design: part art, part art, part science

I was working with a student today who was writing a paper on whether
design (specifically engineering design) is part art or part science. In
a way, this phrase we use to describe something as an art more than a
science is really simply a colloquialism - and perhaps shouldn't be the
basis for a rigorous study. But, the student is very sharp and really
went into a lot of varied texts to discern an answer.
In the end, I was impressed with his study with the exception of how
"art" is used. When we describe something as an art more than a science,
we mean that it has an intangible element that defies an easy
explanation or way to instruct others. Design is clearly prone to this.
Often experience and intuition are used to determine what's a good idea
over a bad idea. Experience and intuition in design fulfill this
definition of "art." But, further, Design also overlaps with the
definition of art as in the "production of aesthetic object" to quote m-w.com).

So in this way, we can define design fulfilling two separate definitions of art. Also, there is of course the technology in design. How things are made, and the complexity of those objects. So, if you are forced to define engineering design to someone - you can tell them it's part art, part art and part science.