Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. #1 Unlocking Digital Branding Success with Kimber Flynn: The Journey of Indiblu Creative
Ever wondered how a successful digital branding expert got started and what fuels their creative journey? Join us on today's episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast as we sit down with Kimber Flynn, the inspiring CEO and founder of Indiblu Creative. From her early beginnings in Spartanburg to her education at Winthrop and eventual move to South Charlotte, Kimber shares her unique path that led to the creation of her 22-year-old company. Discover how her passion for design and making a difference paved the way for exciting roles in various industries before she ultimately launched her own digital branding and marketing firm.
Explore how Kimber's innovative approach, including the early adoption of virtual teams, has set her company apart. Whether it's collaborating a new name or logo for a global company or crafting award-winning sustainability reports for Delta Air Lines and Estee Lauder, Kimber's enthusiasm and dedication to her craft shine through. Tune in to get a behind-the-scenes look at her work with educational clients and local entrepreneurs, and gain valuable insights into the creative process behind effective branding and marketing. This episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice for anyone passionate about design and business development.
Indiblu Creative
Kimber Flynn
704.516.0145
kimber@indiblucreative.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina League.
Speaker 2:Good morning Kimber. How are you?
Speaker 3:I am good. Thank you so much. It's so good to see you, Regina.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am so excited to be speaking with you today. Everyone, this is Kimber Flynn and she is the CEO and founder of Indiblu Creative, and I'm super excited as well because she is a South Charlotte business gal like me. And first of all, welcome and tell me what you do.
Speaker 3:My company is a digital branding and marketing company. We're over 22 years old and based here in Charlotte.
Speaker 2:Wow, so are you from the area.
Speaker 3:I actually am. I grew up in Spartanburg but went to Winthrop and have always just kind of, you know, moved up here after graduation, and my entire family moved up here as well.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we're natives moved up here as well. So, yeah, we're natives. For 22 years you've had this business. You're the founder CEO. Tell me your journey, like how did you get into this and what exactly do you do and who do you do it for?
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure, I've always loved design.
Speaker 3:I've always loved typography, you know, working with fonts and colors and things like that.
Speaker 3:So you know, I studied graphic design at Winthrop and my first job out of college was with a branding agency, which was really exciting because I got to work with companies all over the world naming products like the Pontiac Sunfire or Hershey's Sweetest Shapes, yes, and developing logos for things like that. And so from that ad agency experience I went on to work for a local large architectural and engineering firm and I worked in business development and really loved doing proposals and presentations. And then I worked at Queens University for a while and was their design director. So from there I really developed a love of working with educational clients, higher ed nonprofits, really just companies. Where I could make a difference was, you know, kind of when I stepped out and created Indiblu Creative, working with people from you know top ad agencies who might be on sabbatical or who are moms now, who weren't working full time. I employed them and we created, you know, virtual teams back when virtual teams weren't even a thing 22 years ago.
Speaker 2:For our listeners tell me. You know who might be a good connection for you and the kind of businesses or people you can help.
Speaker 3:Definitely. Well, I definitely have a passion for education and schools, so I love working with colleges and doing alumni magazines and all kinds of things like that is just a passion of mine. I still work. I worked with Converse recently on a complete rebrand of their program, so that was fun because I've worked with that client for a very long time.
Speaker 3:Another client of mine I like to do, you know, long form design is what is called now reports, so annual reports for nonprofits or for corporations. I do sustainability and ESG reports. (Speaker 2 Host: What What is ESG? What does that mean?)
Speaker 3:Environmental, and governance reports, which is, you know, it's a whole big thing now about regulations where it might have to become a law that you know companies have to disclose what they're doing to further their environmental goals, what they're doing in governance and what they're doing for their employees, such as training, equality, diversity and things like that. So some of my clients are Delta Airlines, Estee Lauder, Expedia. So I do work with larger brands as well. But probably you know, like I said, I really enjoy working with the, even the local entrepreneur who is just trying to to create their own business, their own brand and, you know, get that out into the world. I love helping to create that as well. So anything related to you know design and helping people market themselves.
Speaker 2:I guess, yeah, that has to be exciting, very fulfilling, and you know you design and helping people market themselves and you know you get to use your creative passion. Obviously, and I can't even imagine so a client could, you might work with them a short period of time, a long period of time? Tell me the process.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Well, with entrepreneurs, you know it'd be a shorter time frame, obviously. But yeah, with these larger- kind of clients and reports and marketing pieces, you know I can work six to eight months at a time with them and usually you know it's yearly, so it's something that happens every year. I also enjoy doing presentations and interactive presentations, so that might be a one-off and helping somebody create, maybe, board education pieces about sustainability or about, you know, educating their board with the college university about their new brand you know, their brand guide and things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what are some projects you're currently working on? You don't have to name the company, but what kind of things?
