I build things.
I make things.
Usually both at once.
Senior developer. Accessibility engineer. Artist. Founder.
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About Akia Young
Somewhere between the code and the canvas.
I'm Akia — an interactive artist, software engineer, and accessibility engineer who's been building things on the internet for 10+ years. I run Developed By Akia, where I build accessible websites for women-owned businesses. I'm also the founder of soffyn, a wellness app I'm building because it needed to exist.
I care about who gets left out. In the code and in the room. That's not a mission statement — it's just how I work.
"Before I write a single line of code, I sit with you and figure out what your site actually needs to do."
Columbia College Chicago · Interactive Arts & Media · Building on the web since 2014
// How I work
A few things that matter to me.
Accessibility first
Not a checkbox. Not an add-on. I build accessible by default because that's what it means to build well. Every project I take on is WCAG 2.1 AA compliant from the first line of code.
Strategy before pixels
Before I open a design tool, I need to know who your visitors are, what you need them to do, and what's currently stopping them. A site that looks good but doesn't convert is just expensive decoration.
Artist first, engineer always
I spent years shrinking the artist part of myself to fit rooms that only wanted the engineer. That's done. The way I see color, composition, and user experience comes from building on both sides — and I stopped separating them.
Women-owned, by design
I specifically serve women-owned businesses because I know the landscape. I've watched brilliant businesses lose clients to sites that don't do them justice. That's fixable.