andy rutledge essay

The Opposite of Professional

August 22, 2008

Much has been written, discussed, and debated lately about the ostensive necessity of academic education in whether or not one exhibits design professionalism. But for all of the exchange surrounding this issue I’ve not seen reference the overriding, vital fact: the two are wholly unrelated. Never the twain has met. They are non-relatives from different cultures. The one is to the other as dancing is to geology. In short, higher education does not produce design professionalism. Never has, never will. Yet the various aspects of academics, and other wholly irrelevant factors, are always the primary recurring themes debated in these discussions.