Artist vs Designer

© copyright 2016 Mark Kelly.

What to say?

Is a Massage Therapist the same as a Physiotherapist, or vice versa? Yet in the past I have been called both. Is a Designer the same as an Artist, or vice versa? And once again, I am being called both.

I note of late I am being referred to as an 'artist'. Strange, but true. Oddly enough I consider myself to be a Graphic Designer over an Artist. Why? Well, for one, my BA (Hons) is in Graphic Design, and my Diploma is in Art & Design, and I love fonts and letters and words. I also love colours and painting and drawing with pens, pencils and markers. But to my mind this does not make me an artist. I love taking pictures but I am not a photographer.

I love words and the power and emotion they can evoke if combined correctly - something akin to alchemy with words - and I have been known to write the odd poem, the snippet of a story, or the winding paragraphs of something broader and deeper. But I am not a writer. A dabbler, yes. And the same would apply to my 'art'.

I am a creative designer who 'dabbles'. But thank you for the compliment of 'artist', it has made me smile.