艺术和设计的区别

The Difference Between Art and Design

艺术和设计的区别

 

The subject of what separates art and design is convoluted and has been debated for a long time.

是什么分离艺术和设计的话题是复杂的，并且被辩论已久。

Artists and designers both create visual compositions using a shared knowledge base, but their reasons for doing so are entirely different.

艺术家和设计师基于共知的技能，都能创造出视觉作品，但他们的初衷完全不同。

Some designers consider themselves artists, but few artists consider themselves designers.

一些设计师以艺术家自诩，反之则不然。

So what exactly is the difference between art and design? In this post, we’ll examine and compare some of the core principles of each craft.

艺术和设计的真正区别到底是什么呢？接下来让我们审视和比较这两种技艺的一些核心特质。

This is a subject that people have strong opinions about, and I’m looking forward to reading the various points of view in the comments.

对于这个话题，大家看法各异，我期待在评论栏里听到更多不同的声音。

（译注：因为原文是可以在线评论的）

This post isn’t a definitive guide, but rather the starting point for a conversation, so let’s be open-minded!

此文不具权威导向，更像是交流的起点，因此让我们尽量提出百花齐放的想法来吧。

 

Good Art Inspires. Good Design Motivates.

好的艺术启迪人。好的设计激发人。

 

Perhaps the most fundamental difference between art and design that we can all agree on is their purposes.

也许我们都认同的艺术和设计的最基本的区别在于创作意图。

Typically, the process of creating a work of art starts with nothing, a blank canvas. A work of art stems from a view or opinion or feeling that the artist holds within him or herself.

通常艺术家从零开始创作。艺术作品源自艺术家内在的视角，观点或感受。

They create the art to share that feeling with others, to allow the viewers to relate to it, learn from it or be inspired by it.

艺术家与他人分享这种感受，把观众和作品联系起来，并使其从作品中获益或受到启迪。

The most renowned (and successful) works of art today are those that establish the strongest emotional bond between the artist and their audience.

现今最富声誉的（和最成功的）艺术作品是那些能在艺术家和观众之间建立最强情感纽带的作品。

By contrast, when a designer sets out to create a new piece, they almost always have a fixed starting point, whether a message, an image, an idea or an action.

相反，设计师着手一次设计时，总有一个成型的起点，不管是一则广告词，一张图，一个想法或一次实践。

The designer’s job isn’t to invent something new, but to communicate something that already exists, for a purpose.

设计师的工作不是发明，而是为了一个明确的意图整合已有的东西，并将其表达出来。

That purpose is almost always to motivate the audience to do something: buy a product, use a service, visit a location, learn certain information. The most successful designs are those that most effectively communicate their message and motivate their consumers to carry out a task.

那种意图常常是激发观众做某件事情：买一样产品，使用某种服务，造访某地或获取某些信息。最成功的设计是那些最有效的传达作者意图并激发观众去实施某种行为的设计。

 

 

Good Art Is Interpreted. Good Design Is Understood.

好的艺术被诠释。好的设计被理解。

 

Another difference between art and design is how the messages of each are interpreted by their respective audiences.

艺术和设计另一个区别在于作品的内容被观众如何去解释。

Although an artist sets out to convey a viewpoint or emotion, that is not to say that the viewpoint or emotion has a single meaning.

尽管艺术家着手表达一种观点或情感，但那并不意味他的观点或情感只能做一种诠释。

Art connects with people in different ways, because it’s interpreted differently.

艺术作品用不同的方式与人们产生联系，因为不同的人对其解释不尽相同。

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has been interpreted and discussed for many years. Just why is she smiling? Scientists say it’s an illusion created by your peripheral vision. Romantics say she is in love. Skeptics say there is no reason. None of them are wrong.

达芬奇的肖像画蒙娜丽莎被解释和讨论了好些年――她为何微笑？科学家解释说那是你末梢神经视觉区产生的一种直觉。浪漫主义者将其归结为爱情的甜蜜。怀疑论者则说根本没有原因。这些观点都没有错。

Design is the very opposite. Many will say that if a design can be “interpreted” at all, it has failed in its purpose.

设计则刚好相反。许多人说如果设计可以作多种“解释”，那就是一个意图含糊的失败作品。

The fundamental purpose of design is to communicate a message and motivate the viewer to do something.

设计的基本意图是传达一个信息并激发观众做某些事情。

If your design communicates a message other than the one you intended, and your viewer goes and does something based on that other message, then it has not met its requirement. With a good piece of design, the designer’s exact message is understood by the viewer.

如果你的设计向你的观众传达了一种信息，但你的观众理解成别的意思，并付诸实践，那么就没有达到设计最初的需求。好的设计是能让观众准确的领会到作者意图的设计。

 

 

Good Art Is a Taste. Good Design Is an Opinion.

好的艺术是鉴赏。好的设计是观念。

 

Art is judged by opinion, and opinion is governed by taste.

艺术被观念所判断，而观念被鉴赏力所掌控。

To a forward-thinking modern art enthusiast, Tracey Emin’s piece “My Bed”, which was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999, may be the height of artistic expression.

对一位超现代派艺术热衷者来说，曾获1999年度特纳奖翠西·艾敏（Tracy Emin）的作品《我的床》，也许算是高艺术性的代表作。

To a follower of more traditional art, it may be an insult to the medium. This goes back to our point about interpretation, but taste is more about people’s particular likes and dislikes rather than the message they take away from a piece.

而对于钟情于传统艺术的人来说，她的作品可能是对艺术的冒犯。这就回到了我们之前关于诠释的观点上去，但是鉴赏性更偏注于人们对作品的喜爱或者反感，而不是他们从中获取的信息。

Design has an element of taste, but the difference between good and bad design is largely a matter of opinion.

