After (apparently) much deliberation, this needs to be discussed. The status of whether or not Graphic Design Majors fall under the category of art students or design students. Personally I don’t see what the big deal for the argument is. But the following is my stance. Graphic Design students are Design students.
What’s the difference you may ask, well the definitions are as follows. Design, by definition is: a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made. Now the key word to keep in mind here is function.
Art by definition is as follows: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. The word to remember here is expression.
So what falls under design majors are interior design, graphic design, etc…
The word to point out here is design because it serves a very specific function. It’s a functional piece of work for either marketing for graphic design or functional living or office spaces for interiors. Though they may take necessary art classes for their majors they are still design students.
You can take from this whatever you like, you can agree or disagree honestly. Because at the end of the day does it really matter? We all have the same amount of student debt.