Does "Art" Have The Same Meaning As "Design" In Web Design?

When it comes to web design, many people still have the wrong perception as to whether or not we should consider it as “art”. Oftentimes we mistake it for “design”. However, does “art” have the same meaning as “design” in web design? Well, you can find the answers here in this article because I have concluded my research just for you. But before that, let’s define “art” and “design” first to have a better understanding of how we use the term. Art is often considered the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations and ways of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture and paintings. Design, on the other hand, is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process, or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product or process. So, can we actually use the term “Art” in web design?

In my opinion, when we perform art and use it to create some work, art is something that kind of ‘persuades’ people to see the meaning of our works because art in a work has many meanings that can be interpreted by many people in different ways. Some works are called art because there is a meaning behind the beauty it perceives and what makes it unique is that only the creator knows the real meaning behind their work and others can only presume; some can guess it right on the money and others can only interpret. When it comes to design, however, is more like function. People design a work in order for it to be useful and easy to use. People don’t need to understand the meaning of the work of a design, but they need to understand why it is what it is, how it works and why it works that way.

Well, that’s the basic understanding of both art and design. Now, let’s go back to the real topic and question in this article; does “art” have the same meaning with “design” in web design? My simple answer is no, but you can use art to beautify the design looks. Design is where it is; to make a work simple, easy to understand and easy to use. For example, you are building a website and hiring a web designer to design the website. The web designer uses a form of art to make their work look more beautiful and appealing to the eyes, but that’s it; that’s how far the art can go in the web design. On the other hand, the web designer uses their design skill to make the website easy to use and easy to understand starting from the navigation menu (they make it simple and easily accessible so the visitors won’t get lost in the jungle), and even to responsiveness (they make it adjusted to any device so users can access the website wherever they are using whatever device they have).

That’s my simple explanation to my understanding of design and art when it comes to web design. Hope you see what I see. Still, a website needs both the beauty of art and the functionality of design to make it work like magic. Aside from it appealing to the eyes, a website also needs to be easy to understand and use. That’s how you grasp the whole idea.