When I was much younger, I wanted to be a fine artist. I loved painting. I still do.

My uncle, Stan Riley – himself an extremely talented fine artist and then Head of Advertising at St Martin’s School of Art – persuaded me to go into graphic design.

“It’s a skill you can always fall back on,” he told me.
“Fine art will come in time.”

I’m not sure this was quite what he meant, but perhaps he was right. I became a graphic designer and eventually ended up running a creative agency. And every now and again a project comes along where the distinction between artist and designer gets very blurry.

I remember endlessly debating “what is art?” at university.

For me, the difference has always been relatively simple.

Design has a commercial purpose. It has a job to do. Sell something. Explain something. Change a perception.

Art is more personal. The artist is in control.

But is it really that simple?

Put a beautifully designed poster in a frame and hang it in a gallery. Is it suddenly art?

Commission an artist to create a mural for a property developer. Is that now design?

We see the crossover everywhere.

Neville Brody, Peter Saville and David Carson created graphic design that deserves to be viewed as art. Camille Walala, Supermundane and Keith Haring have all created work in commercial environments.

Artists design advertising. Designers create murals. The lines are wonderfully blurred.

We’ve experienced that at Chocolate Ltd too.

When we were asked to create the hoardings for the Pavilion at IQL Stratford, the brief was essentially to create a piece of art. We gave it meaning and a sense of place, but there wasn’t even a logo in sight.

I liked some of the photomontages so much I made prints and hung them at home.

So… are they art now?

Over the years we’ve painted, illustrated, cut, stuck, photographed, collaged and occasionally abandoned the computer altogether.

We’ve created huge sculptural hoardings for Canada Water, paintings for La Tasca, hand-painted timelines at Leake Street, wrapped windows at 22 Bishopsgate, 3D &’s at Elephant Park and window dressings at Surrey Quays – work designed to make people stop, look and remember.

I’ve never been particularly interested in building an agency full of people who simply know how to use design software. I’m interested in people who create. People who cross disciplines. Ideas people. Makers. Artists.

Running a creative agency isn’t for the faint-hearted. But every now and again we get to get the paints, printing sets, Pritt Stick and scissors out and just make something real.

Those are the days that remind me why I chose this career.

Maybe the distinction between art and design doesn’t really matter.
Or maybe the best creative work sits somewhere in between.

So when does design become art?
Jury’s still out.

But I love working in the space where it’s difficult to tell.

Maybe my lovely uncle Stan was right after all – fine art did come in time.