David Tann, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based creative agency Tantrum, said being a Black designer at major corporations and marketing firms is lonely because of a lack of representation.
That may be changing now that the Kennesaw native, responsible for creating the Atlanta Hawks’ “True to Atlanta” brand redesign in 2015, has become the Museum of Design Atlanta’s first-ever Designer-in-Residence.
Tann hopes his recently announced role will empower people and help more Black creatives feel like they’re part of a community while emphasizing how creativity can spark change.
“People just need a little motivation or inspiration to know they’re not the only ones going through things,” Tann told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Tantrum was created in 2018 as a full-service agency that creates campaigns for spirits, nonprofits, conferences and sports franchises.
Tann named the company Tantrum to reflect his clients’ inability to address and specify their goals. “They want to get attention, stir emotions and move people to action,” he said.
“Business sometimes can’t articulate what it is they really want. We’re able to put words to the things that they can’t.”
Stepping into the Designer-in-Residence role in October, Tann’s five-month appointment allows him to produce events, workshops and programs to bring more diversity and inclusion into the Midtown Atlanta museum.
The brand marketer’s role came as MODA premiered “Characters: Type in Action,” an installation curated by Black designer Tre Seals which showcases typography and fonts as forms of social justice.
Credit: Museum of Design Atlanta
Credit: Museum of Design Atlanta
Tann hosts Tantrum Thursdays, a recurring MODA event where he shares tips from his two-decade career on making social impact with design. He wants the event to function as creative office hours, serving as a safe space for idea exchange and open dialogue.
“When I was in their shoes, I had a bunch of questions. I didn’t feel like I could go talk to somebody or didn’t want to waste anyone’s time,” Tann said.
“Their access allows me to answer their questions honestly, without sugarcoating or gatekeeping stuff.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Growing up, Tann was used to being the only Black student in his class. He wanted to become a professional athlete but decided instead to enroll in Portfolio Center, a Buckhead art and design school which later became Miami Ad School Atlanta, to study copywriting.
Switching to the design program, Tann realized he could articulate concepts better than his classmates. “They had more technical ability than I did, but they couldn’t talk about their ideas the same way that I could. I could express things and ideas in a grander way even if I couldn’t physically do it.”
In 2004, Tann landed his first job designing greeting cards for Hallmark in Kansas City, Missouri. He stayed with the company for a year and later held creative positions with Abercrombie and Fitch, Bath and Body Works, Kohl’s and others.
He said he noticed they were hardly any Black employees at each company.
“I looked around, and I couldn’t find any other people that looked like me that were doing this,” Tann said. “I was walking [in] two different worlds, because most of my work was targeting white women in the Midwest. I was working at cool places that never quite felt fulfilling.”
It’s not uncommon for Black executives in agencies to often struggle to find community.
Dwayna Haley, executive vice president of consumer brands at strategic communications firm MSL, has held leadership positions at agencies like Ketchum and Porter Novelli in her two-decade career. She said being the only Black woman, or one of few in an agency, is lonely.
“We’re speaking two different languages from two existences. I could say something I’m passionate about, but instead, I’m seen as angry, aggressive and confrontational. It’s a scary experience,” Haley said.
In 2015, when Tann returned to Atlanta as the Hawks’ creative director, he enjoyed having creative latitude with his home team. Despite enjoying the work, he said the time commitment was exhausting.
“It was a physical grind that I didn’t know when to turn off. Working full days, home games, the playoffs and coming home late just wears you out. I had nothing else left to give,” he said.
Tann started Tantrum to work with clients whose target audiences extend beyond Black consumers. He said that strategy can help Black-owned agencies that exclusively target Black audiences land general market accounts.
Credit: Tantrum Agency
Credit: Tantrum Agency
“We’re pushing the culture forward in a different way. It’s assumed that Black-owned agencies are only going to do cultural work or it’s not their specialty in the mass market. It opens us up to a broader array of projects,” Tann said.
Roy Broderick, Jr., chief growth officer for New York-based advertising agency WHTWRKS, previously owned Authentique Agency, a marketing agency that creates campaigns for Black LGBTQ+ consumers, for nine years.
“I wanted to create a space for Black and brown queer creatives to flourish and do work that has social impact. Diversity is about making sure they’re multiple seats at the table for us, all of our identities and thought.”
A marketing manager for Allstate prior to starting Authentique Agency, Broderick said he opened his own firm because his former leadership couldn’t build and target their campaigns to attract people who looked like him.
“These marketers were glorified project managers. They didn’t know strategy and weren’t thinking about intersectionality. It made me start to look at if there was another way to do this,” he said.
Tann also said he wants to expose young people to various professional opportunities in artistic and creative spaces. Originally invited to join MODA’s board of directors, he thought the residency would be more impactful.
“It’s the hook to get people into the museum and show what it actually means to be a designer. There are all these different career paths that most kids have no idea about,” he said.
Laura Flusche, MODA’s executive director, said having Tann as a resident designer will help not only creatives but members of the general public to recognize their potential.
“Design is a creative force that transforms lives. We can empower the next generation to be creative problem-solvers to design a better world,” she said.
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