Spotlight: Caitlyn Burke & Gender Amplified’s All-Female Web Design Team

Here at Gender Amplified, part of our mission is to celebrate women in music production and give them a platform to spotlight their work, achievements, and ongoing career goals. If 2018 has taught us anything with the growing #MeToo and #TimesUp initiatives, it’s that women in all industries (especially those that are primarily male-dominated) need a platform and deserve a seat at the table, and what better way to bring women to the table than to have other women build seats for them?

So when it came time to redesign our website, Gender Amplified founder and President Ebonie Smith sought female web designers and developers to conceptualize everything from branding to user experience (for those who don’t know, user experience refers to the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or enjoyable it is to use). Caitlyn Burke, an Interactive Web Designer at Atlantic Records, took on the task of spearheading the project and building a team of other like-minded women to create a finished product that has left the whole Gender Amplified team in awe.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with Caitlyn recently and ask her a few questions about her experiences as a web designer, her contributions to the organization DevX Camp, and how she got involved with Gender Amplified.

What inspired you to get into web design?

The university I attended for graphic design was very traditional. I graduated believing my future would consist of package design, logos, branding, or working for a print magazine. This always bothered me because of the negative environmental impact of print design. When I created my first web design project for a trucking company in Detroit, I felt I discovered what I was meant to be doing. Digital design allows for mistakes, trial and error (that’s where User Experience design comes in), and I enjoy all the components that create web experiences. Plus you aren’t wasting a ton ink/paper.

Female music producers/engineers contribute different skills, ideas, etc. to the work they create with their clients. What do you think female web designers might contribute differently?

I think people forget, or don’t believe, that women also have an entrepreneurial spirit. Shocking, right?! I can’t speak for all women in the field, but the ones I have had the pleasure to work with are the most talented, professional, evolving designers and creators I know. That openness to change our perspective, to go against “trendy” design is what my female cohorts inspire me to do every day.

What is DevX Camp and how did you get involved in it?

DevX Camp was started by a former colleague and my friend in Wilmington, DE. Our team consists of web developers, UX, and digital designers from various companies/freelance backgrounds. We want to inspire high school students to consider UX Design, Digital Design, or the coding field. During the camp we do real world exercises that any design or product agency would implement in their brainstorm sessions and teach basic coding skills. I was really excited when 90% of the students in attendance were female!

How did you get involved in designing the new Gender Amplified site? How did you build your team of developers? What was the inspiration behind the site’s new design?

I was approached by Gender Amplified’s founder (we both work at Atlantic Records) and upon learning about the mission and goals of the organization, I was immediately interested and excited to be a part of this. Ebonie Smith definitely appreciates good design and user experience, something not every client knows or cares about.

One of the goals for the redesign project was to have an all-female team. I assumed this would be a challenge because there is a lack of female developers in the industry. I reached out to a number of female tech groups and asked a friend if she would help. She initially said no due to raising a family with a full-time job (it was a large time commitment). Once she heard the mission of GA, she too set time aside, worked late nights, and had another female friend of hers to help with the heavier code builds. So I had myself doing the design and communication and two badass female developers to make this thing happen in just two weeks!

What do you think are the benefits of women working together across various male-dominated industries?

The best companies and organizations have an equal male to female ratio of staff with people of various backgrounds. These are the companies who have a wider impact on their users, customers, and fans and are probably most successful. Basically, we achieve better ideas when we band together.

What are some pieces of advice you have for young women who want to pursue a career in web design?

My advice for young women looking to enter the tech field or web design world is to take advantage of the tools that are out there. DevX camp is free. There are tons of public resources online to learn coding, design, UX and more. We live in an age of too much information, use it! Start small. Create an app starting with pencil and paper. If you can, take classes and don’t be intimidated if you’re the only female!