Art vs. Design?

I think the phrase “art vs. design” is something I have heard too often, but have never quite understood. According to me art and design go almost hand-in-hand. There is such a raggedy line between the two terms that it is hard to distinguish the difference between them, let alone compare and contrast them. What defines art and what defines design? If a product is functional, does that take away its rights on being an art piece? If a product cannot be mass produced but is fully functional, does that mean it is not a design but a piece of art?

I got thinking about how to distinguish the difference between art and design more so after taking a ceramics class this semester. I realized that in ceramics everything you create is very unique, and that no two people will have the exact same style. People create ‘art’ out of clay, expressing their own individualism. However, with me, and many others like me who have an industrial or graphic design, architecture or interiors background, our work was much different from the works of people majoring in fine arts. The pieces I produced were much more structural and functional, but does that mean my pieces weren’t artistic? For example, the two teapots below are very different in aesthetics. The first one was created by a ceramics artist, while the second one was made by an industrial designer. I don’t think that the first teapot is an art piece while the second is a design, when they both carry out the exact same function.

In my work, in general, I tend to lean more towards the functional aspects rather than the aesthetic approach. A lot of other people I know prefer working the other way around. I do not think that this makes me more of a designer than an artist, and it makes them more artistic than design oriented. This is why I do not understand the phrase “art vs. design”, because in my mind it will always be “art and design” since neither can exist without the other.