Elmwood’s former studio in Leeds has been rebranded as Born Ugly.
It formalises the Elmwood Group demerger announced by founder, Jonathan Sands, last week.
It will mean that for the first time since 1977 that the name Elmwood hasn’t been associated with Leeds. However, it will live on in the global business, operating out of London, New York and Singapore.
“Our plan is to build on the success of the Leeds business coming off the back of a very successful year and tread a different path to Elmwood now,” said Jonathan Sands OBE, Chairman of Born Ugly.
“I have no doubt that business will go on and do bigger and better things. Our plans for Born Ugly are clear and exciting and in time I want to step back knowing that we’ve achieved something really special and different once again. I want to put succession in place from the start hence me diluting my share-holding very quickly.”
The Born Ugly rebrand was created in-house, to represent that “even the best ideas start ‘ugly’”. The icon, which was designed by Grammy nominated and Cannes Lion winning artist, Alex Trochut shows a “squiggle” used to highlight the ideas and insights with the greatest potential. The brand mark is crafted to be “ugly and raw as well as beautiful and balanced with a mix of lower case and caps.”
