Jacob Krump: An artist on the way to success

By Megan Mulcahy

What do you think of when you see the colors black and yellow? You might think of the Pittsburgh Steelers or maybe a taxi cab. For UMD marketing and graphic design student Jacob Krump, he sees an aesthetically pleasing honey bee sitting on an abstract, delicate rose petal. Not only does the honey bee represent art for Jacob Krump, but it represents the declining bee population.

“I’ve always been into drawing, since kindergarten,” sophomore Jacob Krump said. "Junior year of high school, I started drawing more to make art rather than just doodling. When I came to college, I got really into it and started doing it every week then that eventually turned into every day.”

When it comes to art, Krump does not hold back from exploring different styles and techniques. After gradually becoming intrigued in sketching alone, Krump found interest in painting, photography and digital design during his freshman year of college.

“I just like design in general,” Krump said. “I’m all about trying new stuff so I don’t think I could just pin myself down into just one category.”

With a passion for art and a drive to create, Krump finds himself learning about the world around him and what it takes to create an art piece that speaks to people. His growing interest in art even lead him to become part of the creative design team for Hive Apparel.

Last fall, Krump was given the opportunity to make his art work known. Hive Apparel, a Duluth based company that specializes in action-sport custom clothing, got in contact with him and that’s where his creative involvement began.

Hive is an active supporter in saving the declining bee population while educating their consumers about the problem at hand. They donate five percent of all incoming sales to the University of Minnesota Bee Squad, which helps foster a healthy bee population. The Bee Squad has their own bee hives throughout Minnesota that teach students how to maintain and sustain hives.

There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees on this planet, one of them being the honey bee. Honey bees play an essential part in our ecosystem, pollinating one third of the food we consume everyday, according to a 2011 article by the Natural Resource Defense Council.

“We wanted to create a brand based in the action-sports community, but built around a purpose, and that purpose is for us to save the bees,” said Cole Ehresmann, the owner and founder of Hive Apparel.

With a focus on the declining bee population, Krump decided he wanted to learn more about sustainability and environmental concerns. This semester he enrolled in an environmental science course that has helped him bring a new meaning to his designs.

“I am currently working towards sustainability emphasis, and I am taking environmental science right now,” Krump said. “It kind of makes me think more and more about how alarming some of this stuff is.”

While Hive works towards saving the bees, it is important to the company to have a solid marketing and design team that puts in the work. Krump does just that, according to Cole Ehresmann.

“His designs have brought new customers, new outlooks and a more diversified and honestly a more advanced look to our brand,” Ehresmann said. “He’s so good with his art. If I ask him to create something, he’ll turn around, do it in a week and get it done exactly how I want it or better than I thought it could be. He goes above and beyond the expectations.”

Out of the four designs that Krump created for the Spring 2017 drop, the hexagon rose that is printed on a jacket is Krump’s absolute favorite. Seeing his own designs around campus brings a feeling of joy and satisfaction.

Jacob Krump’s art work has not only been recognized here at UMD but has even been recognized on Instagram by the up and coming musician Khalid and by Visionary Music Group, who manages the famous rapper Logic.

“It’s really cool to see the whole design process go from my head to a finished product, and have it be something that other people would be happy to wear for themselves,” Krump said. “I like being a part of something bigger than myself.”

Photo courtesy of Jacob Krump