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.



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.
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