The mental images conjured by the term 'digital' have come a long way from imagining the film 'Tron' or 'The Matrix'. Digital media and presentation is not simply about the post-modern stark and monochromatic design that is best suited for yuppie-hipster loft apartments in SoHo. Digital media has become a true art form, and this was before it was given universal validation by becoming a major concentration at university campuses all over the world.
While the basis of web-design may be long lines of code, the designer is required to have knowledge of all basic art principles; such as colour, line, depth, composition, and shape, etc. to create a successful product that appeals aesthetically as well as functionally to the viewer. Basic sites with little to no elaborate CSS styling, no flair, if you will, (another nod to 'Office Space') are simply not interesting to use. When functionality meets an appealing design the site truly does its job of providing information to the viewer. Ease of use, such as employing the Adobe Flash program, make the site visually stimulating as well as useful.
Digital art, including photography, has exploded all over the media world as the primary form of illustration in all print media, and digital photography's ease of use and instant knowledge of the photo makes film photography a hobby for people with lots of time.
Digital can also be equated with quick, (although our designers would beg to differ on some projects), and the image of a painter spending years in front of an easel as well as a designer working in front of a computer can both be equated with the word art.