Design vs. Craft vs. Art

Usually, people find it hard to distinguish design and craft and art from one another because of their interconnected nature. The word for each concept does not fully define the respective profession or field. Still, they refer to different approaches to making and selling something.

We call someone an artist not just because that person is good at drawing or sculpting. We call them artists because they make something entirely according to their desires, whereas designers do their job faithfully according to their client's needs, tastes, and budget. Designers work in a mass market that is also called industry. Craftspeople typically use old-fashioned manual methods and often pursue an ethos of tradition, which allows them to imbue their own tastes and characteristics into their merchants. Their market, however, is inevitably smaller than industrial ones. Despite their subtle or distinctive differences, all three concepts refer to devising something using their mind and body. Devising is a key factor. Activity without this factor is not called either design, or craft, or art.

BLOODTYPE : B is a design studio that devises something artistic and craftlike. Each of the creations the studio makes has its own purpose. Some projects are made for something other than monetary profit, but most of them are planned ultimately for a market. The market that the projects aim at varies. It could be literature, furniture, or design education, etc. For any project commissioned by a client, the studio prioritizes the client's desire. That's the reason why BLOODTYPE : B is a design studio.

The studio was established in 2015. It is based in Seoul, South Korea, but it is quite mobile rather than fixed to a geographic spot, thanks to the Internet and all the other technologies. 

A designer, Mor Ro, runs the studio. Mor Ro's blood type is B, as you might have guessed. He named the studio BLOODTYPE : B because, to give you a short version of the explanation, he found that this name was available in the website domain name market and also might be safe to avoid any legal trouble regarding trademark copyrights for the word's mundaneness. If you don't mind a long version, you can find it below.

Somebody in Imperial Japan back in the 1930s had an idea. Defeating strong enemies and ruling the world could be possible if super soldiers were developed. Some scientists in Imperial Japan thought that blood type was the key to achieving their goal. They related the ABO blood group system to human traits and characteristics. This kind of pseudoscientific approach called eugenics didn't succeed and faded after Japan's defeat in World War 2. But the belief about the relation between blood types and innate personalities of people survived among Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Koreans. 

According to the belief, blood types are strong players in deciding whom to hang out with and whom to stay away from. But the personality that each blood type is attributed to varies depending on the person who believes what she/he believes. It is a false belief after all. Nevertheless, some attributions have been shared among certain social groups. A person with blood type B, as an example, is believed by some people to be subversive and creative. This is, of course, nothing more than a prejudice. But when Mor Ro heard the description, he thought that the description perfectly fit him. Even though the attribution was not scientifically verified, this coincidence could be used for something, he thought. So he named his studio after his blood type.

Whether you believe the connection between blood types and personalities or not, the works that the studio produces are subversive and creative. You can see that when you go through them ;).