What is Design?

When I was a senior in high school, I took a course called AP Studio Art.  I am sure many of you have heard or taken the class yourselves, but for those who have not, it is structured in such a way to get the students to show their artistic ability and viewpoint through 12 collection pieces, 12 breadth pieces, and 5 quality pieces.  As I entered the class, I did not really comprehend the amount of work I was about to take on.  Also enrolled in three other AP courses, I thought art was going to be one of my easier classes… boy was I wrong!  After painting, drawing, redrawing, and stressing for what seemed like an eternity (about one school year to be exact), my portfolio was finished just in time for submission.  A few weeks before the deadline, my art teacher pulled me aside for a few words.  Thinking it was going to be something like, “You’ve got this Libby, keep up the good work!”, I was surprised to hear that my teacher was worried about my collection.  She explained that she loved my work, but that it was more “design” and not “art.”  She wanted to let me know that if I did not pass the AP exam (a viewing of ones portfolio by a panel of AP graders) that it was not because I was not talented, but instead it was because my work screamed design.  This got me thinking, what is the line between art and design?  Who has the right to call something art versus design?  In my opinion, art is a combination of elements, whether it be lines on a page or rocks placed together on the ground, that capture an emotion, an idea, an essences of something.  I am no art major and have never taken a course called “What is art?”, but this is my best guess.  But then if my artwork was not art, and was in fact design, did it not hold the ability to affect a person’s senses?  I think the answer is that design IS art, yet holds some sort of function.  Design is man made; it is all around us, everything from the chair you are probably sitting on while reading this blog to the clothing on your back.  Needless to say, I received a 3 on my AP test.  Not high, not low, but a passing grade.  Who knows, maybe the graders thought it was design and felt pity for me and still allowed me to pass, I will never find out.