Laura Evans-Hill, Founder, Nifty Fox Creative and Pencil Pirates
Pencil wielding ex-researcher and award-winning visual storyteller on a mission to make knowledge more accessible through pictures. Founder of Nifty Fox Creative, for the last five years, I've created visuals for organisations all over the world to make the complex simple and drive change - from Siemens, Natwest, the NHS and UK Government through to the UN, international parliaments and over 50 universities.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter - it's a true online university and feels like the truest community out of all the other platforms.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
For the last five years, Nifty Fox Creative has been my baby - I've helped hundreds of academics, public sector leaders and international thinkers tell their stories visually to make the complex simple and inspire audiences to action. Now a four-strong team, we've been waging war on words and putting an end to death by PowerPoint through the live illustration of events, animation, rich picture infographics, interactive websites, or visual story reports.
We've also been teaching academics across the world to make their research more accessible, actionable and impactful through visual storytelling. However, I've been looking for ways to scale the power of visual thinking and storytelling and introduce the power of pictures to a wider audience - writers in particular. I recently took the Ship 30 for 30 writing course and was introduced to thousands of talented writers across the world looking to gain traction with their ideas but not getting the attention they deserved.
It struck me that whilst many thought leaders are writing every day, they are missing out on the attention, clarity and leverage that sharing visual summaries of their work could bring them. So, after sharing all my essays as part of the Ship30 course as visual stories instead. I grew my audience by 500% and created a tribe of writers looking to draw for the first time to expand their credibility.
Out of that experience, my current focus alongside Nifty Fox is Pencil Pirates. PP is an e-course that helps writers turn their ideas into atomic visuals in under five minutes to build their leverage online, in the boardroom and in the pitch presentation. Atomic visuals are images that tell the story of a key concept or idea to help the audiences get it in less than a second and for creators to make it in less than five minutes.
This is all about clarity, brevity and the 'atomic habit' of drawing a little bit every day. In the last 40 days, Pencil Pirates has grown from the seed of an idea into a cohort-based e-course starting on 14th March with 80 pirates ready to set sail already. From $0 to $17,000 in 14 days of pre-sale, the journey of building in public, testing and iterating at speed and scale has been eye-opening!
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Three Ps:
Play - in my previous life as an academic, creativity and play were seen as directly opposed to the rigour of research. I felt stifled in that world and burnt out as a result. Now I get to use that creativity with my desire to make the world a better place as an ex-researcher, to help 1000s of people around the world gain access to knowledge simply by presenting it in an accessible and playful way.
People - my work enables me to connect with inspiring people on all sides of the globe. I feel so privileged to share the stories of some true heroes, important researchers and world-changing thinkers.
Pirates - as a wannabe rebel, I revel in the ability to challenge the status quo through the rebellious act of drawing where most use words. Pencil pirating, if you will! I'll never tire of the thrill of walking into senior leadership meetings, conferences full of important people or a room full of academics without a PowerPoint or written words and showing them how to achieve their goals with a pen, pictures and paper instead.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
It'll be ok in the end. And if it's not ok, it's not the end. It seems flippant, but this advice always gives me the resilience to keep trying, find new ways of approaching a challenge, and hope that everything will work out eventually.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
To be a better version of myself tomorrow than I was today. I try to only compare myself to myself, and that inner drive to leave the world in a better state than I found helps me get up every day.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
Honestly? Surviving. Drawing literally saved my life. Not once. Not twice. But four times. First, when I was 17. I tried to take my own life because I couldn't deal with the fact I was gay. Drawing helped me process this trauma, rewrite the narrative about myself, and eventually come out.
Second, when I was 21, I got stuck in an abusive relationship. Art therapy helped me realise I was trapped in an unhealthy relationship and draw the process of leaving it as safely as possible. Burning the drawings when I left was a signal to my subconscious I would never let myself go through anything like that again.
Third when I was 25 and diagnosed with anorexia and exercise addiction. Drawing helped me deal with the crippling anxiety of refeeding and being forced to not exercise and actually sit down with the emotions I couldn't face.
