Tahiti Spears is an award-winning art director, graphic designer, and restless creative, who combines formal education in graphic design, with real-world experience in communication art to enhance the brands of clients across the world.
Spears recently made a Black History Month collection for Walmart, with quotes such as “I Am History,” “Bet on yourself every day,” and “Legacy starts with me.” The collection is being sold at over 500 Walmarts across the world.
Spears spoke with rolling out about her company, the Black History Month collection, and her design philosophy.
Tell us about your company.
My company is O514 Design. We hone in on anything creative, whether it’s branding, logo, web development, app curation, and wire-framing. I’ve taken heed in even diving into photography as far as being a set designer and giving my ideas and brand strategy, and more. We’re one small wheelhouse of everything. We were able to do everything I always tell people, the superpower of 0514 Design and myself is I can turn people’s verbals into visuals and I think that’s something that is very hard on my soul that I believe in because when I see words, I can visually see it. I know a lot of people can do that so it’s the beauty behind the talent.
Tell us about your Black History Month Collection for Walmart.
Three specific shirts are designed by me and you’ll see my name on the tag. One of them says “I Am History.” It’s straight to the point because we’re making history every step of the way. The second one says “Affirmations for us, bet on yourself every day.” The final one says “Legacy starts with me but doesn’t end with me.” We all need to know that we’re starting something for generations to get passed down and be the blueprint of those ideas and whatever they may be.
How would you describe the moment when you were selected for this opportunity?
Terrence Pratt had brought the opportunity to me and I had to present an idea. I presented my ideas, I printed them on T-shirts for people just to give them an idea of this is for us, as in the men, women, and children from different [walks] of life. The presentation was pretty much a Zoom call and I laid out my whole ideation and how I wanted to go about it. It was me playing off historical people and their characteristics and creating affirmations, and it later got shifted through the process. But once I got the email back that I got it, I was once again ecstatic, happy and overjoyed. It was around my birthday time so it was like a birthday gift to me as well. After that, we went through the process of creating the entire lineup. Walmart told me to create 10 to 15 options. I went through rendering 10 or 15 different options, and we got down to the last three. This was a new process for me because I had to realize that there is an online server that tells you statements and quotes and imagery that you can’t use. Somehow, they rendered it down and we got to three options, I wanted to make sure that it was something for African Americans as well, and that it was something that the allies can also see as something that can be very supportive.
What did you learn from the process that you’ll now be able to use when you are working with other big brands?
Working with big and small brands, you have to show them your value, because they come across people every day, and they have people in-house. … I had to talk to friends who have had partnerships with large companies like Nike and New Balance and I was like, “How do I go about this?” because I don’t want to lowball myself. I want to make sure that I’m getting what I think is my worth. I don’t want to go too high where they’ll go with designer number two. What I had learned was basically to break yourself down as far as ideation, your time, deliverables, and every bit of the way shows them that you’re worth it. I remember when I was doing the process, I was like, “Well, if you guys want my native files, it’s a little bit more extra,” because when they get to the native house, they can alter it as much as they want to. Also, when reading the contract, make sure the contract fits you. There’s no such thing as a bad question. As a designer, there’s a ton of language we don’t know … I have friends who are lawyers, and I shifted some of those papers to them to say, “What does this mean? Am I OK?” My advice is to make sure you break down your worth because some people don’t see it immediately.
Why is it important to understand the design objectives of the client?
I always was presenting myself as far as telling them what I was capable of turning around. I was like, “Well, I could do this in a matter of three days,” but also ask them what are their timelines so I can reach the mark, whether that was for me to finalize the design or the photography that will be on the tag. Always ask them upfront what’s the timeline, because some people will just leave an email and you’re thinking you have two to four weeks to do it. I’ve learned that as a designer, people and friends will send me ideas. That’s beautiful, but when do you need it? I’d be very transparent enough to offer when I can and I always tell people, there’s a little bit of wiggle room. Even when there is a deadline, there are always four more extra hours that you could get out of somebody. Be vocal about that and let them know how you work.
What is your design philosophy for this collection?
When I first presented it, I stuck with the initial design that I presented to Walmart. The font was a placement on New York, and I wanted to take it back to a real hip-hop type of situation. It was like pulling from all of our lifestyles, beauty, and everything that we have invented. I think it’s a nice representation of how we mark ourselves or how we show our art because once upon a time Black artists weren’t allowed into big galleries. The canvas was the brick wall and the train. Now we’re able to transition those into those art galleries on apparel.
What do you want people to think about when they see “I Am History”?
I am history is just a beautiful saying on its own. It doesn’t have to be I am Black history. I am history however you perceive me. It’s the goals that I have, the journey that I’m going through, and the family that I’m building. All of this is history. The things that I’m teaching myself, the things that I’m teaching others, I want people when they buy this, or when people see it on another person, it just hits them in a type of way that it has a very vague amount of expression but that’s OK. Because every day we’re building history, every moment is history. Something that you did today will be marked down as a moment in time and at this moment, we are the moment in time. We are starters, we are creators. We are developers, we are everything. That’s why I say we are history, it doesn’t need to be stating what color or gender.
What advice would you give to an aspiring designer?
I live by this quote every day, and it is “Chase your dreams because you might just catch one.” Dreams are instantly created to become history and once you catch one, no one can take it from you.
