The coastal town of Aberteifi (also known as Cardigan) has a unique denim heritage. In the 1960s its first jeans factory employed over 400 local people, and made over 35,000 pairs a week. Production eventually moved offshore in 2002, leaving behind decades of accumulated knowledge and skill.

Hiut was founded in Aberteifi in 2011 with a mission to bring those skills back home, and train the next generation of craftspeople to make premium denimwear. Hiut is a fashion label that isn’t driven by trends, instead it is rooted in authenticity and community. Shaped by the people and places that surround it, the brand takes its cue from the rhythm of the factory, the skill of its makers and the rugged landscape of Aberteifi. 

Pentagram partner Hugh Miller was asked to design a new visual identity that would help HIUT tell its story. Working closely with the Hiut team, the new visual identity was built around defining the brand‘s values, celebrating the factory (and its people, processes and setting), while at the same time embracing the unique contrasts that define it. 

The result is an identity that balances industry with nature, and utility with craft. The aim was to refine the brand's visual language in line with these principles, creating a more elevated, premium expression of Hiutwhile providing the flexibility for the brand to evolve in the years ahead. 

At the centre of the identity, the redrawn wordmark represents the industrial heart of the factory in Aberteifi, reflecting both craft and resilience. The addition of ‘Aberteifi’ grounds the brand in its location, heritage and its mother-tongue. In contrast, the wordmark is joined by a bolder, rounder and much more recognisable version of Hiut‘s much-loved owl logo.

As a premium fashion brand, art direction played a key part in shaping Hiut’s visual world. In addition to photographing the collections, Jess Ellis (stills) and Cat Garcia (motion) were invited to capture moments of everyday beauty from both the surrounding landscape and the factory itself. Shot in black and white and colour and focusing on textures, colours and unexpected details, the images are evocative and intriguing, revealing the brand’s human character and the environment in which the jeans are made. 

The launch campaign and ongoing art direction are led by Hiut’s internal teams and collaborators. By working with photographers, illustrators, videographers and printers whose approach aligns with the brand and its core values, Hiut can continue to build a body of work that reflects its character, craft and spirit.

Alongside photography, type plays a central role in the identity, and it too reflects the tension between the industrial and artisanal. The primary typeface is the functional and utilitarian Founders Grotesk; this is joined by ‘The Makers Font’, an expressive handwritten typeface inspired by the real life signatures of the makers which are scribed into every pair of jeans before they leave the factory. The colour palette draws together the muted hues of the landscape and the raw, functional character of the factory through a series of contrasting textures, materials and tones.

Together, the visual identity and art direction create a more elevated and curated expression of Hiut. Firmly rooted in the character of Aberteifi and the craft of its makers, the new visual identity brings clarity and coherence to the brand while keeping Hiut’s authenticity at its heart. Balancing industry with nature, and utility with craft, it provides a framework for the future, while remaining closely connected to the people, place and processes that define the Hiut brand.