Once could think of the computer screen or Web browser as an artist's canvas – the choices one can make in arranging the various elements on the screen, the colors and fonts one uses to represent them, the choice of background color or image, and so on, are virtually limitless. Unlike the artist, though, the goal of a survey designer is not to create a work of art but rather to facilitate the task for which the instrument was designed. Furthermore, unlike the artist's canvas which, once completed remains relatively fixed and permanent – the artist has full control over the expression of his or her ideas – the design of a Web survey on a computer screen, as rendered by a browser, is subject to variations that are often not under the full control of the designer. Therefore, the survey designer does not have the free reign of expression open to the artist.

In addition, whereas the artist may not care that some people do not like their creation, and people may see the same piece of art in many different ways, the survey designer must of necessity care that the information content is viewed and interpreted the same way by a variety of different respondents.

Despite these and other differences between the two genres, it is surprising how many examples of Web surveys can be seen in which the designer's creative juices have apparently been given free reign.