Design, Engineering or Art?

"Art without Engineering is dreaming. Engineering without Art is calculating."

Product Design, what does it entail? Creativity, problem solving and hard work. These skills are not limited to just one of the above categories but linked to both.

Creativity is a must for being artistic, but so is having a good work ethic and being capable to solve any problems or setbacks. To have an engineering mind-set, you also need the above skills and qualities, so in my opinion both are necessary to create good, well planned design. Design needs to capture the attention of the consumer, or else it would never sell, but also needs to have a strong development and research put into it so that it can function. As if it does not work why would someone buy it?

In my opinion it is about balance between the two, if you were to overlook the art and creative aspect of the design, you would be left with a boring and unappealing product. Yet in the same way, if you were to simply design for aesthetics you would have a beautiful piece that does not function. It is important not to focus on just one.

The group discussion resulted in an almost 50/50 split between the two topics. Both sides had very valid points such as "Art is superficial, engineering gives body to the product." This was a very good point as it summed up my initial view, but I feel that it cannot be put so black and white. Especially considering there are so many fields and areas in the product design world.

For example, a car engine does not need to look all too aesthetically pleasing, it just needs to function but a bespoke armchair only needs to be capable of holding a certain weight, but has to look and feel luxurious. This is why I feel there needs to be a grey area, somewhere to put both engineering and art together in the design description.

In short I feel personally that design requires engineering and art to truly function, and both need to be examined and inspected carefully to ensure great design.