Overview
The Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) engaged Sport Design Australia to create the art direction and graphics suite for two of its key programs: Player Milestones and The Players’ Champion Awards.
While each had its own purpose, both were built around celebrating the players and their achievements across the NRL and NRLW, with a premium and consistent visual approach.
Challenge
The challenge was creating two distinct creative systems that could celebrate very different moments while still feeling connected to the RLPA.
Player Milestones needed to recognise everything from 50-game achievements through to major 300+ game careers, while allowing each player and club to feel individually represented. The Players’ Champion Awards required a more premium feel to recognise the players voted as the best in the game by their peers.
Both also needed to work across a large volume of content throughout the season without becoming repetitive.
Solution
We developed a flexible creative direction for each program, giving them their own look and personality while maintaining a consistent level of quality across the broader RLPA brand.
For Player Milestones, we created a system that could adapt to different players, clubs and career achievements while still feeling like part of one recognisable series.
For The Players’ Champion Awards, we pushed the creative in a more premium direction, developing bespoke graphics for contenders, nominees and winners across both the NRL and NRLW.
Outcome
The result was a comprehensive suite of player-led creative that gave the RLPA a stronger and more consistent way to celebrate its athletes across the season.
The Players’ Champion Awards alone included more than 100 bespoke assets, while the Player Milestones system provided a repeatable approach for recognising achievements, giving each moment its own personality without losing consistency across the wider program.
