Hiut x Pentagram - The same work, seen more clearly.

When we decided to evolve the Hiut identity, we weren't looking to change what we are. We were looking to say it better.

We brought in Pentagram to help us do that — and what followed was less a redesign and more a process of listening. To the factory, to the makers, to the town. Asking what Hiut really is, and finding a way to show it more clearly than we had before.

It's rare to work with people who take that much care to understand you before they start. Hugh and the team spent real time with us in Aberteifi — and it shows in the result. This feels more like Hiut than anything we've had before.

We're genuinely proud of it, and grateful to everyone at Pentagram who helped us get there.

Here's Hugh on how they approached it.

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It’s been great working in close collaboration with the team at Hiut and shaping something we're all proud of.

When Hiut first approached us about evolving the identity, the brief sounded deceptively simple: refresh the logo; refine the typography; reconsider the colour palette, as well as developing an art direction that could carry the brand forward into this new phase.

But as is often the case, the real challenge wasn't reinventing Hiut's identity. It was getting under the surface of what Hiut already is.

 

 

The best identities aren't invented. They're uncovered. They already exist in the habits, beliefs, and behaviours of a company. The role of design is to notice them, clarify them, and give them a more coherent expression.

Spending time with the team in Cardigan, one thing became immediately clear. Hiut sits outside the traditional rhythms of fashion. Of course, it makes clothing; beautifully made clothing. But the business is built on something deeper than seasonal trends or novelty. It is rooted in place, in purpose, and in a belief that making things properly still matters. It isn't driven by trends so much as shaped by the people and places that surround it, the rhythm of the factory, the skill of its makers, and the rugged landscape of Aberteifi.

That became our starting point.

 

 

We also crafted a typography system that mirrors the tensions we found within the brand. There is the workhorse typeface: Founders Grotesk - practical, dependable, and clear. 'The Makers Font', speaks to the human touch and the individual. Inspired by the real-life signatures that each maker scribes into every pair of jeans before they leave the factory.

Because Hiut has always spoken person to person. The stories. The journals. The conversations. They remind us that behind every pair of jeans is a maker, a customer, and a shared belief in doing things well.

 

Industry and nature.

Precision and personality.

Black and white and colour.

The factory and the landscape.

The countryside around Cardigan is never far from the story of Hiut. It shapes the pace of life, the quality of light, and the character of the people who work there. Rather than treating it as a backdrop, we wanted the landscape to become an active part of the brand's visual language. 

 

 

Jess Ellis (stills) and Cat Garcia (motion) were invited to capture moments of everyday beauty from both the surrounding landscape and the factory itself, focusing on textures, colours, and unexpected details. The images are evocative, intriguing even abstract - bringing to life with a refreshed perspective the environment in which the jeans are made.

This thinking informed the new campaign approach too. Rather than creating a fixed photographic style, we built a framework rooted in storytelling. Juxtaposing colour and black and white, films and stills, each story exploring a different perspective on making, place, craft, and purpose. The launch campaign and ongoing art direction are led by Hiut's internal teams and collaborators, working with photographers, illustrators, videographers, and printers whose approach aligns with the brand and its core values. Together they create a campaign that can evolve over time, while remaining recognisably Hiut.

 

That flexibility felt important. Because the strongest brands don't stand still. They grow. They accumulate stories. They become richer through use. In many ways, that's what a great pair of jeans does too. It carries the marks of where it's been. This identity is designed to do the same.

 Hugh Miller, Pentagram