Artsy.net’s definition of design:

‘Since the beginning of the 20th century, “design” has generally been used to refer to either functional objects that are appreciated for their aesthetic qualities, or the plans for the creation of functional objects. (Previously, the Western usage of the term largely referred to drawing or the overall look of a composition or object.) Importantly, design is often used in combination with the term decorative arts, a preferred term for describing pre-19th century (and pre-industrial revolution) functional objects. Among the many historical design movements—to have contributed significant design forms to the canon or challenged the role of functional objects in daily life—are the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Deutscher Werkbund, and the Bauhaus.’

We were excited to see Artsy.net start to define ‘design’ because it is indeed a word that is often misused/overused these days.  We believe more discussion and further clarification is needed though and we will be grappling with this issue more and more in the coming posts.

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