Our story

Things made to be kept.

Thayu Labs is a small studio in Nairobi that builds apps for the things that matter: money, language, faith and quiet hours.

The name

Thayu is the Gĩkũyũ word for peace. It is what we want the apps to leave behind — not another thing demanding your attention, but something quiet you are glad to keep.

We make few apps and keep improving them. Money, language, faith and quiet hours: four things worth doing carefully.

The mark

Our mark is a cairn: an app tile balanced on two stones. Cairns are left by people who went first, to show the way to whoever comes next. They say that someone took care here.

The top stone is an app tile, because that is what we make. The tile is tilted eight degrees — set down by hand, not machined into place.

Where the look came from

Thimo — Kikuyu proverbs set in a bound-book card — was the most Thayu Labs thing we had made. The rest of the identity is built from it: cream paper, green cloth, a red ribbon marker, brass fittings.

A well-bound book is the idea. Things made to be kept.

The collection

Five apps, each with its own purpose. Together they hold one belief: technology should nourish the mind and keep culture alive.