration by first constructing several digital collages, each incorporating different themes I find interesting such as color palettes, geometric shapes, and organic forms.
Pushing further in my explorations, I found my way to this style.
This direction encompasses many of my own personal interests and styles by the use of bones, insects and foliage arranged in appealing designs.
Out of this series I created this design
Which I decided to move forward with and create a non-digital version
On a 22x28 inch canvas I worked with a projector and acrylic paint to lay down the design in layers. Starting with the diamond shapes in the background, I taped off the lines to paint them in. Next I blocked in the flowers as solid shapes of color, but worked from a print out for the details. Similarly, I used the projector the paint in the shape of the cat skull, but then working from the reference I drew the details in with a black paint pen.
The completed painting
From here, I considered how this design could be applied in other ways
Extract and repurpose
I created a pattern by extracting the elements of the design and applied them to a wallpaper. I also imagined how it might look if this design was used for a tattoo.
What I discovered during this process is that art and design are as much a part of each other, as they are separate. A designer needs a certain amount of artistic qualities to create appealing pieces and likewise, an artist needs some fundamentals of design in order to compose their work as well. I think the difference lies in how the person creating the piece feels about it, and chooses to define their work.
To push myself further, I opened an Etsy shop and have prints of my work available for sale. I have felt like an imposter for so long, that I was always afraid to put my art out there in this capacity, but by doing this I am declaring myself both an artist and a designer.