While in college at San Diego State University in the mid-1980s, Hustwit began working with independent bands and promoting concerts.

[5] In 1999 Hustwit moved to New York City and opened a publishing office and bookstore called Incommunicado, as part of the Lower East Side nightclub Tonic.

Hustwit made his film directorial debut in 2007 with Helvetica, a documentary which examined the role of typography and graphic design in visual culture.

Hustwit's documentaries have been critically acclaimed and globally successful, with Bethan Ryder writing in Wallpaper, "Cities and urban planning, typography and toothbrushes – American documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit is known for turning his enquiring lens on the things we take for granted and showing them in a new light, gaining him a cult following among the global design community.

In 2016, Hustwit announced that he was making a feature documentary about German product designer Dieter Rams[18] with original music from Brian Eno.