Next Level Equine

Next Level Equine LLC is a small family-owned breeder and trainer of KWPN and polo horses in Santa Ynez, California. Owners of NLE, Maggie and Abbie, came to us with an existing social media presence and website, but no clear branding to support their online presence. Their existing logo had been hand-drawn by NLE founder Abbie Papka, featuring two horses, one jumper and one polo.

Our aim was to refine NLE’s existing logo in a way that reflected the quality of the business’ youngstock, modernising the visuals without detracting from the industry’s rich heritage. We edited the logo slightly to make the lines more fluid and graceful, and created two additional versions to ensure adaptability across multiple platforms and contexts.

We explored fonts, crafted a new colour palette and created a comprehensive brand book. The owners preferred a serif font to capture the traditionality of the brand, but we also included a sans-serif font for a sleeker finish, reflective of NLE’s breeding and training standards.

As polo player Maggie had already accumulated some apple green gear, this was a must-included for the colour palette. Abbie liked a black and white contrast, so we added blue tones to bring the palette together and add warmth.

When it comes to horse breeding and training, trust is paramount. Every branding decision was made with the aim of creating a cohesive visual experience that will leave visitors with a lasting and positive impression of the business.

The brand guidelines created will act as instructions for all future brand-related design decisions, ensuring the brand remains cohesive and true to its core.

Finally, we included some mock-ups to show NLE how the new branding can be seamlessly integrated into various placements, including saddle pads, business cards and social media pages.