diff --git a/src/hex.rs b/src/hex.rs
index 4717730..99d6d20 100644
--- a/src/hex.rs
+++ b/src/hex.rs
@@ -125,6 +125,8 @@ pub fn byte_to_hex_lower(byte: u8) -> (u8, u8) {
     )
 }
 
+/// Returns the ASCII byte corresponding to the given hex nybble, using lowercase for the digits A
+/// to F. Assumes the given value is less than 16.
 #[inline]
 fn nybble_to_hex_lower(nybble: u8) -> u8 {
     match nybble {
@@ -133,6 +135,14 @@ fn nybble_to_hex_lower(nybble: u8) -> u8 {
     }
 }
 
+/// Converts the given byte to its uppercase hexadecimal representation. The first byte returned
+/// encodes the most significant 4 bits, and the second byte encodes the least significant 4 bits.
+///
+/// ```
+/// # use libshire::hex::byte_to_hex_upper;
+/// assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(15), (b'0', b'F'));
+/// assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(139), (b'8', b'B'));
+/// ```
 #[inline]
 #[must_use]
 pub fn byte_to_hex_upper(byte: u8) -> (u8, u8) {
@@ -142,6 +152,8 @@ pub fn byte_to_hex_upper(byte: u8) -> (u8, u8) {
     )
 }
 
+/// Returns the ASCII byte corresponding to the given hex nybble, using uppercase for the digits A
+/// to F. Assumes the given value is less than 16.
 #[inline]
 fn nybble_to_hex_upper(nybble: u8) -> u8 {
     match nybble {
@@ -298,6 +310,32 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(nybble_to_hex_upper(15), b'F');
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_byte_to_hex_lower() {
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x00), (b'0', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x01), (b'0', b'1'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x0F), (b'0', b'f'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x10), (b'1', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x1F), (b'1', b'f'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0x9A), (b'9', b'a'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0xA9), (b'a', b'9'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0xF0), (b'f', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_lower(0xFF), (b'f', b'f'));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_byte_to_hex_upper() {
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x00), (b'0', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x01), (b'0', b'1'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x0F), (b'0', b'F'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x10), (b'1', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x1F), (b'1', b'F'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0x9A), (b'9', b'A'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0xA9), (b'A', b'9'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0xF0), (b'F', b'0'));
+        assert_eq!(byte_to_hex_upper(0xFF), (b'F', b'F'));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_hex_to_nybble() {
         assert_eq!(hex_to_nybble('0').unwrap(), 0x0);
diff --git a/src/strings/fixed_string.rs b/src/strings/fixed_string.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..33ab3fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/strings/fixed_string.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+use std::{
+    borrow,
+    cmp::Ordering,
+    error,
+    fmt,
+    hash::{Hash, Hasher},
+    ops,
+    str,
+};
+
+pub struct FixedString<const N: usize> {
+    buf: [u8; N],
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn new(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+        // SAFETY:
+        // A `&str` is always valid UTF-8.
+        unsafe { Self::from_raw_slice(s.as_bytes()) }
+    }
+
+    /// # Safety
+    /// The provided byte slice must be valid UTF-8.
+    #[inline]
+    pub unsafe fn from_raw_slice(bytes: &[u8]) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+        match bytes.try_into() {
+            Ok(bytes) => Ok(Self::from_raw_array(bytes)),
+            Err(_) => Err(Error::BadLength {
+                expected: N,
+                actual: bytes.len(),
+            }),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// # Safety
+    /// The provided byte array must be valid UTF-8.
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub unsafe fn from_raw_array(bytes: [u8; N]) -> Self {
+        Self { buf: bytes }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn as_str(&self) -> &str {
+        // SAFETY:
+        // `buf` is always valid UTF-8 since that is an invariant `FixedString`.
+        unsafe { str::from_utf8_unchecked(&self.buf) }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn as_str_mut(&mut self) -> &mut str {
+        // SAFETY:
+        // `buf` is always valid UTF-8 since that is an invariant `FixedString`.
+        unsafe { str::from_utf8_unchecked_mut(&mut self.buf) }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn as_bytes(&self) -> &[u8; N] {
+        &self.buf
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn into_raw(self) -> [u8; N] {
+        self.buf
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> ops::Deref for FixedString<N> {
+    type Target = str;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> ops::DerefMut for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn deref_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Self::Target {
+        self.as_str_mut()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> AsRef<str> for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &str {
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> AsMut<str> for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn as_mut(&mut self) -> &mut str {
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> borrow::Borrow<str> for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn borrow(&self) -> &str {
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> borrow::BorrowMut<str> for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn borrow_mut(&mut self) -> &mut str {
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> str::FromStr for FixedString<N> {
+    type Err = Error;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Self::Err> {
+        Self::new(s)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a, const N: usize> TryFrom<&'a str> for FixedString<N> {
+    type Error = Error;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn try_from(value: &'a str) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        Self::new(value)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> PartialEq for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        **self == **other
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> Eq for FixedString<N> {}
+
+impl<const N: usize> PartialOrd for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn partial_cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Option<Ordering> {
+        Some(self.cmp(other))
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> Ord for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Ordering {
+        (**self).cmp(&**other)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> Hash for FixedString<N> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn hash<H: Hasher>(&self, state: &mut H) {
+        (**self).hash(state);
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> fmt::Debug for FixedString<N> {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        fmt::Debug::fmt(&**self, f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<const N: usize> fmt::Display for FixedString<N> {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        fmt::Display::fmt(&**self, f)
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum Error {
+    BadLength { expected: usize, actual: usize },
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for Error {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            Error::BadLength { expected, actual } => {
+                write!(
+                    f,
+                    "expected {} bytes of string data, found {} bytes",
+                    expected, actual
+                )
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl error::Error for Error {}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::FixedString;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_fixed_string() {
+        assert!(FixedString::<5>::new("hello").is_ok());
+        assert!(FixedString::<5>::new("hello!").is_err());
+        assert!(FixedString::<5>::new("helo").is_err());
+        assert!(FixedString::<5>::new("").is_err());
+        assert_eq!(FixedString::<5>::new("hello").unwrap().as_bytes(), "hello".as_bytes());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_fixed_string_zero() {
+        assert!(FixedString::<0>::new("").is_ok());
+        assert!(FixedString::<0>::new("a").is_err());
+        assert!(FixedString::<0>::new("abc").is_err());
+        assert_eq!(FixedString::<0>::new("").unwrap().as_bytes(), &[]);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/strings/mod.rs b/src/strings/mod.rs
index b6dce5b..d5f6f52 100644
--- a/src/strings/mod.rs
+++ b/src/strings/mod.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+pub mod fixed_string;
 pub mod shstring;
 
