MLS Next Brand Identity

MLS NEXT is a new paradigm for player development. A platform that will transform the way players learn and grow. Building on where we’ve been, but looking ahead to the future. Taking youth soccer to the next level. The future starts here.

The creative & brand team at Major League Soccer reached out to help develop the brand for a new comprehensive national youth program that aims to help shape and transform youth soccer development in North America for generations to come.

We wanted to create a dynamic, bold brand that simultaneously can exist in the current MLS Brand eco-system and push it to be something different. The MLS Primary Logo is defined by its shield crest divided by a 45 degree slash representing soccer’s speed and energy. The slash begins outside the perimeter and drives upward at a 45-degree angle to illustrate both the non-stop nature of our game and the rising trajectory of our League. It bisects the Crest to create a “first half” and “second half.”

MLS NEXT is an inclusive and broad platform aimed to identify & develop players. The X-factor commonly designates that special unique quality that demarcates great players and in exploring ways to create an aspirational brand that also tells the story of player’s journey I identified the “X” in “NEXT” as a primary signifier. Angled at 45 degrees to mirror the MLS Primary Logo slash, the bottom left stem of the X breaks out of the crest symbolizing innovation & boldness that characterizes the player’s journey.