In 2020, while many studios were battening down the hatches, a new name quietly entered the scene with a tongue-in-cheek wink to the times. Born Ugly didn't just rebrand in the middle of a global crisis – it was born during it. "You could say we were born in the ugliest of times," the team reflects. Yet, despite the chaos, the studio emerged with a clear sense of purpose, ready to challenge conventions and bring fresh energy to branding – from consumer to B2B and everything in between. Born Ugly wasn't your average startup, though. It sprang from the former headquarters of Elmwood, a globally recognised agency with a decades-long legacy. When Elmwood demerged at the end of 2019, its Leeds and Melbourne studios branched off to become independent entities. Many of the team had been part of Elmwood for years, but with the split came the opportunity and necessity to reinvent. "One day, we were the HQ of a major international business; the next, we were virtually a startup no one had ever heard of," they explain. "It's a shift that takes a bit to get your head around in every way – attitudinally, mentally and in how you approach your work." Building the Born Ugly brand wasn't just a cosmetic exercise. It required deep strategic thinking – the kind the studio is now known for. "We had to rethink what we were about, our new business strategy and the culture we wanted to build. We didn't quite grasp the scale of the change needed immediately… it felt as though we could just keep going when actually, we had to start afresh but without losing all the great things that had made us successful in the past," says the team. That tension between heritage and reinvention, between structure and spontaneity, continues to define Born Ugly's approach. While they're fiercely proud of their Northern roots ("Being here in the North keeps us grounded and our work real"), the studio operates globally, with clients spanning the US, New Zealand and Europe. They've long worked with Leeds-based Astonish, a household cleaning brand that's quietly grown into a national success story, and they're committed to championing other under-the-radar businesses in the region. The project that truly put Born Ugly on the international map was their transformation of MitoQ, a New Zealand cell health supplement looking to break into the US and Chinese markets. When they started, MitoQ was positioned as a standard supplement. Born Ugly reimagined it from the ground up, evolving it into a premium cellular health brand and carving out an entirely new category. From science visualisation to packaging to brand storytelling, it was a full-spectrum overhaul. "It made us realise the impact we could have, and it opened the door to other opportunities," they say. One of those doors led to Carlsberg and its global cider brand Somersby. What began as a branding refresh has evolved into a long-term partnership spanning eight years and counting. "Somersby has grown globally to be a brand that is about a lot more than just cider," the team explains. "We've evolved the brand to ensure it fits with a changing consumer and can stretch across an expanding portfolio while having a bigger impact on the Carlsberg business." Born Ugly explains why they make a point of staying "industry agnostic" – a deliberate choice rooted in curiosity. "What excites us is tackling interesting problems, no matter the industry," they say. "If there's an Ugly Truth to uncover and solve with creative thinking, we're in." That idea – the "Ugly Truth" – is more than just a brand hook. It's a strategic lens that drives everything they do. Rather than accepting a client brief at face value, the studio pushes deeper, asking: What's the real issue? What's being avoided? What hard truth needs to be faced? "We aren't here to just be creative," they clarify. "Proper strategic and creative thinking is about transformation… if a client comes with a brief we don't think will move their business forward, we'll say so. We don't do work for the sake of it – we do work that's meaningful, effective and transformative." That mindset also shapes their internal culture. Born Ugly describes itself as having a startup mentality, adding that the team is encouraged to be fearless, to take risks, and even to fail. "That's often where the most brilliant ideas come from," they say. "We believe diversity in experience and perspective leads to the best work." Their Leeds studio is built to support that way of thinking. Collaboration is baked into the workflow, with 'psycho rooms' (their affectionate nickname for strategy war rooms) used to map out every nuance of a brief. Three days a week, the team comes together in person to bounce ideas, solve problems and make decisions as a unit. "We're also happy to use outside experts to make sure we're offering the best possible thinking," they add, a reflection of their openness to collaboration beyond their own walls. True to form, Born Ugly is already looking for the next creative hill to climb. "One of our own Ugly Truths is that we are quite restless and always looking for the next big thing and to do something new and exciting," they hint. While they're not giving too much away, that restless energy and that refusal to settle is exactly what's made Born Ugly a name to watch. In a world where beauty is often only skin deep, Born Ugly reminds us that the most powerful work comes from getting uncomfortable, asking difficult questions, and digging into the mess of real business challenges.