Press Release
Khalinur Marupova Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Ruh Corporate Identity in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Khalinur Marupova honored for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Ruh Corporate Identity by Khalinur Marupova, designed for You Are Art, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About Ruh Corporate Identity
Ruh is a culturally rooted sports and lifestyle identity inspired by movement, nature and conscious living. The logo integrates a labyrinth form symbolizing the human journey, fingerprint elements referencing identity and legacy, and typographic lines influenced by Kazakh mountain formations. The system balances heritage and modernity through a scalable visual language that connects individual experience with collective memory, creating a distinctive and sustainable brand presence.
About Khalinur Marupova
Khalinur Marupova is a graphic designer, creative director and multidisciplinary artist from Kazakhstan, currently based in Los Angeles. Her practice focuses on brand identity and visual storytelling, combining cultural symbolism, emotional narratives and contemporary visual systems. Through her independent creative practice, You Are Art, she explores the intersection of design, art and culture to create identities rooted in meaning and human connection. She is also expanding her practice through Film & Digital Media, bringing motion and cinematic storytelling into her creative approach.
Award Record
Khalinur Marupova is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award
The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Entries typically include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. Awarded graphic designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/graphics
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/178744
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/178744
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!178744
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/376738
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Ruh Corporate Identity
- Function
- Corporate Identity
- Category
- Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Arts
- Colors
- Sienna, Saddle Brown, Chocolate, Dark Salmon and Black
- Images
- 5
- Client
- You Are Art
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Khalinur Marupova
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #178744
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Ruh is a culturally rooted sports and lifestyle identity system built on the idea that human strength originates from the land. Everything we consume grows from the earth, and this natural energy becomes part of human movement and physical expression. Inspired by the mountains of Kazakhstan, the identity translates this philosophy into a contemporary visual language reflecting strength, balance, and motion. Rather than serving as a decorative reference, Ruh functions as a scalable system where cultural meaning is embedded into structure, allowing the identity to adapt across applications and extend from sportswear into everyday life.
- Inspiration
- Ruh translates Kazakh mountain topography and ancestral symbolic systems into a contemporary visual identity. Rooted in the concept of inner spirit, the project explores how landscape, memory, and inherited cultural logic can be transformed into a structured design language. Inspired by natural formations and tamga symbolism, the identity reflects continuity, movement, and inner strength within a modern global context.
- Research
- The research focused on transforming a culturally rooted Kazakh brand into a contemporary identity while preserving its cultural code. The key challenge was maintaining authenticity while ensuring clarity, scalability, and global readability. The study combined analysis of traditional symbolic structures with the exploration of Kazakh mountain forms and topographic patterns. These insights informed the development of a modular identity system that translates cultural meaning into a structured, adaptable visual language suitable for international expansion.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge was translating culturally sensitive ancestral symbolism into a modern sports and lifestyle identity while maintaining authenticity and clarity. The process required balancing organic forms with structured geometry, ensuring both emotional resonance and functional adaptability within a global market context.
- Realization and Technology
- The identity was developed using vector-based construction, grid systems and iterative form exploration. Topographic line studies and symbolic abstraction techniques were used to translate traditional forms into scalable contemporary graphics. Files are prepared for high-resolution digital and print production.
- Operation and Interaction
- The Ruh identity functions as a modular visual system adaptable across apparel, print, digital and environmental applications. The symbol, grid structure and motion-inspired graphic elements create a consistent rhythm across touchpoints. The system ensures recognizability while allowing flexibility in scale, composition and material use. It is designed to support brand storytelling through pattern expansion, movement-based compositions and layered visual narratives.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was developed in 2025 between Kazakhstan and Los Angeles. It combines cultural research rooted in Kazakh heritage with contemporary design methodologies studied in the United States.
- Specifications
- Ruh is a fully scalable identity system designed for use across apparel, packaging, print, digital platforms and spatial applications. The modular grid ensures consistent reproduction across sizes and materials.
- Keywords
- Ruh, cultural identity, sportswear branding, lifestyle branding, Kazakh heritage, tamga symbolism, labyrinth concept, topographic design, modular identity system, contemporary brand system
