In Chen's view, the difference between design and art is that art is the creation of pure, personal symbols for the viewing of those who understand it, while design is arranging symbols that the maximum number of people are able to accept. This is because design is a type of consumer culture--which is something that all designers should always keep in mind.
在他看來，設計與藝術的不同在於，藝術是創造一種純粹個人的符碼給看得懂的人看；設計則是編排出一套最大多數人能接受的符碼，因為，設計是一種消費文化──這是所有設計師都應謹記在心的。