David Nuff RGD: The Artful Designer:Creating for Commerce and Culture

Designers don’t need to be so afraid
of the word “art”. We often hear that
design is not art, yet so many of us
enter the field precisely through that
gateway. While we may be instructed
to think of our work as functional
and utilitarian, there is also space for
play, expression, experimentation
and wonder. With one foot in both the
art and design worlds, David shares
his experiences from across the divide
and through recent projects. He introduces
valuable approaches and
mindsets from artistic practice that
designers can incorporate, and
discusses why he believes the design
community is well-equipped to
make great contributions to art.

David has a hard time colouring inside
the lines. His work blurs the lines
between commerce and culture, art and
design. For clients, he works on brand
identities, digital products, murals and
publications. Independently and as
part of a collective, he designs interactive
installations like 2017’s Shard,
a giant, icy light crystal that responds
to sound and motion. He is exploring
spatial design and interaction paradigms
at Ryerson University’s Design
Fabrication Zone and developing his
artistic practice as part of the 2018–19
Akin Studio Program at the Museum
of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto.

Culture