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O B S E R V A T I O N S : Bourbon is whiskey but all whiskey isn’t bourbon.
Art is design, yet design isn’t art.
In 1965, Congress determined that anything labeled bourbon had to be made in the US from at least 51% corn, aged in new, charred oak barrels for at least 2 years, and without added coloring or flavoring of any kind. In this case the differences between bourbon and whiskey are well legislated. That can’t be said for the differences between art and design.
Art is a noun. Art is created by artists to express their individual visions. The act of creating art is design.
Design is a verb. Design is created by designers to connect clients with their audiences. Art is an essential element of design.
Like art and design, bourbon and whiskey share common attributes and ingredients. They have a similar nature and character. Yet in their finished application they are each fundamentally different. After bourbon is aged and bottled the barrels are shipped to Scotland to age scotch whiskey. Bourbon is the parent of whiskey. Art is the parent of design.
If done properly, art is transformed into design. Art connects with audiences at a primal level, unconsciously, viscerally and in the process of designing, ideas are transformed into information, encounters into relationships, and awareness into engagement.
Those of us who practice the application of design, connecting ideas with audiences, are simultaneously in awe of and empowered by the familial and symbiotic relationship between art and design.