How a Figma Slide Deck Helped Indie Rock Duo Tanlines Launch a Comeback | Figma | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Tanlines’ comeback album, *The Big Mess*, grew out of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm’s changing lives as parents, professionals, and musicians. To promote the album’s first single, “Outer Banks,” they turned a corporate presentation deck into a music video, using Figma and Google Meet to parody workplace communication while expressing the song’s emotional themes. The project shows how familiar professional tools can become creative, collaborative artistic formats. ## Returning to Tanlines - Cohen and Emm have made music together since 2008, evolving from experimental electronic work and remixes into pop music. - After the band’s second album, Cohen stepped away to raise his first child and later made a children’s record. - Emm eventually assembled songs that became the foundation for *The Big Mess*, and Cohen helped finish them during a working trip to rural Connecticut. - Cohen now views Tanlines as an ongoing life project, similar to the documentary series *7 Up*, revisiting the band as their circumstances change. ## Turning a Corporate Deck into a Music Video - Cohen’s years at YouTube Music and Nike introduced him to decks and meetings as a dominant form of professional communication. - He wanted to tell the story of “Outer Banks” using that shared workplace language. - Former coworker Hunter Ellenbarger created the presentation in Figma. - The original idea was to make a deck for every song and release them through Google Drive or a Figma folder. - Hunter’s deck was strong enough to become the centerpiece of the video, with Emm singing the lyrics as though he were reading the presentation aloud. - Presenting the Figma deck through Google Meet reinforced the joke and connected the video to remote-work culture. ## Making the Deck Feel Authentically Corporate - Cohen’s initial design leaned toward Nike’s polished, editorial presentation style. - Ellenbarger deliberately made the visuals more generic, using: - Graphs and arrows - Flow charts - Corporate phrases such as “insights,” “year over year,” and “results” - Inspirational quotes and familiar meeting-slide conventions - The overly recognizable format creates both humor and emotional resonance for viewers accustomed to workplace presentations. ## The Emotional Meaning of “Outer Banks” - The song references North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a place Cohen has visited throughout his life. - Rather than presenting the beach as a carefree party setting, the song explores memory, family, and mixed emotions. - Its upbeat sound carries a melancholy undertone, consistent with Tanlines’ recurring balance of light and darkness. - The video reframes an ordinary corporate tool as a medium for music, art, and humor, allowing professional audiences to feel recognized rather than mocked. ## Building a New Visual Identity - Longtime collaborator Teddy Blanks helped shape the album packaging, promotional poster, and merchandise. - The visual material draws on 1950s photographs taken in Greece by Emm’s wife’s grandfather while documenting folk tales and songs. - The new artwork moves away from the band’s earlier practice of featuring the musicians’ faces on album covers. - Blanks’ simple, clear design choices support the sense that *The Big Mess* represents a new era for the band. ## Embracing Change and Uncertainty - Cohen describes “aging gracefully” as adapting creative expression to new responsibilities and circumstances. - Returning to music was unexpected but allowed him to reconnect with an important part of his identity. - Unlike earlier album cycles, the band’s future is less predictable, with more uncertainty around touring, work, family, and sustaining a music career in middle age. The project suggests that creative work does not need to reject familiar professional formats; it can transform them. By combining Figma’s collaborative presentation tools, Google Meet’s remote setting, and the language of corporate decks, Tanlines made a comeback video that was both a workplace satire and a sincere reflection on adult life.