Architectural Design: Trying to better understand the difference between a designer and an architectural designer. Would someone like Philippe Starck be considered an architectural designer?

There is a simple legal answer to that: An Architect has to be registered to use this qualification. A designer does not need to be registered and therefore anyone could legally call themselves designer or architectural designer. However, one very powerful aspect of the english language is that the word "design" can be used for anything that exist in the universe and beyond: A mechanical engineer designs elegant solutions for microchips, Cactus have a beautifully and efficient design A law can be well designed for a purpose. In other words: Design shows an acknowledgement for the qualities of a system and how it fulfills one or more purpose. Some rare amazing people do not ask legal permission to design spoons, airplanes or skyscraper at the same time while not being "qualified" or "educated" to do so.  They have innovative ideas about everything and therefore "design" in many different fields. Philippe Stark is one of them, Leonardo da Vinci, Gustave Eiffel, Antoni Gaudi, Frei Otto, Thomas Heatherwick, Ron Arad, Richard Branson, James Dyson to name of few. They all jump from one category to the next bringing innovation everywhere. Their set of mind, their creative systems are so flexible that they can think differently on all kinds of topics which are probably way too constrained by the ordinary "specialists". Leonardo da Vinci had a constant thirst for knowledge and wanted to understand the world on a very deep level, drawing the anatomy of animals to great details and then using the principles he learnt to design new types of machinery. This multidisciplinary approach to design brought so many innovation and beauty to his work and makes one wonder if anyone should be a "specialist". Above: Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks "The Codex" in which he shows a constant thirst for knowledge and desire to innovate in many different fields. Thomas Heatherwick joyfully innovates in all fields without asking for permission. Having said that, the expression: "Jack of all trade, master of none" can still apply to people that jump from one topic to the next without being able to go in depth. They just jump to the next category for the sake of it and therefore produce really bad Architecture or Industrial design. It is also equally impressive to discuss with a specialist who has worked with one material or technique all his life, knowing it inside out. The extraordinary can only exist having the ordinary so credits to the creators of skillful and beautiful ordinary! However, by doing so, one can easily lose the "bigger" picture: the overall visions that differentiate mundane work from great work of art and nothing prevents Jacks of all trade to hire master consultants :) PS: James Dyson needs to rethink his hand dryer, it creates large puddles of water on the floor!