Does the Concept of Professionalism Apply to the Creative Industries?

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The word “professional” is everywhere. You are either a professional or you’re not.

Remember the days you would sit in class, and you would be expected to give a presentation every now and then on various topics? You would notice the usual classmates who were well-prepared, spoke fluently, had appropriate props and slideshows. And there would be the others who would be fumbling for their notes, hesitating as they had not rehearsed their talk, had no visual displays because they had not met the deadline.

The organised, skilled kids were the professionals, the others were amateurs. This fits with the etymology of “professional” from its Latin root meaning of “communicating”.

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Professionalism in the Collins English Dictionary is defined self-referentially as “the methods, character, status, etc., of a professional”. So, generally, the way in which a person conducts themselves in a workplace. This includes the way they act around fellow colleagues, how organised they are or even the way in which they dress.

This sounds more like the workplace in retail, or in an office.

So how does this apply to the creative industries?

When we talk about the creative industries, we mean things like art, design, music, film video, and photography.

You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, I do art or I do music. How would professionalism apply to that?” because it can be argued that art or music is brought about in such a way that it lacks all organisation but the end result would appear as if you knew what you were doing all along. (We’re all guilty of this one!).

For example, singer Astrid S very recently decided to make a song using quotes and lyrics sent in from over 5,000 of her fans as inspiration. She only had one day to make the song, and you can hear her in her behind-the-scenes video saying “I usually don't make the lyrics first I usually make some chords or a melody,” and giggles as she exclaims, “I have no idea how to get started!”.

Some may argue that in this, Astrid is not being professional as she apparently has no idea what she is doing. However, you may notice she says things like “I tend to do this” or “Now that's done I feel like I can move on to do this”. She is still applying her skills to making the song, and that is what has made the tune professional.

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When it comes to web design, the online world is just like the outside world: you still have to produce things on time, take the customers into consideration and, more importantly, you still carry yourself about with dignity and respect on the internet just as you would going to your job, in person. Cyberbullying is unfortunately something which happens every day, but this should not be the way in which people go about their work. Indeed, this is rule number 2 of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct that all web developers should know:

1. Treat each other with respect, professionalism, fairness, and sensitivity to our many differences and strengths, including in situations of high pressure and urgency.

2. Never harass or bully anyone verbally, physically or sexually.

3. Never discriminate on the basis of personal characteristics or group membership. 

4. Communicate constructively and avoid demeaning or insulting behavior or language.

5. Seek, accept, and offer objective work criticism, and acknowledge properly the contributions of others.

6. Be honest about your own qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts of interest.

7. Respect the privacy of others and the confidentiality of data you access.

8. With respect to cultural differences, be conservative in what you do and liberal in what you accept from others, but not to the point of accepting disrespectful, unprofessional or unfair or unwelcome behavior or advances.

9. Promote the rules of this Code and take action (especially if you are in a leadership position) to bring the discussion back to a more civil level whenever inappropriate behaviors are observed.

Along with these rules, the WHATWG (The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group, a group of people who are dedicated towards the development of HTML and various other technologies, include more policies on their website for those interested in the web industry.

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Therefore, it can be established that professionalism does apply to the creative industries. While you may not need to dress a certain way while sitting at home on your laptop (we have all seen “Surrogates”!), you still have to meet deadlines, and politely communicate with customers. And even if you are the most disorganised person in the world, that does not make your work any less professional provided that the end result is right! Keep the creativity coming!