I often get asked “Is there a story behind the Ugmonk ampersand? What does it mean?” So I thought it would be fun to share the origin story.
Designers have a certain affinity for the ampersand symbol, that I'm not sure how to explain. It's just a fun character to draw because it can take on so many different forms and shapes.
The Ugmonk ampersand started as a little doodle in my sketchbook back in 2010.
When I was designing our first leather collection, I revisited my original ampersand sketch and decided that I wanted to use it as an accent detail on each of our new leather goods.
I brought my sketch into digital form and played with the curves and negative spaces to refine the overall shape and create an ampersand that felt balanced yet unique.
Then the ampersand kind of took on a life of its own. People loved the leather goods, but kept telling me how much they liked the ampersand itself.
I decided to use this new ampersand on crewnecks, tees, and other objects. This ampersand has lived in many different forms and materials and slowly became integral part of Ugmonk.
So is there some deep meaning and strategy behind the ampersand?
Not really, but now you know the full story of how this little doodle turned into an iconic part of our brand :)
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P.S. We're running a special Ampersand Sale now (October 16-18, 2019)
Get 25% off on all ampersand products with code: AMPERSAND25
