Shar Biggers is the inspirational founder and creative director of Provoke Design a brand design studio based in New York City. After an unconventional career start in neuroscience, Shar went on to study for an MBA, and worked in marketing and advertising roles before re-training as a graphic designer at the Portfolio Center of Design. Since then, she has worked as Senior Designer at Amazon, with Fortune 500’s, and was part of the design team for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign (Hilary for America) — all before she launched her own studio in late 2019.
Provoke Design has evolved from a one-woman team to a network of local and global creatives who collaborate on a project-by-project basis. Currently, Provoke primarily works with ambitious medium-size businesses and start-ups, helping them gain accessibility to strong branding. This includes working with brands she deeply believes in, such as, bootstrapped start-ups, women-owned or BIPOC-led businesses. A core ethos of the studio, as Shar tells us, is to provide good design for those, “who have phenomenal business concepts, and deserve a fighting chance to make it into big box retailers or land major contracts, but never get that chance because they’re not a unicorn start-up with 2 million in investment.”
Starting her own studio was not initially in Shar’s plan. However, she wanted to bridge the gap between small businesses and well-designed brand experiences and see greater cultural inclusion and diversity in design education, creative agencies and business in general. These were intentional motivating factors and Shar decided to be part of the change she wanted to see in the industry. As she aptly puts it, “We often think of racial and socioeconomic disparities as being limited to healthcare or housing, but they stretch into business in various, and what feels like infinite, ways.”
We caught up with Shar to find out more about how Provoke has grown to what it is today, the challenges she faced getting a studio off the ground, and her advice for women and under-represented creatives just starting out in the industry.
You began your career as a Neuroscience intern who was preparing for a doctoral program, what led you to re-train in Graphic Design?
Yes, I began my career in psychology and neuroscience, and I had a goal of either becoming a neuroscientist or a neuropsychologist. But the story truly precedes this because, as a young tween, I was already passionately thinking about my life’s purpose and what I had been set on this earth to do. I have profound memories of coming up with ideas all day long and illustrating everything from fashion to character design. I was a very creative child from a conservative family, and I can remember feeling pressure to choose a career path that was respectable and honourable in their sight. This pressure changed the course of my life, and I can remember the exact moment that it happened. I began to search for a route that would be approved and esteemed by others and thought, “Hmm, I’m pretty good at giving others advice; I’ll choose psychology.” So that’s what I did.
In my last year of undergrad, I was still deciding what field of psychology I wanted to pursue. I began by thinking it would be clinical psychology or organisational psychology, but during a neuropsychology class, I began to become intrigued with the relationship between the physical brain, behaviour, and health. I looked for great doctoral programs in the field and landed an internship in neuroscience. However, during that internship, I found that my brain began to revert to its childhood self. I was bored, incredibly unfulfilled, and yearning to somehow get back into a creative space where I could start to ideate again. I became absorbed with learning how to design WordPress websites for different business ideas I’d had. This is all happening at the onset of what appeared to be a phenomenal career in neuroscience. I was weeks away from starting a Ph.D. program with a full scholarship and stipend. I am a woman of faith and can remember feeling God impress upon my heart that this wasn’t my calling. Shortly after, I pivoted and began studying to get an MBA, working in advertising, and finally making my way into the creative space. After my MBA, I went to the Portfolio Center of Design, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. It took me a while, but I finally got back to who I was created to be. I don’t regret any of the journey, every piece of it made me who I am.
“After my MBA, I went to the Portfolio Center of Design, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. It took me a while, but I finally got back to who I was created to be. I don’t regret any of the journey, every piece of it made me who I am.”
Why did you decide to start your own design studio, Provoke?
I decided to launch Provoke for a few reasons. Firstly, throughout my years of experience in the industry, I realized that I’m totally an entrepreneur at heart. My blood is 100% entrepreneurial DNA, ha! Any true entrepreneur that works a 9-5 job knows that it can often feel like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Not only that, but there is also a great deal I want to accomplish in my career, and it would be nearly impossible to do that while employed by someone else. I’m the type of person who comes up with dozens of new ideas every day, ranging from what I believe are solutions to world problems or things I’ve dreamt of doing since childhood. Some of it pushes past the boundaries of visual design and I knew I had to begin somewhere to see it achieved in my lifetime—design was the best starting place for me.
