by Cammie Jones May 4, 2023

Kruhu, Inc. is an award-winning design & branding studio with a mission to “equip brands to communicate clearly and connect boldly.” The team specializes in brand development, graphic design, and website & interactive.

It’s what they do and do very well, amongst many other creative endeavors that Kruhu offers, but this time it was personal.  Kruhu recently rebranded themselves as “The KRU,” complete with a revised “k” and lightning bolt logo.  Stepping into their office is an experience in itself. An open floor plan in a downtown historic building, the space already exudes character. Add to that the tchotchkes and funky artwork and posters on the walls, and you could get lost in the looking. 

After being “Kruhu” for 15 years, it was time for a fresh look. Owner Chris Rucker explained the steps and thoughts behind the change. “We’ve come to a spot in our history where a rebrand has sort of been on the horizon for us personally,” says Rucker.  “Our style and voice are not going away — we are just getting baby a new pair of shoes.”

When a brand is born, it starts with a dream or a mission of some sort but over time, the business side can take over, sometimes causing a loss of touch with what it was from the beginning and what brought the dream to life. “A lot of times we find that a brand will become neglected at its core, so we go in and hone in on the key differentiators and missional and visional components and get all that aligned,” says Rucker. 

As for the Kruhu rebranding, according to the team, “We have had a pretty steady look and vibe for 15 years so it wasn’t so much deep-diving into some of those foundational components as it was just taking what we have and elevating it to something we all can align with now.”  For years, clients and others would shorten the name to “The KRU,” so the team took on that moniker internally and had been using it for years. Now it was time to take it to the outside world. “It’s not like we are changing our name legally; we are still Kruhu, Inc., but we definitely want to be known as being intentional, approachable and part of the team. “The KRU” just seems to fit.”. Add to that the lowercase, slightly revised “k” logo with the lightning bolt, reflecting the energy the talented team creates, and The KRU was reborn.

In addition to the new name, The KRU has also worked on streamlining the types of brands with which they want to serve and partner. “We tend to gravitate more toward the brands that provide transformational experiences for people like destination marketing, food and beverage, or music festivals. We really like to be in a place to market grand experiences for people,” says The KRU. The team will continue to take on clients that may or may not fit this mold, but the team feels 100% compatibility with experience-driven brands.

The KRU is made up of “six people strong,” with some having been part of the team for nine to ten years, so there is big feeling of ownership. The team has many different talents that cross over and feed each other with their creative ideas, which makes for a great workplace environment. “We really want to be an extension of the collaborative creativity for the brands we serve,” adds The KRU. They describe the team as similar to the characters in the movie The Breakfast Club. “We would not have hung out in high school, but it took in-school suspension to get us together, and then we realized we were soulmates.”

The new look and rebrand only enhances The KRU’s mission, which is to equip brands to communicate clearly and connect boldly. “We want to be able to establish that connection with every brand we work with,” says the KRU.