Hello! I'm Shaz, a strategist, researcher, designer and facilitator with over a decade of experience that spans branding, social impact, messaging and participatory research.
With an unyielding curiosity, I draw upon my background in sociology to decipher the difference between what we project and what we truly feel. My astute ability to make connections shows up in my many interests, like spotting music samples in unlikely places. (Did you know that you can hear Beethoven's Fur Elise in 70s Arab disco and in classic hip-hop?)
That same curious spirit keeps me questioning the world around me—acknowledging assumptions we hold, dissecting issues through the lens of gender, sex, and race, and translating empathy into insightful strategies and solutions. I’m obsessed with pattern-finding, always scanning (sub)culture to understand what’s happening, why now, and what’s next.
Insatiably curious about
what makes people tick.
Work I love to do
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For the past seven years, I have applied this flexible yet rigorous approach to weave together research and design for both commercial and impact projects. I firmly believe in designing with, not for, end users to create desirable and sustainable solutions.
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The brands that resonate most embody a shared ambition and unique positioning that make them memorable. To develop an effective brand strategy, I rely on insights, not intuition or instinct. I conduct landscape audits and audience research to uncover insights about behavior, values, motivations, and decision making to understand why and how people connect with an idea, product, movement or service.
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Stuck behind our desks, creativity can wane. When we gather with our colleagues or peers in a bright, spacious environment, remove our daily guardrails, we have the opportunity to provoke and inspire creativity and new possibilities. I have facilitated small and large groups all over the world—diverse in age, background, and expertise.
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Effective marketing, communications and branding are the result of evidence-based insights. Mixed methods of engagement shift research from extractive Q&A to a trust-building, story-gathering experience for both sides of the research equation.
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Marketing campaigns, social media content, brand guidelines, in-depth field kits, curriculum and more. No matter what shape a final product takes, I translate clear, sound strategy into compelling, easy to use or apply tools and executions.