Another reason is how challenging corporate politics can indeed be. Some of things I’ve experienced during my early career were disheartening. You know, the typical stuff – heavy groupthink, lack of cultural diversity, sexism, ageism, and racialism. A bit of everything was on the buffet. I didn’t let it defeat me, although it felt like it did for a while. Eventually, I realized that the answer was in my response, so I worked very hard to build bridges, design for good, and make an impact wherever I went. But before I put in that concerted effort, I took a break and struck out to freelance for a while.
Whilst freelancing, I received a call that was a game-changer for me. It was Hillary Clinton’s team asking me about joining their design team for her 2016 presidential campaign. As soon as I stepped into the office on day one, I noticed that every team was remarkably diverse. People of colour and women of all ages were in high places, and they were exceptional at their jobs! Hillary herself had insisted on a diverse staff and women in leadership. I’ve heard many CEOs talk diversity, but I’d never witnessed one mean it.
“I noticed that every team was remarkably diverse. People of colour and women of all ages were in high places, and they were exceptional at their jobs! Hillary herself had insisted on a diverse staff and women in leadership. I’ve heard many CEOs talk diversity, but I’d never witnessed one mean it.”
She was the first leader I saw ‘walk the talk’, and it wasn’t contrived. She hired the talent that best reflected the role, and she didn’t make excuses for why she “couldn’t find them”. Regardless of your stance on her politics, one thing that I know for myself is that she puts her money where her mouth is. Hillary was confronting glass ceilings I’d never witnessed, it was invigorating. All while striking out on her own, in an entrepreneurial way. It was such a restorative process for me, and I learned that I had to be the change I desired to see. You have to be willing to be hated to make history, break barriers, overcome inequity, and continue to progress towards unification.
To circle back and finalize my point about maximizing my potential, I realized that Hillary had done this for herself, which served as a launch point for me. I believe that designers are naturally equipped with many entrepreneurial skills, they have the discernment to shape the future of any industry, and they are not a monolith. Most well-trained designers I know can: solve massively complex problems, make a product understandable and user friendly, execute a brand with a solid aesthetic, be innovative and be exceptional in other creative fields outside of design. I yearned to see my giftings used at their most significant potential, and I believe only I could get that done to where I leave the world, not just old but empty. I don’t like the idea of dying with your potential unrealized. The grave is full of wasted potential, and I refuse to leave my own grave like that. I must unload all of my destiny onto the world to make the change I want to see.
Can you tell us about your experiences of initially setting up a design studio in New York and what challenges you faced?
My first year was incredibly challenging personally because I did not plan the launch of Provoke. I’d stepped away from freelancing to join the Hillary campaign and never returned to it. During this time, I randomly gave my fitness trainer advice on how to expand his unprofitable business into a six-figure business and leverage his half million followers. I can remember him excitedly trying to remember everything I’d told him, and he was willing to train me for free as long as I continued to consult him on how to expand his business. That night I went to sleep and dreamt that I helped a talented baker turn her home cooking skills into a big business, and then I woke up. As I said before, I’m a woman of faith, and I can remember waking up and hearing the word “Go!” I knew exactly what that meant. Soon after, I quit my job.
I had no idea what was awaiting me; it would be a true test of my faith. Three weeks later, I discovered that my rental condo had high levels of mould that were making me sick. I didn’t have much money saved anymore after just a few months and was living in expensive Manhattan with no job. But I wasn’t prepared to move. I was also constantly in the hospital due to another ailment. I’d never been sick before and found it incredibly frustrating. To make matters worse, I couldn’t land a client to save my life. I must have sent hundreds of cold emails. It was the worst year, and it was hard knowing that you could change a client’s business for the better, but they couldn’t see the vision. I realised this wasn’t a personal problem; it was primarily due to miseducation around branding. I found that prospective clients lacked an understanding of the value of branding and how it drives customer decisions, business revenue, and differentiation.
