Many people often say, “I don’t know anything about design,” or “Art is beyond me,” and then leave everything to the designer. In reality, there’s a common misunderstanding between “design” and “art.”
In everyday life, we frequently encounter the terms “design” and “art.” Similarly, “designer” and “artist” may seem like just different titles, but there’s a significant difference behind these words. The main distinction lies in the objectives each role pursues.
Design involves a lot of communication to achieve a refined result. Even if you don’t fully understand, knowing what you want is essential to eventually getting it right. As for art… it’s quite complex, and honestly, even I don’t fully get it.
The Pursuit of Information Transmission vs. Self-Expression
In simple terms, an artist uses their feelings and thoughts to create freely, engaging in “self-expression.” They don’t worry much about how others perceive their work; what’s most important is what they are expressing.
However, for us (photographers who also work as designers), it’s different. Designers need to convey information through their designs to prompt the target audience to take specific actions, thus achieving the goal of “information transmission.” In our case, creating menu designs is result-oriented.
The design isn’t just about looking “beautiful,” “cool,” or “impactful”; it’s based on years of experience in the food industry to understand the client’s needs and create a design that meets those needs. We also explain why a particular design works and provide recommendations that best suit the client’s actual needs.
No One-Size-Fits-All Solution in Design
Each client’s needs vary based on their store’s size, location, products, and services, so there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Even top-tier designers and copywriters can’t guarantee a 100% success rate. Therefore, if the initial attempt doesn’t yield ideal results, we adjust based on the feedback to strive for the desired outcome.
To put it simply, as designers, we are just workers. The most crucial thing is understanding what the client wants and then working hard to achieve that result—nothing more.
Take the Japanese Donburi restaurant’s menu design in the image, for example. The artistic element is zero. Instead, the focus is on displaying all the necessary information and mouth-watering images to promote the “donburi menu” effectively. It’s straightforward and clear.