Hamish Muir was co-founder of the London-based graphic design studio 8vo (1985–2001) and co-editor of Octavo, journal of typography (1986–92). With 8vo colleague Mark Holt, Muir co-wrote, co-edited and designed 8vo "On the Outside", published by Lars Müller in 2005, and Octavo Redux 1:1 – "A record of Octavo, journal of typography" 1986–1992, published by Unit Editions in 2017.

Together with Paul McNeil, in 2009 he co-founded MuirMcNeil, a collaborative design practice focussed on developing both commercial commissions and independent research projects. MuirMcNeil’s work explores the use of systematic methods in editorial design, brand identity, type design and moving image.

Written, edited and designed by Paul McNeil and Hamish Muir, "System Process Form", a documentation of MuirMcNeil’s extensive Two type system, developed and expanded over a fifteen-year period, was published in editions from Unit Editions and Thames & Hudson in 2024.

Muir regularly delivers lectures, workshops and short courses to national and international institutions and audiences.

The lecture and subsequent workshop, aimed exclusively at students on the MA in Communication Design, is part of the programme of lectures and intensive workshops on the MA coordinated by Andrew Howard.