That's why I say Design is art, Art is not design.
I've started in graphic design when I was 17. I took a class at a community college that was a combination of then Macromedia Suite which included Fireworks, Flash and Dreamweaver. I was hooked. It became like a drug to me. I took the class with both my parents too (it sucked) and I would do their homework and projects as well as mine, but I didn't mind it because I loved it. Web design became my obsession. I would spend hours in the computer lab learning the ins and outs of Dreamweaver and Flash. For the final project for the class we had to make a personal site in dreamweaver and I created HTML sites using the dreamweaver UI for both my parents. For my personal site I took a risk and made it in Flash. Looking back at it now it sucked. The navigation was placed without taking the user into account and the color use was badly executed, but I still got an A and my professor was very impressed. Yes I did outshine every student in the class, including some seasoned designers who were taking the class as a supplement and I was damn proud of it too. From there on out I knew what I wanted to do and I feel very fucking lucky having discovered my passion so early on.
I have not entertained a slight thought of a career in anything but design since then. I spent many nights learning and reading about UI and color use. Practical tips were added to my design sense. I am not arrogant enough to say that I developed my own sense of design by myself. It has become unique in it's own way but I have been heavily influenced by every talented artist I have ever come in contact with. Some tried their hand in graphic design, but dear god they failed miserably at it, but they were incredible artists and their use of colors in their pieces were stunning and that gave me inspiration, allowed me to venture outside of my conventional style and into asymmetrical layouts and colors.
I have since spent a lot of time obsessing over design. I had a competitive streak of trying to outdo my peers. Although I would fail at times it just made me work harder. Now I am no longer the competitive kid that's out to prove himself. Now a successful design is a design I don't hate 24 hours after I make it. I developed my own style and in my own right became an artist. I stick to the digital medium for the most part and continuously perfect my craft, not for myself, but for the future designers that will allow me to marvel at their work.
Design is Art.
