Studio Kynd is a boutique design agency that focuses on helping small businesses and start-ups to find their own voice and creative direction. Founded by self-taught graphic designer Niobe Alexandra in 2020, the studio specialises in creating beautiful, minimalist and elegant design work that is inspired by Niobe’s love of nature, sustainability and travel. Niobe’s first clients were like-minded businesses in the beauty, health and wellness sectors, founded by confident female entrepreneurs around the globe. As Niobe tells us, “at Studio Kynd, we understand how hard our clients have worked building their business, so we curate branding and web design that should work hard for them too.”
A trained nurse with NHS experience, Niobe has always been passionate about art, photography and design. Her hobbies and interests have revolved around creativity since she was a teenager, when she started creating graphics for her own blog. As with many other young professionals hit by the pandemic lockdown, Niobe found herself reflecting on her career and decided that nursing isn’t right for her. She realised design and helping others are what she wants to focus on and decided to combine these two passions in building Studio Kynd. She has created a strong visual aesthetic which reflects her style, personality, sense of community and love of travel and quickly established her niche: “I have always wanted the freedom to travel and make money at the same time… I do not want to be constrained to living in one place and following the ‘norm’ – a sense of adventure fulfils the free spirit within me.”
Niobe offers branding services to small independent businesses, predominantly run by women who share similar values of community and sustainably. Not only does she help clients find their voice and develop an online presence, she also provides strategic support and curates Instagram content. Her impressive marketing strategy has evolved organically and served her well in the five months since she established Studio Kynd. Clients have come through word-of-mouth recommendation but also from her Instagram feed which perfectly represents her ethos and has over 6000 followers.
We caught up with Niobe to find out more about setting up Studio Kynd, how she deals with imposter syndrome with the help of a supportive network of strong women and her Instagram tips for new designers.
Can you tell us a bit about your career path and why you decided to set up Studio Kynd?
Since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by design. My love for making things started young and as I grew older, my eye for photography and design became a hobby. I started drawing at around fourteen and had dreams of becoming a tattoo artist but did not like the commitment that it involved. The thought of drawing something permanent on another person’s skin scared me. My love for fashion began whilst I was in school, and I studied textiles in hopes of entering the fashion industry. I had a quirky style, but more often than not my clothes were thrifted. My hobbies were always design based and I began blogging from a young age so I became familiar with creating graphics and playing with different fonts, colour and styles. I chose A-Levels with the idea of studying Graphic Design and Photography at college. I was offered a place but at the last minute decided on a change of direction and studied Nursing at University instead. A few years later in 2020, Studio Kynd was born during the Covid-19 pandemic. I was introduced to my first client, and then my next.
How have you grown over time and developed throughout your career?
I find using websites such as Skill Share, Youtube and reading blogs by other designers really valuable in learning and experimenting. I took A-Levels which were all designed based but then studied nursing at university so it was a completely different direction. I often thought maybe nursing was a waste of time as I could have studied design and been far more advanced than I am now. But my path in nursing has taught me how to connect with people and think quickly on my feet, increased my confidence and of course, be KYND to others, which lead me to starting my studio, Studio Kynd in 2020. Looking back, if I had not of taken a few years out of my career to study nursing, I would have struggled a lot more with confidence than I do now as I used to find building connections with strangers difficult. Now I am able to build a rapport with a stranger instantly and I feel this skill has given me a boost with clients.
What do you enjoy most about being a designer?
I enjoy the excitement it brings to my clients when they see their vision becoming a reality and knowing that I was part of that process. I love that I can be creative whilst being my own boss. Being able to work from my laptop is such a joy. I have always dreamt about this freedom and now it is a reality (As I type this I am on a plane flying home from Lisbon). No day is ever the same and I love the challenge!
Has being a woman impacted your career?
My career as a designer is still at a very early stage, but as a woman I have found that I have been able to connect well with my clients as most of them are inspiring women who own small business such as Salons. Building a personal bond helps with the creative process. I am lucky and grateful that I came into design at a time in which I was able to just freelance from the start, rather than working my way up at an agency.