+pub use fixed_string::{FixedString, Error as FixedStringError};
 pub use shstring::{ShString, ShString22};
diff --git a/src/uuid.rs b/src/uuid.rs
index e4e7b9c..0f1a552 100644
--- a/src/uuid.rs
+++ b/src/uuid.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::{error, fmt, str};
 
-use crate::hex::{self, HexBytes};
+use crate::{hex, strings::FixedString};
 
 // TODO: make conformity to RFC 4122 an invariant of this type (which means it cannot be created
 // safely from an arbitrary [u8; 16]).
@@ -69,6 +69,37 @@ impl Uuid {
     pub fn to_bytes(self) -> [u8; 16] {
         self.0
     }
+
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn as_string(&self) -> FixedString<36> {
+        let mut buf = [0u8; 36];
+
+        for (i, byte) in self.0.iter().copied().enumerate() {
+            let (b0, b1) = hex::byte_to_hex_lower(byte);
+            let offset = match i {
+                0..=3 => 0,
+                4..=5 => 1,
+                6..=7 => 2,
+                8..=9 => 3,
+                _ => 4,
+            };
+            buf[i * 2 + offset] = b0;
+            buf[i * 2 + 1 + offset] = b1;
+        }
+
+        buf[8] = b'-';
+        buf[13] = b'-';
+        buf[18] = b'-';
+        buf[23] = b'-';
+
+        debug_assert!(str::from_utf8(&buf).is_ok());
+
+        // SAFETY:
+        // `byte_to_hex_lower` always returns a pair of ASCII characters, and `b'-'` is a valid
+        // ASCII character, so `buf` contains a valid ASCII string. All valid ASCII strings are
+        // also valid UTF-8, so `buf` is valid UTF-8.
+        unsafe { FixedString::from_raw_array(buf) }
+    }
 }
 
 impl Default for Uuid {
@@ -121,20 +152,9 @@ impl str::FromStr for Uuid {
     }
 }
 
-// TODO: UUIDs have a fixed-length string representation, so write a function which either creates
-// a string with that capacity or returns a string type with a compile-time known length.
-
 impl fmt::Display for Uuid {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
-        write!(
-            f,
-            "{}-{}-{}-{}-{}",
-            HexBytes::<hex::Lowercase>::new(&self.0[..4]),
-            HexBytes::<hex::Lowercase>::new(&self.0[4..6]),
-            HexBytes::<hex::Lowercase>::new(&self.0[6..8]),
-            HexBytes::<hex::Lowercase>::new(&self.0[8..10]),
-            HexBytes::<hex::Lowercase>::new(&self.0[10..])
-        )
+        f.write_str(&self.as_string())
     }
 }
 
@@ -144,8 +164,7 @@ impl serde::Serialize for Uuid {
     where
         S: serde::Serializer
     {
-        // TODO: replace with a better string conversion function
-        serializer.serialize_str(&self.to_string())
+        serializer.serialize_str(&self.as_string())
     }
 }