POCAM National Indigenous History Month 2024 Profile: Jennifer Taback
Written By: Natalie Bomberry, Sr. Director, Communications and Creative Strategy, Rewiring America and Steering Committee member of POCAM - People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing
Shé:kon, #CanadianDesignAdvertisingCommunicators, meet Jennifer Taback (she/her/kwe), Co-CEO of Design de Plume Inc. (DDP), an Indigenous, women-owned creative agency.
I knew we HAD to start this inaugural National Indigenous History Month profile series with Jennifer because the word she wanted to share from her traditional language is “Aambe!” (“Let’s go!”) What. She. Said!
Jennifer is First Nation from Shawanaga. Her 20-year+ career in design and web development is proof that success follows those who work for community, connection, sharing and relationship-building.
Jenn deals with biases in two ways. “I am white-passing so sometimes people will say something not realizing that I am First Nation and I catch them off guard by being like ‘Oh, I’m Indigenous, I’d love to hear the rest of that joke,’” she smiles. And, when working in DEI spaces with teams that are actively trying to unlearn, Jenn says, “I simply call out behaviour/language/imagery and educate them on why it’s inappropriate. I proceed with grace and understanding and a good laugh.”
Jennifer started DDP out of college with a few friends because they couldn’t find jobs during the 2009 recession. “Once I embraced being an Indigenous designer and recognized that my lived experience echoes many other people out there,” Jenn remembers, “it really helped propel our thinking and strategy, and most importantly helped us find like-minded people to work with.”
Seen as “girls” for a long time, often told they didn’t have enough experience—frustratingly, even when competing against agencies with a similar history, Jenn recalls, “We learned to trust ourselves more.” Decision-makers eventually began to better understand DDP’s unique design skills. Fast forward to now and Jennifer, DDP at the DNA Paris Awards, winning an international award for a completely Indigenous project. “We were able to bring our Creative Lead, Jennica Robinson to accept in person,” says Jenn. “It was a really big highlight as design from diverse communities struggles with being seen as “good design”, especially in Western settings.”
To those who say there are no Indigenous people available for hire in this industry, Jenn counters, “We need to look at developing capacity and talent as an industry… with well-funded projects that recognize Indigenous work is done differently and produces excellent results when done right.
Jennifer wants the industry to educate designers, teachers, and decision-makers on beautiful design beyond a Swiss perspective. “It has been so hard for me to shake off what I learned in school and I’m active about that,” she shares, “...I still see diverse work struggling to gain strong acceptance through Western standards.”
With “You can’t be it if you can’t see it” as a mantra, Jenn takes a leadership role in spaces with few Indigenous voices present, hoping more youth will consider this career and tell their stories in their own way.
Follow Jennifer on LinkedIn and Instagram and see her side-of-desk work, Anishnaabe jewellery, ribbon skirts, and dreamcatchers at nokonanamis.com.