设计带有些许的鉴赏性，但是好的设计和糟糕的设计的区别很大程度上是看法上的差异。

A good piece of design can still be successful without being to your taste. If it accomplishes its objective of being understood and motivates people to do something, then whether it’s good or not is a matter of opinion.

We could go on discussing this particular point, but hopefully the underlying principle is clear.

一份好的设计，哪怕你觉得它是一张废纸，也依旧可以是成功的作品。如若它被人们理解了，并且激发人们去做了预期的事情，那么它是好的还是失败的作品，就是你自己的看法罢了。

 

Good Art Is a Talent. Good Design Is a Skill.

好的艺术是一种天份。好的设计是一种技能。

 

What about the creator’s abilities?

创作者才智的区别又如何呢？

More often than not, an artist has natural ability. Of course, from a young age, the artist grows up drawing, painting, sculpting and developing their abilities.

艺术家往往富有天份。当然，从小接触绘画，涂彩，雕刻帮助提升了他们的才智。

But the true value of an artist is in the talent (or natural ability) they are born with. There is some overlap here: good artists certainly have skill, but artistic skill without talent is, arguably, worthless.

但是与生俱来的天份（或天才）对艺术家来说影响更大。好的艺术家当然个个身怀绝技，但纯技术作品不带半点艺术价值。

Design, though, is really a skill that is taught and learned. You do not have to be a great artist to be a great designer; you just have to be able to achieve the objectives of design.

然而，设计是一门真正教得会，学得来的技术。你不必是杰出的艺术家，就可以成为了不起的设计师，只要你能够实现设计的目的。

Some of the most respected designers in the world are best known for their minimalist styles. They don’t use much color or texture, but they pay great attention to size, positioning, and spacing, all of which can be learned without innate talent.

世上许多最受人尊敬的设计师往往因其简约风格而声名远扬。他们用色或材质简单，更加注重尺寸，布局和间隙的把握。这些技巧就算资质平平的头脑也学得会。

 

 

Good Art Sends a Different Message to Everyone. Good Design Sends the Same Message to Everyone.

好的艺术传达不同的信息。好的设计传达相同的信息。

 

This really falls under the second point about interpretation and understanding. But if you take only one thing away from this article, take this point.

这一点其实可以归类到第二点关于诠释和理解的区别。这正是本文要说的主题观点。

Many designers consider themselves artists because they create something visually attractive, something they would be proud for people to hang on a wall and admire.

一些设计师以艺术家自诩，因为他们的作品被挂上墙并受人赞誉。

But a visual composition intended to accomplish a specific task or communicate a particular message, no matter how beautiful, is not art.

但是为某种特定任务或者为传递某种信息而创作出的作品，哪怕它再漂亮，也算不得艺术品。

It is a form of communication, simply a window to the message it contains.

Few artists call themselves designers because they seem to better understand the difference. Artists do not create their work to sell a product or promote a service. They create it solely as a means of self-expression, so that it can be viewed and appreciated by others. The message, if we can even call it that, is not a fact but a feeling.

它只是一种信息传递的形式。几乎没有艺术家自称设计师，因为他们更懂两者的区别。艺术家不会把自己的作品当产品出售，当服务推销。他们创作仅为表达自我，因此作品能被他人欣赏。”韵味”――如果我们可以这么叫的话――是一种感觉，而不是强加于人的。

 

What Do You Think?

你的想法呢？

Depending on how you look at it, the difference between art and design can be clear-cut or hazy. The two certainly overlap, but art is more personal, evoking strong reactions in those who connect with the subject.

取决于你自己的看法，艺术和设计的界限既清晰又模糊。当然两者是交织重叠的，但是艺术是更加个人化的，它们会打动那些与其相关的人们。

I’ll leave you with this quote from Craig Elimeliah, who covered this subject in a fantastic article for AIGA, which I discovered during my research for this post.

Craig Elimeliah

发表在AIGA上的一篇美妙的文章对艺术和设计的区别做了最好的解释，我将引用其中的几段，以此结束这次讨论。

 “I do not claim to be an expert on defining what art is and what it is not, but I do know that if we look at the differences between art and design we will see a very clear line drawn between the two.

“我不敢宣称自己有资格定义艺术是什么，但如果考察艺术和设计的区别，我们将看到两者之间明显的分界线。

An engineer, if given the exact co-ordinates to place different colored pixels in specific places, could render a beautiful website or ad simply by following instructions; most design projects have a detailed set of instructions and most design is based on current trends and influences.

依照工序步骤，工程师可以在一块特定的纸上精确的涂描出一份漂亮的网站或者广告；大多数设计项目都有详细的操作工序，并且紧随当前趋势和潮流。

An artist, on the other hand, could never be given any specific instructions in creating a new chaotic and unique masterpiece because his emotions and soul is dictating the movement of his hands and the impulses for the usage of the medium.

相反，艺术家在创作伊始，完全不受限制，而是随心而作。

No art director is going to yell at an artist for producing something completely unique because that is what makes an artist an artist and not a designer.”

没有人对艺术家创作的另类性报以指责，因为那正是艺术家区别于设计师的真正所在”。

 

Further Reading and Sources

更多参考

·                                Art and Design: What’s the Big Difference – Michael Brady, Critique Magazine: 1998.

·                                Mona Lisa Smile: Secrets Revealed – BBC, 2003.

·                                The Turner Prize – Tate Britain, 2008.

·                                Tracy Emin – Wikipedia, 2009.

·                                Talent vs. Skill and Experience – Acland Brierty, 2005.

·                                Art vs. Design -  Craig Elimeliah, AIGA, 2006.

 

原文更是图文并茂，[IT AT]：http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/the-difference-between-art-and-design/