M — N Associates overhauls Vietnam’s biggest sneaker brand

M — N Associates has rebranded Vietnam's national sneaker brand Biti's Hunter, introducing a completely new trademark, logotype, custom typeface, and holistic branding system designed to seamlessly bridge the physical and digital experience.

Known for its unconventional campaigns and innovative designs over the last nine years, the brand contributes approximately 74% to the company's total revenue, selling millions of pairs globally. Unlike its parent brand, Biti's - which caters to a broad audience - Biti's Hunter targets Vietnam's youth by embracing fashion and self-expression.

Throughout its 40-year legacy, Biti's has been deeply tied to Vietnam's cultural and economic development, not only as a brand but as a symbol of national identity and resilience. The launch of Biti's Hunter in 2016 marked a bold transformation as the company moved to introduce a sneaker line that resonated with Vietnam's growing streetwear scene and youthful energy, exemplified through bold campaigns like 'Đi Để Trở Về' (Go to Explore, Return to Belong).

While the original Biti's Hunter brand was created in collaboration with Dentsu Redder – its strategic agency for nearly a decade – M — N Associates created a strong, cohesive identity to lead it through this next transformation phase. "As Vietnamese designers, working on this rebrand was an honour – a chance to redefine a truly Vietnamese sneaker brand," says M — N Associates executive creative director Duy Nguyen.

The studio's brief was to construct a visual system for Biti's Hunter's expansion into the fashion world and ensure it could compete with global sneaker brands in the Vietnamese market. Initially, the studio set out to create a scalable branding system that could extend beyond footwear into apparel and accessories, but Nguyen says that this changed as they delved deeper into the brand.

"We realised Biti's Hunter needed a stronger foundation with an iconic, instantly recognisable identity," he explains. "For years, Vietnamese sneaker brands struggled to establish a distinct visual presence against international giants, and as the market leader, Biti's Hunter was in the perfect position to change that."

It was important to cement Biti's Hunter as a modern fashion powerhouse while staying true to its roots, creating a brand that Vietnamese youth can wear with pride, knowing it's made for them by them. As a result, the approach shifted from a fashion expansion to a brand evolution, with M — N Associates focusing on designing bold, ownable assets to ensure instant recognition across products, packaging, and campaigns.

Despite building strong awareness through marketing and campaigns, Biti's Hunter needed a more robust and cohesive product identity across its sneaker design, packaging, and digital experiences. According to Nguyen, the rebranding was necessary to ensure that every sneaker carries the brand's DNA, bring consistency across retail, packaging, and digital platforms, and prepare the brand for adapting to different collections, collaborations, and global markets.

From analysing both global sneaker brands and Vietnam's growing streetwear scene, M — N Associates noticed two key points. Firstly, global brands often leverage iconic marks and typography for instant recognition (think Nike's swoosh and Adidas' three stripes), so Biti's Hunter needed its own signature brand asset, which led to the creation of the adaptive 'H' monogram.

Secondly, Vietnam's youth are known to embrace both global trends and local authenticity, giving them a unique cultural identity. Nguyen reveals: "This insight influenced the custom typeface, which integrates Vietnamese motifs like the nón lá and dragon-inspired diacritics, blending tradition with modern design.

"Beyond typography, it also influenced the adaptive 'H' monogram, allowing the brand to evolve with cultural movements - such as Cờ Hội (football fan culture) or Tổ Ong (inspired by Vietnam's iconic rubber sandals) - ensuring Biti's Hunter stays relevant and deeply connected to its roots."

Biti's Hunter's new 'Step Forward' strategy drives the whole visual identity, developed with motion, energy, and confidence in mind. In Nguyen's view, it helps the brand feel "dynamic, progressive, and culturally relevant at every touchpoint". It means that Biti's Hunter can "evolve seamlessly while maintaining a bold and instantly recognisable presence across fashion, footwear, and digital experiences".

Building on the heritage of the previous italicised wordmark, the new logotype leans even further forward, making it bolder and sharper - a visual demonstration of the "Step Forward" movement. M — N Associates refined the letterforms for better legibility, giving the mark a stronger presence across packaging and products, while the apostrophe was reworked to integrate more seamlessly into the type structure.

To foster a stronger connection with the parent brand, the studio subtly integrated the abstract bird mark from Biti's into the sneaker brand's logo, which now features a distinctive crossbar. This not only creates "a stronger and more cohesive visual connection to the mother brand" but also ensures continuity and "reinforces the brand's commitment to freedom, progress, and its proud Vietnamese heritage", Nguyen explains.

Biti's Hunter now has a bespoke typeface - MN Hunter Display – designed by the studio's Type Associates to ensure brand recognition beyond the logo. As mentioned, its forward-leaning slant has a look of momentum in line with the overarching strategy, while sharp angles and dynamic cuts reinforce boldness and energy. Nguyen says: "The custom diacritics, inspired by Vietnamese cultural elements, add a unique national identity - the circumflex echoes the sharp, angular form of the nón lá, while the tilde mimics the fluid movement of a Vietnamese dragon head, symbolising strength and heritage.

"This blend of tradition and modernity creates a deeper emotional connection with the audience and ensures Biti's Hunter stands out in an industry dominated by generic sans-serifs."

Other new brand elements include typography-led packaging, which prominently features the bold wordmark and monogram, a new e-commerce digital experience (refined portfolio photography and rebrand art direction, masterfully executed by Wing Chan), and stronger motion graphics and visual direction.

One of the new identity's biggest claims is that it seamlessly bridges Biti's Hunter's physical and digital experiences, with the H monogram being a prime example. On sneakers and apparel, the monogram is integrated into designs, while in packaging, the bold wordmark and tilted 'H' create a strong shelf presence and enhance the unboxing experience.

Across the website and social media, the motion-driven identity ensures that MN Hunter Display and the monogram are maximised in digital applications. What's more, M—N Associates developed a modular identity system to allow for campaign customisation so the brand can easily adapt to seasonal collections and cultural collaborations without getting lost in them.

Nguyen thinks that one of the biggest challenges was branding a sneaker line for the first time, especially for Vietnam's leading brand, where there was no room for error. He explains: "With a tight timeline, we had to test and refine the trademark through hundreds of iterations to ensure the right balance across new collections.

"Working closely with Biti's Hunter's in-house product team, we aligned branding with product execution, defining the right effects and treatments for different shoe silhouettes."

Even in such a short period, the studio co-developed three new sneaker concepts and expanded into a full lifestyle collection, including clothing (shirts to pants) and accessories, like bags. "Thanks to the trust, support, and knowledge-sharing process with the brand team, we were able to achieve everything on time, delivering a bold, scalable, and fashion-forward brand system," Nguyen adds.