Bio
I use radical and unconventional techniques in participatory design, spatial design, and form research to understand societal complexities, designing progressive interventions and methods using a variety of physical and digital mediums for exhibition or real-world deployment. 

I have worked with small nonprofits, local governments, and massive corporations. My work spans digital and physical, with my physical skills being 3D printing, CNC laser cutting, and general woodworking, and my digital skills in Qualtrics, Figma, UserTesting, and the CreativeCloud.
       
Email, Instagram ↗

Education
MA Sustainability & Development
Lyle School of Engineering, 2026
Southern Methodist University

MA Design & Innovation
Meadows School of the Arts, 2023
Southern Methodist University

BS Economics
AddRan School of Liberal Arts, 2020
Texas Christian University

Living Futures Accreditation (LFA)
International Living Futures Institute, 2026

Employment
RAPP / Omnicom
2025 - Present

7-Eleven / R&D Contract
2024 - 2025

Saatchi & Saatchi / Publicis
2022 - 2024

CoAct North Texas
2019 - 2022
Skills
Physical Skills
3D Printing
Laser Cutting
Woodworking
Dye Mixing
ASTM Material Testing
ASTM Soil Testing
Hazardous Agents (working with)
Staining Agents (working with)


Digital Skills
Figma
Qualtrics
User Testing
Illustrator
Photoshop
Touchdesigner
Rhino
Projection Mapping


Soft Skills
Omni-channel Selling
Strategic War Gaming
Long-Term Visioning
Design Workshopping
Executive Presenting
Exhibitions
Lift, Drag, and Material Agency 
(On Display at the Hunt Institute for Humanity)
2026rnare Porta Libero
2023

                  

Tanner Williams
Critical  Designer



Using radical and unconventional techniques in participatory design, spatial design, and form research to understand societal complexities.





Lift, Drag, and Material Agency, 2026


Lift, Drag

In this project, I demonstrate economic concepts of Lift and Drag (Poliks, 2025) by using the biomechanics of dance to create unique architectural material probes that are intentionally resistant to abstract financialization and arbitrage in the architecture industry.
Material Agency

This project builds on the existing literature of material agency, coined by Manuel DeLanda, Jane Bennett, and Richard Sennett. 

If dance can be segmented into its individual parts through randomized interruption, how might that be quantified to create stabilized building materials, and what agency might those new materials take on?
Dance

To explore this, the project utilized a professional dancer from Texas Ballet Theatre to perform 14 improvised dances to a playlist of their choosing. 

Stopping them at random intervals, compressed earth blocks and earthen plaster samples were then created by using a scoring mechanism to analyze the dancer’s movements one second before, right at, and one second after the stop, with material adjustments of color, additives, and layers expressing scores.

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The result was a collection of:

  • Six compressed earth blocks
  • Four earthen plaster examples
  • Four uniquely analyzed spreads

The compressed earth blocks are structural, with soil identification performed using the ASTM D2488 standard to define a clay-heavy mix, resulting in a base 5% lime-binding mixture that was varied based on the dance results. The scoring mechanism created can be viewed here.

By literally using the body as a method, these materials showcase a speculative, future-based resistance where the abstraction and financialization of materials are blocked by the subjectivity of the viewer, and the incessant, natural bureaucracy of slowness and pace contained in earthen materials. 

The City of Dallas Land Use, 2023


The City of Dallas

In 2022, Mayor Eric Johnson requested an inventory of vacant city-owned land that could be redeveloped into public green space. ‘The Matilda Lot’ is one of those spaces that lies within the University Community Crossing Public Improvement District.

Land Use
In order to obtain a better understanding of the current usage, I identified surrounding communities by way of census track and zip code to gain a qualitative understanding of residents. 

In this project, I found members in this district to be highly transient young professionals, mostly unaware of the land, with one adjacent neighborhood frequently using the land. Therefore, a survey of the surrounding neighborhood was launched through targeted social media deployment and door-knocking volunteers:

  • 6 in-person interviews with business owners in the area
  • 133 door knocks with survey flyers dropped off
  • 32 doorstep conversations

Low Impact Solutions

Fearing government intervention would over-commit usage of the land, participants vocalized positive sentiment about the quiet, tranquil nature of the site, wishing to keep interventions at a minimum, mostly focused on beautification. 
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Refinement

To define “beautification” in terms of the specific neighborhood using the land, a small activation was launched where residents were invited to use the land as they normally would. Beautification probes were launched in alignment with their previous survey results in order to stimulate further conversation and co-design the land. The deployments made were:

  1. Five bollard covers using 1/4in laser-cut corrugated plastic
  2. Two benches and planters filled with local, carbon-sequestering plants
  3. 20 1/4in discs with heat-laminated tops and pictures with labeling

Following the results of this project and the further insights gathered, specific updates are currently being deployed to “beautify the edges.” A direct result of the site planning experiment.

The Deep Ellum Foundation Cultural Trail, 2021


Cultural Trail
The Dallas Arts District, Deep Ellum Foundation and Fair Park First are partnering with the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture and Visit Dallas to develop and create the initial Dallas Cultural Trail. I was tasked to envision what that might look like.

Zones

I first sourced economic data from the city about the velocity of dollars in the three districts. Observing the results led to a hybrid solution where the districts would be understood as cultural zones, and the trail would serve as a non-linearized path to explore the zones and encourage worthwhile economic activity while navigating.

Dead Zones

Movement between the zones became the most critical factor to design for. After conducting three sessions of group interviews with residents, frequent visitors, and established business owners, the primary concern was getting people to move from one zone to another, navigating through the dead zones located under interstate bridges separating these districts.
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Digital Trail

In order to encourage movement from one zone to another as a key performance indicator, I developed an app that paired with environmental deployments. 

At five significantly visible points within Deep Ellum, users were prompted to navigate to a randomized business in the adjacent districts after reading a historical summary about its relevance in the area. All users were then asked to complete a survey about their physical movement, perceptions, and interest in a virtual Dallas Cultural Trail experience. 

Following this project, the City of Dallas announced a phased deployment for the Dallas Cultural Trail, currently in Phase 1:

  • Phase 1: Digital Launch – Pilot a digital platform featuring maps, stories, and multimedia experiences.

  • Phase 2: Public Art Installations – Introduce site-specific artworks and interactive displays along the route.

  • Phase 3: Wayfinding & Infrastructure – Add signage, pedestrian enhancements, and connections between cultural districts.
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