The Future of Female Creatives: Q&A with Praytell Designers Abigail Spooner and Chloe Bartlett

Throughout National Women’s History Month, we reflect on the countless contributions and achievements of women creatives: we honor their innate ability to move society through progressive and inclusive perspectives.

Recognition, however, is not nearly enough. Women currently make up only 30% of top roles in creative departments. Despite progress being made to address the underrepresentation of women in high-powered creative roles, we must actively seek solutions that increase the number of women in leadership positions.

To shine a light on how the next generation is moving the needle as collaborators and advocates for more diversity and representation in the industry, we sat down with two of Praytell’s designers: Abigail Spooner and Chloe Bartlett. Here’s what they had to say:

What’s a common misconception about young, female designers?

• AS: We live in the age of the overconfident “design bro.” (IYKYK.) The design world has been historically dominated by men, and in a lot of spaces it still is. I think a lot of young creative women tend to second-guess their talent/abilities or feel unsure about being able to fit into certain creative circles because they might not feel like they’re “ready.” But we have to learn to translate that feeling into wanting and pursuing more for ourselves rather than following the instinct to wait until we think we’re ready. We’ve done the work! We are ready!
• CB: While it feels that women would be well represented in the design field, our industry is run by men. There are very few female designers that have gotten to the top of our field — out of all the creative agencies operating now, only 1% are women-owned. These facts are really discouraging when you consider that the majority of students studying design are women. There were studios I’ve interviewed at that claimed “diversity,” but didn’t have a single woman or POC working with them. What these companies don’t understand is that their work suffers as a result of not having diverse perspectives involved.

What unique qualities do you think you and your peers are bringing to the creative world?

• CB: For me and the people I collaborate with, our art is a chance to bring something new into the world, work with people who share our vision, and learn from each other. When I was in college, I found my friends through art and we created a tight knit community built on challenging each other to push to places we hadn’t been before, opening each other’s eyes to new perspectives. It’s never about taking credit or stepping on others in order to get a promotion, we only want what is best for each other — collaboration is the best way we know how to grow and evolve. I think the same can be said for others in our generation, and I’m excited to see this attitude as the future of our industry.
• AS: This generation of creatives has a truly collaborative spirit. The best design has always happened when creative minds work together, but today’s technology allows this to happen even more quickly and easily than before. Like, look at TikTok. It’s a platform that was designed entirely with the idea of instant collaboration and sharing in mind. And outside of social media, so many of the peers that I look up to the most are constantly working with other folks in their circles. We love 2 collab! The creatives that are up-and-coming right now are competitive in the industry while at the same time constantly rooting for and supporting one another. I think that’s amazing.

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From colleagues to creative partners — tell us how your passion project @scroll.girls came about and what inspires your collaborative work.

• AS + CB: After both of us started working full-time at Praytell, we quickly became close friends both in and out of the office. We both enjoyed working together so much and appreciated each other’s personal eye for design, so we decided to work together on a project that was ours to own. Together we decided that we wanted to create a platform for both of us that was forever changing and pure collaborative fun. @scroll.girls is an evermorphing idea — every time we approach a new theme, we look at it with new eyes. The possibilities are endless.

What kind of work environment do you thrive in?

• AS: I enjoy being surrounded by other creative, productive people, while at the same time deeply valuing my independence. Our colleagues at Praytell — across all departments — are incredibly good at their jobs and fantastically creative. There’s always a friendly shoulder to tap if I feel stuck or want to bounce an idea around. But also… I’m always given the space to work on my projects in the way that works for me, which is great and so refreshing!
• CB: Personally, I love creating things on my own, but it’s also so important to me to surround myself with creative, like-minded individuals to talk through ideas and problem solve. Working in a silo, it’s easy to get in my own head and second guess myself, and having a creative group of people to go to helps a lot. At work I’m allowed to create in this format, knowing that I’m always supported by a wealth of talent for gut checks or a “Hey, can you look at this?” Having a friend and collaborator like Abigail in the office with me is such a bonus!

Do you have any role models who are paving the way? Can you elaborate on why role models and mentorship are valuable in your specialty?

• AS: Totally! Jessica Walsh is a huge one — after working for years with superstar graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister at Sagmeister & Walsh, she broke off to found her own studio with a number of female creatives, called & Walsh. She recognized the design world had few spaces where women were really encouraged to lead in a big-impact way, so she leveraged her own power and influence to set an example for the industry. I also hope that design schools continue to hire more and more amazing women and women of color to teach their students, because diversity in those types of learning spaces is absolutely vital and definitely shaped my own learning experience in a positive way.
• CB: Interestingly, I’ve found Instagram to be a huge resource. I follow so many other women who are creating that I’m inspired every time I open the app. Lauren Hom is one of my favorite creators, she is a letterer and designer from Detroit creating fun work with hand lettering. Lauren was able to turn her passion project into a full time job and she uses her social media presence to teach her followers business tips while sharing the experience of working for herself. It’s really great to have people like her in the field sharing their experiences and trying to help other creatives get to that next level.

What does the future look like for female creatives? What are you most hopeful for?

• CB: I am excited to see the field grow with the rise of women. We have only just begun claiming our power and there is so much more positive change to come. I’m excited to see more women hired for leadership roles, which will surely create a domino effect for diverse teams everywhere. Once we start the cycle, it will only continue to lift up others who have been disenfranchised.
• AS: I’m most excited and hopeful to see more women rise to hold more executive leadership positions in the future. Although female representation and leadership in creative fields has improved a lot in recent years, we still have a long way to go.

What advice do you have for young female creatives thinking about entering the industry?

• AS: DO IT! WE NEED YOU! Our industry literally has the ability to impact how people experience the world around them. Diversity in design is really, really important… And we always need more of it.
• CB: For sure do it! We need more diversity and representation in the field. The work will only get better when more perspectives are involved in the process. Design is in literally everything we touch — you have the power to influence the world around you. We’re just getting started and there’s plenty more room.

Visit the Praytell website to check out more of the work of our fabulous creatives.