Design and art are not the same thing

John O’Nolan does a great job explaining The Difference Between Art and Design. You may find this information helpful when communicating with the designer who blurs the distinction between art and design.

Good Art Inspires. Good Design Motivates.
The designer’s job isn’t to invent something new, but to communicate something that already exists, for a purpose. That purpose is almost always to motivate the audience to do something: buy a product, use a service, visit a location, learn certain information.

Good Art Is Interpreted. Good Design Is Understood.
The fundamental purpose of design is to communicate a message and motivate the viewer to do something. If your design communicates a message other than the one you intended, and your viewer goes and does something based on that other message, then it has not met its requirement.

Good Art Is a Taste. Good Design Is an Opinion.
Design has an element of taste, but the difference between good and bad design is largely a matter of opinion. A good piece of design can still be successful without being to your taste. If it accomplishes its objective of being understood and motivates people to do something, then whether it’s good or not is a matter of opinion.

Good Art Is a Talent. Good Design Is a Skill.
Design, though, is really a skill that is taught and learned. You do not have to be a great artist to be a great designer; you just have to be able to achieve the objectives of design.

Good Art Sends a Different Message to Everyone. Good Design Sends the Same Message to Everyone.
Many designers consider themselves artists because they create something visually attractive, something they would be proud for people to hang on a wall and admire. But a visual composition intended to accomplish a specific task or communicate a particular message, no matter how beautiful, is not art. It is a form of communication....