Creative professional
Encyclopedia
A 'creative professional is a person who is employed for the extraction of skills in creative endeavors. Creative professions include writing, art, design, theater, television, radio, motion pictures, related crafts, as well as marketing, strategy, scientific research and development, product development, engineering, some types of teaching and curriculum design, and more. Since many creative professionals (actors and writers, for example) are also employed in secondary professions, estimates of creative professionals are often inaccurate. By some estimates, approximately 10 million US workers are creative professionals; depending upon the depth and breadth of the definition, this estimate may be doubled.
The change in status began in the late 1990s when demand for creative workers was high due to the internet boom. Creative workers found that their talents in graphic
and interactive design were valuable, and so, the workers began to develop independent cultures in select cities throughout the world, notably San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY, and Boston, MA. Some smaller cities, such as Austin, TX, and Portland, OR also became centers where creative people found abundant opportunity. This trend has been documented in author Richard Florida
's book, The Creative Class.
As the creative workforce has evolved in the post-dot.com era, creative workers have continued to flourish. Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind
, describes the transition in American business from information age
to conceptual age. Pink describes information-era jobs as expendable and exportable, and offers that the MFA
may yield more value for newer American workers than the MBA might generate in today's economy.
The Creative Professional, by Howard Blumenthal, describes the phenomenon from yet another perspective: that of the individual worker now emerging as a serious business professional with specific skills on par with lawyers, accountants, doctors, and other workers who are perceived to be within a special class. The book describes the unique business and career issues for the individual creative worker.
and Creative Commons
.
University education for creative professionals is often presented under older definitions of music, art, and related disciplines, but the processes related to creative thought, particularly as they apply to work, are found in books about cognitive psychology. Author and cognitive thinking researcher Howard Gardner
has defined a variety of intelligences related to creative workers. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
has described the process of creative work effectively in several books, including Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Professors in Business have also started to explore the success factors for creative professionals including Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile
who has studied and published research on creative professionals like author John Irving among others.
Corporate research and the development of products and services specifically for creative professionals has started to crop up as companies hire increasing numbers of creative professionals to compete on innovation. Recent changes to corporate slogans are indicative of the trend. In 2003, GE's slogan changed from "We Bring Good Things To Life" to "Imagination at Work" and Hewlett Packard adopted the slogan "Invent." Companies such as Apple, Adobe
, Behance
, and 37 Signals have started developing and marketing products especially for the creative professional community.
History
Although creative professionals have been a part of the workforce for more than 500 years, several events during the past decade have altered industry and public perception of these workers.The change in status began in the late 1990s when demand for creative workers was high due to the internet boom. Creative workers found that their talents in graphic
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and interactive design were valuable, and so, the workers began to develop independent cultures in select cities throughout the world, notably San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY, and Boston, MA. Some smaller cities, such as Austin, TX, and Portland, OR also became centers where creative people found abundant opportunity. This trend has been documented in author Richard Florida
Richard Florida
Richard Florida is an American urban studies theorist.Richard Florida's focus is on social and economic theory. He is currently a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto. He also heads a private consulting firm, the...
's book, The Creative Class.
As the creative workforce has evolved in the post-dot.com era, creative workers have continued to flourish. Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind
A Whole New Mind
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future is a book by Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation. A Whole New Mind posits that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers.-Key concepts:...
, describes the transition in American business from information age
Information Age
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
to conceptual age. Pink describes information-era jobs as expendable and exportable, and offers that the MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
may yield more value for newer American workers than the MBA might generate in today's economy.
The Creative Professional, by Howard Blumenthal, describes the phenomenon from yet another perspective: that of the individual worker now emerging as a serious business professional with specific skills on par with lawyers, accountants, doctors, and other workers who are perceived to be within a special class. The book describes the unique business and career issues for the individual creative worker.
Expansion of scope and study
To date, most of the information about this growing phenomenon exists in book form. Many of the ideas and mechanisms are related to changes in copyright law, as described by Lawrence LessigLawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
and Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
.
University education for creative professionals is often presented under older definitions of music, art, and related disciplines, but the processes related to creative thought, particularly as they apply to work, are found in books about cognitive psychology. Author and cognitive thinking researcher Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner
Howard Earl Gardner is an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero and author of over twenty books translated into thirty languages. Since 1995, he has...
has defined a variety of intelligences related to creative workers. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, he is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake...
has described the process of creative work effectively in several books, including Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Professors in Business have also started to explore the success factors for creative professionals including Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile
Teresa Amabile
Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School.-Biography:...
who has studied and published research on creative professionals like author John Irving among others.
Corporate research and the development of products and services specifically for creative professionals has started to crop up as companies hire increasing numbers of creative professionals to compete on innovation. Recent changes to corporate slogans are indicative of the trend. In 2003, GE's slogan changed from "We Bring Good Things To Life" to "Imagination at Work" and Hewlett Packard adopted the slogan "Invent." Companies such as Apple, Adobe
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
, Behance
Behance
Behance is an American company that designs organizational products and services based on research among productive creative people and teams.-The Behance Network:...
, and 37 Signals have started developing and marketing products especially for the creative professional community.