This talk is not about design or art; it’s about designers. It’s about the things that we create and the ways in which we create them. It’s about the processes that we use and how those processes define us. It’s about the qualities that set us apart (and why they matter). What are the differences between design and art? What is the most important quality that a designer can possess? And how are the two so closely related? In this talk, we’ll examine the ways in which design and art are fundamentally different, and how through those differences, we can extract the qualities that comprise great designers and leaders. Learn about the contrasting purposes, data sources, and creative processes that design and art hold. Gain a new perspective on what it means to be a designer, and how designers that possess one particular quality are prone to better feedback, accountability, innovation, collaboration, and outcomes. Finally, hear personal accounts from designers at companies like Google and Apple, sharing their approaches to design and the qualities that they value. You may or may not leave this talk convinced that design is not art, but no matter what, you will leave with a better understanding for what it means to be a designer.

1. Art
Austin Knight
Senior UX Designer at HubSpot
Design
IS NOT

2. This talk is not about design or art.
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
It’s about designers.

3. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Hiring managersDesigners

4. "Just hire a great designer, and you don't have
to worry about expensive user testing. They’ll
know how to deliver a good design.”
HIRING MANAGERS
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

5. “Everybody thinks they’re a designer. I’m the
designer here, and I’m the expert.”
DESIGNERS
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

6. The genius designer
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

7. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
The genius designer

8. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
The genius designer

9. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
The genius designer

10. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
The genius designer

11. The genius designer
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
is a myth.

12. DESIGN AND ART
The differences between
DESIGN AND EGO
The incompatibilities between
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

13. 1
DESIGN AND ART
The differences between
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

14. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Purposes
Data
Sources
Roles of
Creativity
Blanket statements will be made, but they’ll make sense in the end.

15. Purposes
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Personal expression
DesignArt
Intrinsic and
independent value
External and
dependent value
Use

16. Purposes
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
DesignArt
It reduces friction,
for better or worse
AlleviationProvocation
It generates friction,
for better or worse

17. Purposes
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
DesignArt
It is calculated
Observation and iterationExploration
It is whimsical

18. Purposes
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
DesignArt
It is a reflection of
it’s audience
FunctionAppreciation
It is a reflection of
it’s creator

19. Purposes
@ustinKnight
Art is about: Design is about:
Personal expression Use
Provocation Alleviation
Exploration Observation and iteration
Appreciation Function
Take a photo for safe keeping

20. DESIGN IS ABOUT THE USER
ART IS ABOUT THE ARTIST
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

21. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER

22. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER

23. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER
Analytics
User
feedback

24. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER
Analytics
User
feedback
Usability
Design
patterns

25. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER
Stakeholder
feedback
Analytics
User
feedback
Usability
Design
patterns
Business
goals

26. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER
Stakeholder
feedback
Analytics
User
feedback
Usability
Design
patterns
Business
goals

27. Data Sources
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ARTIST DESIGNER
Stakeholder
feedback
Analytics
User
feedback
Usability
Design
patterns
Business
goals

28. DESIGN IS OBJECTIVE
ART IS SUBJECTIVE
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

29. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
DesignArt
Creative for the sake
of serving a purpose or
solving a problem
Extrinsic valueIntrinsic value
Creative for the sake
of being creative

30. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
DesignArt
Creative for the sake
of serving a purpose or
solving a problem
Means to an end resultEnd result
Creative for the sake
of being creative

31. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

32. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

33. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
No. 6
Mark Rothko
$186 million

34. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
No. 6
Mark Rothko
$186 million
Interchange
Willem de Kooning
$300 million

35. Roles of Creativity
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Interchange
Willem de Kooning
$300 million
Toyota Prius
(with doors)
$24,000

36. DESIGN LEVERAGES CREATIVITY
ART EXPRESSES CREATIVITY
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

37. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Design
Art

38. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Design Art

39. Engineering
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Design Art
Function Aesthetic

40. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight

41. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight

42. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Objective

43. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Function is the critical element; aesthetics should
both be derived from and assist in the function of
the design. Form serves function.

44. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Functional & Aesthetically Pleasing = Most likely to win
(Ex: Spotify)

45. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Functional & Aesthetically Pleasing = Most likely to win
(Ex: Spotify)
Functional & Not Aesthetically Pleasing = May still win
(Ex: Reddit)

46. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Functional & Aesthetically Pleasing = Most likely to win
(Ex: Spotify)
Functional & Not Aesthetically Pleasing = May still win
(Ex: Reddit)
Not Functional & Aesthetically Pleasing = Most likely to lose
(Ex: Ello)

47. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
"The aesthetic quality of a product is
integral to its usefulness because products
we use every day affect our person and
our well-being. But only well-executed
objects can be beautiful."
― Dieter Rams

48. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight

49. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Subjective

50. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
Strong aesthetic design accounts for what the
user perceives as beauty more than what the
designer perceives as beauty.

51. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

52. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO 2015 Rolls Royce Phantom

53. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
“Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools.
They are neither decorative objects nor
works of art. Their design should therefore
be both neutral and restrained, to leave
room for the user's self-expression.”
― Dieter Rams

54. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Function + Aesthetic = Delight
User

55. AUSTIN SAID “DESIGN IS NOT ART”
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
MY ANECDOTAL EXPERIENCE FROM
1995 DETERMINED THAT WAS A LIE

56. DESIGN IS NOT ART
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

57. DESIGN IS NOT
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
ABOUT THE DESIGNER

58. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Purposes
Data
Sources
Roles of
Creativity

59. @ustinKnight
Purposes
Designers create products that are
intended to serve purposes that exist
outside of themselves.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

60. @ustinKnight
Purposes
The design is about the user,
not the designer.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

61. @ustinKnight
Data
Sources
In order to create a product that
properly serves it’s purpose, the
design must be adequately informed
by outside data.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

62. @ustinKnight
Data
Sources
Designers don’t magically create
masterpieces; they collect and
interpret information that empowers
them to create masterpieces.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

63. @ustinKnight
Data
Sources
Design is not a talent; it’s a skill.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

64. @ustinKnight
Roles of
Creativity
Designers must leverage creativity in
a thoughtful way, so that the design
can better serve it’s purpose.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

65. @ustinKnight
Roles of
Creativity
The design should be built
with intent; there should be reason
and justification behind the
decisions made.
Take-Aways
Take a photo for safe keeping

66. Litmus Test
@ustinKnight
If a designer seems to be making design decisions
based solely on opinion or intuition, they aren’t
practicing design; they’re practicing art.
Take a photo for safe keeping

67. Litmus Test
@ustinKnight
Focus on designers that can regularly
support their design decisions with
reliable data, research, or reason.
Take a photo for safe keeping

68. Litmus Test
@ustinKnight
While design and art are both equally important
to society, if a designer is hired as a designer, they
should be practicing design.
Take a photo for safe keeping

69. 2
DESIGN AND EGO
The incompatibilities between
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

70. Real screen shots from a Creative Director’s portfolio
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

71. uxd.to/design @ustinKnight
Feedback and
emotional
attachment
Attribution of
success and
failure
Data and
validation
Open-
mindedness
Collaboration
and teamwork

72. HUMILITY
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY
A DESIGNER CAN POSSESS
uxd.to/design @ustinKnight

73. @ustinKnight
AustinKnight.com
uxd.to/design
@HubSpot
HubSpot.com