And finally, at 27, when I burnt out so bad, I got glandular fever and was bed-bound for six months. When my brain was so foggy, I couldn't remember anything or process simple tasks, and I'd draw icons or diagrams to remember to do things or sort through the muddle in my head. So, I drew a mountain journey of the tiny steps I would take to move forward and, two years later, made a full recovery.
Now at 33, this is why I've spent the last five years building a successful business to help people tell their stories visually, so audiences listen.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Twitter has become my new favourite way to connect with people, whether that be through Twitter spaces, DMs, taking that conversation offline into a call or an IRL coffee.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Resilience - life and business are pretty difficult unless you can get up when you get knocked down.
Openness and vulnerability - I can't be expected to tell other people's stories with authenticity if I'm not willing to own and share mine.
Passion and skill for teaching - 90% of my job is teaching others the value of visuals, a value that gets beaten out of you from age five onwards.
Creativity - being able to see how different spheres can be combined together to create something new (academia and visual storytelling, for example). It has enabled me to build a business in ways that I had never imagined!
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That NO ONE knows what they are doing, and actually making it up and learning as you go along is totally normal!
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Chris Do - taught me the business of creativity.
Tom Ross - taught me the value of community.
Brené Brown - taught me the importance of vulnerability.
Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole - taught me to build in public and find my voice.
But most importantly: my wife - Steph Evans-Hill - taught me the importance of always showing up as your authentic self to do your best work.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Haha, I'm a huge nerd! When I'm not pencil-pushing, I usually read fantasy novels, play obscure board games, or collect trading cards that no 33-year-old woman should still be collecting! I'm also really into American sports - I'm a huge NBA fan and spend a lot of my free time catching up on Washington Wizards games (my team!). And to counteract all that desk jockeying all day, I'm usually found walking my dog Ru in far-flung fields or lifting things that are too heavy in a gym.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
Positive. COVID meant the business had to adapt from live, in-person work to studio work and expand our teaching arm. As a result, the team grew, our client base and project rates increased, and our expertise increased as a result. On a personal level, as an introvert, the pandemic gave me an opportunity to lean into the way I like to work and feel less bad about saying no to commitments that didn't light me up.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
Yes, having a mentor has been important to my development as a woman and a business owner. Shout out to my coach Jenny Brady, who has helped me step out of my imposter syndrome and craft a business that really fulfils me. And thanks to Terri Lonier more recently, who helped me believe that my talents were worth sharing and has been an incredible cheerleader.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Network - be kind to everyone you come across and go out of your way to meet as many diverse people as possible.
Be visible - show the value of what you do, rather than just telling people. I regularly sketchnote and visualise other people's tweets, articles, podcasts, lectures etc., for free to show the value of visual storytelling, which can sometimes be devalued/misunderstood without seeing it first-hand.
Build-in public - creating a tribe of superfans and sharing your value freely has been a game-changer for me in terms of building a client base, meaningful relationships and work/teaching that truly resonates.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
A lack of patience and consistency.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"If you believe you can or you believe you can't, you are right." - Henry Ford.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Design Cuts and The Futur inspire me.
Design Cuts - Tom Ross is the CEO - is a world-leading platform for creatives to share and buy creative templates. The model is innovative, their customer service is impeccable, and the way they engage with their community and feel so community-led is commendable.
The Futur - started by Chris Do - is a free and paid academy for teaching creatives the business of creativity. The amount of value they give for free is astounding, and I think The Futur should be made compulsory for every entrepreneur- not just creative ones - to learn the business of being a business!
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success to me is being able to decide when my workday ends, who I work with and what work I take on to help me feel creatively and emotionally fulfilled. Key lessons:
Always add 20% on the time you think something will take you.
Say no to more than you say yes to.
Set boundaries on your time and what behaviour you are willing to accept from anyone you work with.
Get a good accountant - they will save your life!
Own your story - the unique intersection of your skills, experiences, and the problems you can solve for your audience is where your success lives. Don't be afraid to be who you truly are in business.