Speaker 3:I'm working with a really prominent golf company right now on their sustainability report, which is really exciting, and also working with a very large global company that's in 100 countries. I think they have 35,000 employees, if I'm not mistaken, but they do sell toothpaste. That's all I'm going to say.
Speaker 2:Well, everybody uses toothpaste, so that's a good thing to be in.
Speaker 3:They have a lot of brands, but yeah, that's one of their things, but yeah, it's fun. And I'm also working with a hotel out of Las Vegas which is a very large hotel as well, and that's kind of a really fun project.
Speaker 2:That is super cool. So the name Indiblu Creative, what? How did? What does that mean to you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's kind of my background in my branding agency days coming through. It was my favorite color is indigo blue and I was just kind of playing around with it and so I kind of meshed those two words together. So it's indi blu and I have a thing for leaving letters off of names, so blue is just a U and no E. I had a cat named Ty and so most people would think his name was T-Y but it was T-H-A-I, like Thai food. You know I like to play around with like unique kind of combinations. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm going to spell Indiblu for our listeners, so they know how to find you. It's I-N-D-I-B-L-U. Indiblu Creative. That's amazing. So when you're not doing all this, which sounds like a very, very big, busy world you live in, what do you do in your free time?
Speaker 3:Well, I have a horse, so I love to ride horses and just be around animals in general. I have two rescue dogs. I love to kayak, I love, you know, mountains, beach, but I just moved into a log cabin home and that is a whole unique experience in itself. But I have an acre and so I am growing dahlias. I've never grown anything, so we're going to try this. I really have a passion for beautiful, colorful flowers and so we're going to try that.
Speaker 2:How fun is that. So, now that you're running your business, do you have like a team of people? Do you work solo?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do.
Speaker 2:The way the company's set up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do have a team. We're all virtual, of course, in this day and age, but I have a team pretty much based across the country, and we also work internationally as well, and so I have consultants that help with reports and you know writing. I have, you know, an editor. I have a full-time designer and a part-time designer. I also have a social media person. This year we actually have two interns for the summer and I'm so excited, I'm like loving it-- exciting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're giving back.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do, I love mentoring. I really do. That is one of my passions and so, yeah, I was really excited. I have a social media intern and also a web intern this summer and, just like I said, it's so fulfilling and I enjoy it so much.
Speaker 2:Just curious what are some of the misconceptions about your industry? That this might be a good chance to kind of share some wisdom or, you know, tell people what those might be. To clear it up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think you know, in the day and age of AI, I think that a lot of people think that you know a software can do what I do, which is, I think, a huge misconception, especially as the younger generation is growing up. They think that you know we can just go into a software program and pop out a design or a brand. But really to understand who you are, what makes you unique and what you know positions you differently and something that you can hang your hat on for, you know, the next 20, 50 years is not something that's going to come from a software. It's going to come from somebody who really understands you in the market and can create some unique identity or name or positioning for you as well, as you know, just that personal touch of just you know, having real people involved in photography and in social media and things like that.
Speaker 3:I just think right now, AI cannot replace the experience that designers bring to the table, because, you know, for four years, you know, I was taught a design eye, I guess is what they called it then. They're like the most important thing that we're going to teach you is to know what good design is and what bad design is, and, quite frankly, I never forgot that and that is really the truth. A lot of schools don't teach that to be able to understand the unique nuances of fonts and you know leading and way things communicate, even digitally, versus print, and things like that. It's just something that you know comes with experience and I hope that never goes away and I hope that we continue to utilize. You know, designers, creative people in general, writers, you know, I mean, I don't want to see AI take over our entire creative industry, I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a new world, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, use it as a tool but don't replace. You know, that's kind of my thing.
Speaker 2:Good point, good point. Well, tell our listeners how they can reach you, contact you to learn more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure. Well, my email, you can reach me at Kimber K-I-M-B-E-R at Indiblu Creative dot com, and that's I-N-D-I-B-L-U Creative dot com. You can also reach me by phone and that is 704-516-0145. And my website, of course, is indiblucreative. com, so you can see some work up there as well. And, yeah, I would look forward to having a conversation and even if you just want to chat, I would welcome the opportunity.
Speaker 2:Well, I can't wait to see you out in the community. We appreciate your time today and thank you so, so much.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you for inviting me. I have really enjoyed it. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPSouthCharlotte. com. That's GNPSouthCharlotte. com, or call 980-351-5719.