A lot of people in the creative industries struggle with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Have you experienced this and, if so, how do you deal with it?
Yes – most of my life. It held me back massively. I always had a creative flair and ran a blog for a couple of years until imposter syndrome kicked in. One day I just deleted it and did not write for a long time. 2020 brought some kind of strength to me and I had no other choice as I needed to work and earn a living. My ways of dealing with self-doubt involve talking to myself and seeking guidance from the universe and I have a bad ass mother, who has been a huge influence within my life. I knew that something had to change within my life as I was starting to feel quite low within my industry and needed a change of direction. My tarot cards helped with this as I always trust the universe. Now I am designing, I constantly doubt my capabilities, but I have an amazing boyfriend who gives me little motivational talks and I am surrounded by some strong women who inspire me and motivate me daily. Shout out to you all, you know who you are!
Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?
I find inspiration when walking around and from my travels. I am constantly feeling inspired whether I am walking the streets of Panji in Goa or my current city in England. My love of travel has inspired lots of designs. I also am a ‘pinner’. I love Pinterest, I could spend hours on the site. I always approach a new project by speaking with the client. We will have a video call over zoom, or a big chat over email if a phone call is not possible followed by an in-depth branding questionnaire. This really helps with the branding process and once I’ve read this, I create a Pinterest board and sketch out a few ideas, whilst conducting research into competitive market and similar brands.
Have you got any tips for new female designers wanting to build their following on social media?
Studio Kynd is all about giving back. My niche at the beginning was focused on wellness, health and beauty and we now specialise in lifestyle, eco-conscious and wellness brands. I started following accounts on Instagram within that industry and commenting on people posts to create connections and build a community of like-minded women.
I share tips and tricks called ‘Kynd tips’ for small businesses and our client base which fits with the ethos of giving back. Responding to comments and DMs is key as is sharing and commenting on Instagram stories. Planning and creating good quality post content and creating a consistent feed has been hugely beneficial for Studio Kynd. Making posts that ask for feedback or comments also works really well and we’ve attracted the kind of clients that we want to work with. I believe that focusing on one social platform and doing it really well is better than trying to manage too many. Instagram works for us, so this is what we are sticking with!
Do you have any female role models or mentors who have shaped your career?
My mother is very supportive and I am really lucky to have such an amazing mother who pushes me to pursue my dreams and to never be afraid of failing. Thank you, Mum.
Do you have any words of advice for women considering a career in design today?
GO FOR IT, GIRL. Nothing should stop you. Do not allow fear to stop you, you never know what is outside of that comfort zone, so take the leap and step out of it. You must follow your dreams because if you don’t, someone else will. Feel free to reach out to me on: @studiokynd. We can be friends!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
I see myself on a beach somewhere with my laptop whilst working on designs for my clients. Studio Kynd has already gone worldwide with clients from England, New Zealand, America, Australia, Spain, The Netherlands and now more recently Germany. I intend to expand further as I travel more with my laptop and build meaningful connections with people I meet. I see myself really enjoying the hard work I have put into Studio Kynd, having a little team of like-minded people, as we have already hired our first illustrator to work alongside certain projects with us and will be looking to hire in 2021 to help with the work-load. I am currently looking at a possible relocation too, as we did a trial period in Spain recently and it worked really well, I just need to improve my Spanish.
In the future I have plans with to build a community around Studio Kynd, but this is all to come as I am big on supporting and learning from others but this will not happen straightaway.
Which female designers/artists/thinkers have most inspired you?
Oh gosh so many. Women are so inspiring. Amongst famous names to mention a few would be: Vivienne Westwood, Stella Mc Cartney, Frida Kahlo and Maya Angelou. I am constantly being inspired by so many amazing women within the industry and will regularly share their work on my Instagram stories so keep an eye out for it as I love to spread some much need kynd-ness.