Design and Art – My opinion
Sep
7th
Should Visual Communications be part of the School of Art and Art History as part of the College of Fine Arts?
And my simple answer, after much thought is yes. I came to this answer by analyzing the motives and skills required to succeed in both media and studio arts and design field.
Skills – It seems obvious overlap is that all these fields of study generally require the same skills, such as creativity, understanding of Art Theory and Visual Concepts, plus the ability to technically execute concepts.
Motives – The differences arise from the motives of studio and media arts verses the design field. To make my argument, I will compare the motives of the Visual Communications and Ceramics fields. When a ceramicist is making a vessel, their motive is to create a beautiful emotion evoking object, that in many situation is also meant to be functional. When a graphic designer designs, their motive is to create a beautiful emotion evoking piece, that informs and serves a function to the viewer. As a designer, I seek to create something functional, an advertisement, logo, etc… but at the same time want to experiment, question and provoke emotion with the style and visual language in which I present my work.
In conclusion, I believe that good graphic design is more than just displaying and organizing information, but also requires the motives behind it that make good art. I can not envision a good Visual Communications department that did not have a relationship with fine arts or good designer that does not have a passion for art.
