ABOUT

Concept
Aga Khan Studs is one of the most respected names in thoroughbred breeding, with operations across Ireland, France and beyond and over a century of history behind the brand. Their website held a wealth of rich content covering horses, heritage, breeding records and current operations, but the existing design made none of it easy to explore. For an international audience of breeders, journalists, racing professionals and enthusiasts, each arriving with different needs and expectations, that was a problem worth solving properly. The goal was to rethink the structure and visual language of the site entirely, creating something that felt worthy of the brand while genuinely serving the people using it.

Execution
We approached this as a UX and storytelling challenge as much as a design one. The content was already there. What it needed was a clearer hierarchy, a more intuitive structure and a visual language calm and confident enough to carry the weight of the brand without feeling overdone.
We designed a full set of responsive layouts in Figma covering both desktop and mobile, working with real content throughout rather than placeholders. That decision made a significant difference. Seeing actual copy, real horse names and genuine imagery in the layouts meant design decisions were grounded in reality from the start, and sign-off conversations with stakeholders were far more straightforward.
Key design choices included a reworked information hierarchy to make the depth of content easier to navigate, a mobile-first approach to menus, filters and navigation, and a visual language that balanced heritage with modern usability. Every layout was delivered as a fully interactive prototype, allowing the client to test journeys, share with internal teams and gather feedback before development began. We also built a flexible design system so the team could manage updates and new content independently after launch without needing to come back to us for every change.
The process was highly collaborative throughout. We shared work early and often, running feedback loops with internal teams to make sure the designs reflected how they actually publish and manage content day to day.

Results
The final designs were handed over in Figma with a fully documented component library and clearly defined layouts across desktop and mobile, giving the development team everything they needed for a smooth build. The site is now live, bringing together elegant design and practical structure in a way that makes the stud's horses, history and operations genuinely easy to explore. We continue to support the team post-launch with design advice and refinements as their content grows and priorities evolve.