We were lucky to catch up with Traci McKindra Harper recently and have shared our conversation below.

Traci, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked actually had nothing to do with design. In the summer of 2020, as a result of a conversation with the CEO of the company I worked for at the time regarding my feelings about the murder of George Floyd, I was presented with the unique opportunity to make significant change in our company. Three of my fellow Black coworkers founded, OmniBlack, an advocacy initiative dedicated to ensuring that our corporate values were part of the actual experience for all, with a specific focus on Black employees.

Over the course of the next year, we built a platform with seven pillars: Partnerships & Community, Allyship, Recruitment, Mentorship & Sponsorship, Product & Process, Capabilities, and New Business for Economic Development & Social Impact.
During this time we also consulted on an agency-wide Unconscious Bias 2.0 training, represented our company at 3 Black talent recruitment events, worked with HR on ways to diversify the intern talent pool and the committees that make these hiring decisions, secured approval to assemble a Black consumer review panel, hosted 3 learning lunches, assisted in planning for Omnicom’s Black ERG, attended multiple conferences and presented a comprehensive recap to the agency on our work.

I was the leader of the Mentorship & Sponsorship pillar. In this role, I crafted recommendations and worked the HR department to expand and modify our agency mentorship program to more effectively cater to Black experience at the company as well as in the industry.

This project was meaningful to me because I felt like I was part of a significant change to benefit and make room for people who look like me. I enjoyed being the advocate I wish I’d had as a younger professional in the industry. It was also very gratifying to see my fellow employees catch the vision and raise their hands to help. I was the most exhausted, yet simultaneously the most energized I’ve ever been in my career.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an award-winning creative leader with 20 years of in-house and agency art direction experience. Having worked with iconic brands such as Hershey, Clorox, Maytag, and Michelin; as well as niche organizations like the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, her professional expertise is grounded in the retail environment. Her work has garnered multiple Effie and Reggie awards and earned her a spot on the African American Marketing Association’s 2022 List of 50+ Black Marketers on the Rise.

Born for the arts, I have always loved to draw, paint, sing and play music. However, it was an off-hand comment from Ms. Bigham, my high school art teacher, that set me on my current career path. “You have a gift for composition,” she said. “Have you ever considered graphic design?” I had never heard of graphic design before, but the more I learned about it the more I knew this was something I could do professionally.

I graduated with honors from Drake University in 2002 with a B.A. in Graphic Design and earned my M.F.A. in Visual Communication from Texas A&M University Commerce in 2015, where I developed An Iconographic Wayfinding System for the Multicultural Retail Environment as my thesis study and exhibition topic.

What sets me apart as a creative is my attention to detail and my ability to think strategically in addition to my creativity. I’m most proud of two things thus far in my career: 1) my creative work for Hershey at H-E-B, a Texas-based grocery chain. It was insight-driven, fun, and effective. The awards were nice, too. 2) Co-founding OmniBlack, an African American advocacy initiative at retail marketing agency TPN.

In addition to my professional design work, I scratch my itch for problem-solving, collaboration and mentorship through alternative engagements. I spent the 2020-21 school year as an adjunct professorship in the Visual Communication department at the University of Texas Arlington. I serve as a mentor for the Ujima Black Mentorship Program at VMLY&R and as the lead creative on our Inclusion Experience team. In November 2022, I had the honor of speaking to the AMA Houston chapter about visual storytelling during one of their monthly Academy sessions. I also frequently volunteer through opportunities with the VMLY&R Foundation and as member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Mu Omega Chapter.

I was born and raised in the midwest, but both of my parents are from Arkansas, which makes me Southern by association and, therefore, also very charming. After 10 years living and working in Dallas, my husband and I relocated to my hometown of Kansas City where I am currently an Associate Design Director on the Creative Services team at global advertising agency VMLY&R.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was laid off from my first agency job during the recession in 2009. I had been there for 6 years, just purchased a house the year before and truly did not expect that to happen to me. After I recovered from the shock, I made a plan. I had a friend who was a career consultant at the time, so she helped me set up and optimize my LinkedIn profile. I went to as many networking functions as I could, applied to every design job that I was even remotely qualified for, and very reluctantly applied for unemployment support. Additionally, I took classes at the local community college to update my skills and even did freelance work for the agency that laid me off. I also exercised regularly, volunteered and traveled because I knew that I wouldn’t have this kind of extended time off again — hopefully — until retirement.

I tried to stay positive, but a job search is very emotionally — and financially — taxing. After a full year without a job, a friend in Dallas invited me to stay with her for a month to see if I could find some success there. I was scared to leave my home, but I went and came back a 30 days later with a job offer.

After all was said and done, I was unemployed for 14 months and ended up having to leave the house I’d bought less than two years before to make the next step in my journey. It was a lesson in flexibility, patience and overcoming. My new job paid $15,000 more per year than the one I’d lost. I had saved enough while I was working to help me pay my bills while I wasn’t. The housing market was not great, so I rented my house out and was able to earn an income from it after the move.

What I learned was that I could trust God to take care of me in any situation and that perseverance pays off.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission that drives my professional creative journey can be expressed in one word: Door-opener.

I want to make impactful and effective work so I can move into a position with the power to give opportunities to other people. I believe my success is tied to the success of others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tracimckindra.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracimckindra/
• Other: [email protected]