Designers are more than artists

Every so often a friend or client or other creative colleague will refer to me as an artist. I understand why this happens. Design does require some art knowledge if only to a degree. Basic art principles of balance, light, hierarchy, weight, etc. are just as important in design work as it is in painting or other fine arts.

The thing is, design goes beyond that. And to suggest designers are merely commercial artists (as they used to be called) puts an emphasis on the visual - it makes us out as nothing more than decorators.

Design however, has always been about communication and problem solving. While one could argue that a painting or ceramic piece can communicate an idea, fine art is much more open to personal interpretation and subjectivity. That's not to say that either doesn't exist with design. To a degree there will always be interpretation and subjectivity. After all, no everyone will like the design of your brochure or logo or website.

The difference, however, lies in the fact that despite subjectivity, the design solution needs to communicate a single message. Further, it needs to work with marketing and business goals. That brings us to problem solving.

Every business has a problem - usually more than one. That may be how to get more visitors to a website or store, how to convert visitors into customers, how to get the word out, etc. While those problems are presented as business or marketing problems, the solution rarely exists without design at some level.

Getting those eyeballs to follow a path is not about decoration but about problem solving. Creating the right logo for your business is less about pretty colors and fonts as it is about figuring out what will make you stand out and attract your target audience