It took nearly a year before I received my first “yes”. I landed a skincare brand, a fashion brand, a start-upbrand, and a rebranding project with Vox Media all within two months. Things began to turn around after that. I decided to make it one of my life goals to change the perception of branding because if you brand a business correctly, you won’t have to market it a day in your life.
“It took nearly a year before I received my first “yes”. I landed a skincare brand, a fashion brand, a start-upbrand, and a rebranding project with Vox Media all within two months.”
How has the studio evolved to where it is now and have there been any pivotal moments?
My studio has evolved quite a bit. Provoke Design began with me as a freelance designer, and it pivoted to a studio with a fluid-based model. In late 2019 it became a collective of highly curated local and global partners that offered branding and digital services for, but not limited to, bootstrapped start-ups, women-owned and BIPOC-led businesses. We operated as independent creatives, often in different roles (such as writers, strategists, visual designers), but we’d collaborate on projects we wanted to stand behind. To do that, we had to remain accessible to groups that lacked the resources to secure good and professional level branding, design, and development. They needed this to see their businesses succeed in a true small business category that ranges from 5 million to 40 million in revenue. Only 2% of women-owned companies ever make it to 1 million in revenue, and it’s even less for Black and Hispanic groups. We often think of racial and socioeconomic disparities as being limited to healthcare or housing, but it stretches into business in various and what feels like infinite ways.
Creating a sustainable and profitable business is still a rarity for creatives from these groups. Furthermore, gaining amarket share within their industry is generally out of their reach. Both groups face a remarkable lack of VC funding, with only 2.8% going to women and less than 1% to Black or African American start-up founders. If you broaden the ethnic background to Hispanic, it raises by 2%, with the highest percentages for those of Asian backgrounds. These significant gaps in wealth, access, quality, and affordability caused me to pivot the company to curated, freelance-based teams. Instead of aiming to house a large staff of employees as internal resources within a walled community, we operated completely remote and independent. I believed that collaborative partnerships were the way of the future, especially for my target clientele. This model was quite lovely as it allowed us to be much more agile than traditional agencies and offer much more affordablerates to our clients. I received constant expressions of gratitude for this. However, it came with a unique set of challenges I found hard to manage and work around.
“Only 2% of women-owned companies ever make it to 1 million in revenue, and it’s even less for Black and Hispanic groups. We often think of racial and socioeconomic disparities as being limited to healthcare or housing, but it stretches into business in various and what feels like infinite ways.”
I operated Provoke with this model for the first two years of operation but realised that to reach many of our goals I had to bring our talent in-house. We’re in a place of transition as we speak, learning what it means to hire internally, and scoping out ways that we can best leverage our talent to problem solve beyond and outside the bounds of design. Resultantly, more pivoting is likely in our future. But I learned at Google and Hyper Island Accelerator program years ago that pivoting was a necessary part of business survival, so I’m okay with it. Designing for good is still my number one priority for Provoke.
What is the ethos and purpose behind Provoke’s creative approach? Do you specialise in a particular area of design?
Yes, we specialise in ideation, brand strategy, brand identity, packaging, and web design. I’m hoping to eventually expand our range of work to focus more on product design and development as well as problem-solving using design thinking.
Regarding our ethos, we’re perfectionists at heart, candid, go big or go home, constantly challenging the status quo, and pushing our clients to take risks needed for maximum effect. But if I had to put our ethos and purpose in one word, it would be servanthood.
I believe that leaders are born to serve, and it’s our job to assist others as good stewards helping them achieve their goals. I treat every client’s project as if it were my own. When something belongs to you, you take your time with it, and you don’t limit your job to a description; you do it all. You don’t cheat its development or cut corners. From the beginning, I have to see it that way to ensure its success. I always love to use the analogy of children because when you have a child, and you’ve been blessed with resources, you won’t leave them unkempt. You provide them with the best that you’ve got! I partner with my clients in what I analogise as a co-parenting relationship. We co-parent the project together until it’s completion. It requires both our hearts and our commitment. Through my servitude to them, my clients always know that I have their best interest at heart, that I’m doing my best work for them, and I work very hard to build and keep brand trust.
