Only a few days ago (probably on Saturday, 28 November) did the
distinction between art and design become clearer to me, courtesy of
Tom Igoe, in an interview with him in the book "Programming
Interactivity" (O'Reilly, 2009). He was describing the distinction in
relation to device interaction:

"Recognising that all device
interaction is a conversation, it's an iterative loop of thinking and
speaking. So often, artists, more so than designers, get really good at
the speaking side of the conversation and don't develop the listening
skills. This is the area where I find the great difference between
people who are attempting to make interactive design. The distinction
comes in that art is primarily an act of self-expression, whereas
design is primarily an act of facilitating communication. Artists have
to make things that do something or say something. This is one of the
reasons interactive art is a kind of fallacy. I always tell
students, look, it doesn't matter which side of the divide between art
and design you fall on, but be clear on the distinction, and when you
make your choices, be clear on which of the two is governing your
choices."

Tom Igoe wrote "Making Things Talk", a book on physical computing and related things.

Posted originally at: http://www.frontlinemedia.org.au/node/24