Rob Curedale makes the important point that.
"One difference between art and design is that design must appeal to a
wider audience. ... The design process therefore needs to be interactive
with others to find out what most people like and dislike."
These are among the constraints of the problem
external to the designer. While artists are
"... still subject to commercial forces from galleries and patrons can
produce work which is more personal with less interaction with others. It
can therefore be more progressive. Design also usually has a utilitarian
aspect along with the sign carried by art."
This is what I described in discussing ranges
of choice along a spectrum. Rob describes
the concept of the spectrum by writing
"Art and design are really a continuity. With Alessi products the sign is
more important than the utility. With KMart products the utility is more
important than the sign."
This extends on one side of the spectrum to
different kinds of artistic artifacts, and on the
other to different kinds of designed artifacts
and industrial artifacts. There may be other
axes extending in different directions. These
might, for example, be spiritual artifacts like a
communion service that must meet utilitarian
requirements, artistic needs, and also fills a
specific kind of symbolic value through its uses
and associations.
-- Ken Friedman
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