What type of clients do you usually work with and where do you find them?
We work with ambitious start-ups, medium-size businesses, and companies we believe in.
For marketing and business development, I used to do quite a bit of cold emailing, but now we’re 100% word of mouth and referral based. I’m very thankful for that.
What is your role in the studio and what does your day-to-day typically involve?
I’m on the long road of transitioning Provoke to become 100% in-house, which requires me to wear many hats. None of my days look the same. One day I may be creative directing a photoshoot in California or NYC, another day, I may be holding an all-day brand strategy workshop or meeting with manufacturers to perfect a brand package dieline for a new product launch.
As for my role, well, could someone hand me the legal pad?
I’m creative director on every service we offer, whilst also doing everything else that a founder must do.
Has being a woman of colour and a studio founder impacted your career?
At Hillary for America, I learned that the one who breaks down the wall first gets the bloodiest. Therefore, I don’t see being a woman of colour as something that can affect me negatively. I’m on a mission to break glass ceilings within companies, break barriers within industries, change the perception of people of colour in business, and make history — which I plan to do. If it benefits creatives coming after me, whether as an employee or as a business, I’ve done my job.
Do you have any words of advice for women and under-represented creatives just starting their career in the design industry?
My best words of advice to you is never to allow any experience in this industry to break your spirit. The world needs your gift. If they can’t see that gift, that’s their problem. Your only job is to perfect the craft and serve the world through your craft.
I’d also advise leaving no room for doubt. Leave no room for doubt in your character, creativity, perseverance, process, portfolio, performance, creative eye, work ethic or grind. Be willing to take the long and hard paths because victory and honour await your effort. I know we’re in the era of DIY and self-taught experts, and everyday I’m seeing more and more women and people of colour skip design school and agency experience. They desire to push past the red tape, challenges, politics, and honestly, they choose to get to the money quicker! If anyone understands this, it’s me.
But foundations and techniques are required that are crucial to great design, and authentic autodidacts aren’t as common as they’re touted. Learning is best performed and accomplished through teachers who guide you to produce your best work, to become your best self. As creatives we should trust that process more and respect the craft that we desire the world to appreciate. I learned principles in design school that no amount of tutorials could have ever prepared me for; only that 4th quarter critique, or impossible 6th quarter teacher could have done it. Furthermore, no job would have ever taken the time to teach me. They expect us designers to know it before we get there. I learned things in agencies and in-house that I couldn’t have ever learned on my own as a freelancer, even with all the online courses in the world. So my unpopular advice of the day is to pay your dues; it’s more necessary than ever and affects the world around us.
“My best words of advice to you is never to allow any experience in this industry to break your spirit. The world needs your gift. If they can’t see that gift, that’s their problem. Your only job is to perfect the craft and serve the world through your craft.”
Our decision to go into business as designers for business clients affects the business ecosystem, especially for the underrepresented. When we skip design school and agency/in-house experience, it affects their bottom line and their shot at success, unless you’re a rarely talented autodidact. We shouldn’t design for our taste, but their business. This is why I advise creatives to get a business undergrad or graduate degree first and then cap it off with a design finishing school like Portfolio Center, RISD, Hyper Island, Art Center, Creative Circus, Parsons etc. A lot of creatives unfortunately lack the business skills necessary to enter the business world. Here is where actual servanthood comes into play. We become the most influential leaders when we decide to do our part and yield to the process. To lead, we must first serve and be processed. Never despise small beginnings, and small beginnings usually begin with learning the necessary skills to succeed.
Lastly, one of the most prevalent excuses used to keep under-represented groups locked out of the design industry is a lack of education and understanding around design principles, mastering the craft, and the integrity of the art. Don’t leave any room for doubt on that score.