A change of gears for a Formula One icon

1976 Formula One champion and thrill-seeker James Hunt, whose charm and daring were brought to life by Chris Hemsworth in the movie Rush, has a place in the hearts of sports fans of all ages.

The brand needed to be re-invigorated, with the 50th anniversary of his World Championship approaching.

We were commissioned to develop a new brand style guide by Tim Collins from The Brand Director who is responsible for developing the brand’s commercial offering together with the Estate of James Hunt and licensing agency Global Trademark Licensing.

Brand strategy

Sharp Sharp used its unique AI-assisted BrandSeed brand strategy process to develop the brand strategy, value proposition and customer personas. Working with information provided by Tim, we developed a clear brand strategy. We based this on the brand purpose “inject excitement into the everyday”, intended to inspire people to live with the same freedom and flair which James did.

The final strategy was well received:

“The strategy document has helped us to clarify what the James Hunt brand stands for today…

…and sparked useful conversations about who our audiences are. It is clear and concise, and needed minimal additional input from me beyond what I’d already provided to Sharp Sharp.”
Tim Collins
The Brand Director

Brand identity

Using the initial assets of the James Hunt helmet logo and some photography, we built out a full licensing style guide and suite of graphic assets.

We aimed to capture the danger, the noise and the smell of engine oil of 1970s F1 racing in the graphics. This was achieved with subtly distorted and distressed elements, and dynamically stretched typography.

Hunt’s black helmet together with his old school colours became core to the brand identity, inspired by other rebel brands from Harley-Davidson to Jack Daniels.

We developed a suite of product and packaging concepts to inspire licensees. James’ effortless casual style is alluded to in the combination of untreated materials with more premium ones.

The bold graphics to be found on the cars and in the paddock inspired concepts aimed at core fans. The JH76 monogram made up of Hunt’s initial plus the year he won the F1 championship is used as a more subtle way to allude to the brand for premium items.

The brand continues to be carefully nurtured by Hunt’s sons Tom and Freddie. It already has new licensees on board and new apparel available, with much more planned for the 50th anniversary of Hunt’s Championship in 2026.