Art | Design

It is hard to separate what is Art and Design. One can easily argue that Art is a form of expression and Design is a mean to solve problems. Unlike Science or Mathematics, Art and Design are not something that can easily put into exact definition because they depend on the individual artists and designers’ interpretation of Art and Design. Interest in pursuing aesthetics and the critical thinking process are some of the grounding factors that I think are fundamental to both Art and Design.

The design studio that I was particularly interested in was the BY:AMT Inc, founded by Alissia Melka-teichroew. Personally, I have always appreciated the aesthetics of ornate antique luxury. It is recent that I have been getting more interested in modern functionalism approach to beauty. BY:AMT presents a hybrid of the two styles through their creative design approach. Their humourous and almost sarcastic ideas about traditional luxury are expressed with cheap and modern materials like acrylic. The Diamond jewelry line best describes their design style. Taking the famous Tiffany’s setting diamond ring, they re-created the symbol of love in an affordable and whimsical way by laser cutting different acrylic in the ring’s silhouette.

It may seem like an “artistic” approach where BY:AMT did not necessarily research the user market with a design brief but they definitely solved some of the possible issues in this field. The Diamond rings satisfy those people who cannot afford an actual diamond ring by presenting an alternative product. They utilize the modern technology of laser cutting to consider manufacturing process. Their choice of material allows different variation of colours and thickness for each consumer to customize their own individual style. The rings also address the issue of giving values to the material; an inexpensive piece of acrylic became a very precious ornament.

This week’s research allowed me to realize that people respond to “good design”. Defining “good design” varies from each people because everyone has different values, experiences and lifestyles. What may seem like a very useful design to an urban person may not necessarily work in the same way for a farmer in country. Satisfying everyone’s needs and desires is very difficult and researching to figure out the market’s demand can take a long time and money.

I started to wonder what would happen if the designer puts more thoughts into designing something “good”, instead of spending a lot of effort into defining the target user group that will potentially purchase the design. Selling design is important but that is not what designers should do. Designers should create “good design” that will naturally sell well because it is that good. The good design may seem like “Art” because it was created with different thought process behind. However, if it is done well that people respond, isn’t it good design?