What is the purpose of art?

People use art for commercials and marketing purposes

Question: What is the purpose of art?
Position‹2 of 4›: The purpose of art is communication
Argument‹2 of 3›: People use art for commercials and marketing purposes

Businesses can make use of art to promote their products and services and establish connections with customers. Visuals strengthen the connections and help customers remember the products and the company.

The argument

Artwork and artists are increasingly becoming a big part of the advertising process. Art for marketing purposes helps create awareness and interest in a company, product, or service. It helps engage buyers to purchase or use the services. Businesses use visual art to communicate their products and offerings and strengthen bonds with the target audience and established customers. Images are generally easier to remember for people. Advertising as a way of communication to customers can make use of visual sharing of information for a better connection with customers. Artists can also help in the design of products or electronic websites to help customers easily navigate and find the products and services. Researchers found that people evaluate the exact same product substantially more positively when the advertisements include art and visuals. Art significantly helps in marketing purposes.

Premises

[P1]Businesses increasingly use visual art in advertising to create awareness and interest, communicate their products, and strengthen bonds with customers, since images are easier to remember. [P2] Research finds people evaluate the same product more positively when ads include art and visuals, showing art works as a tool of communication. [C] Therefore, because people use art to communicate in commercials and marketing, the purpose of art is communication.

Counter-arguments

Visual art is not always beneficial in marketing. There are instances where delicate design distracts the consumers from the functionality of the product or introduces complexity and confusion. On the other hand, some products that look less attractive may look more superior in function in the eyes of consumers. For example, people think that Dyson vacuum cleaners are unattractive in design but attribute to them high functionality. Similarly, some websites with unattractive or basic design may have a functional advantage. It is not always the case that purposing art for marketing is useful and therefore, are may or may not serve marketing.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] That art is used to communicate in advertising shows one use to which it is put, which is a claim about marketing rather than about art's purpose — the same reasoning would make the purpose of language selling. [Rejecting P2] The research finding is given without a source, and the counter's examples of plain design signalling function cut against it; in any case an effect on product evaluation establishes persuasion, which the sibling positions on expression and on function would each read differently.