As a sports creative agency, we're frequently asked how to make big moments truly stand out through sports design.

For us, these are the times we love most at Sport Design Australia.

When you need to create something that will cut through all the other noise.

These challenging opportunities aren't just projects — they're chances to push creative boundaries and demonstrate how sports art can elevate a story.

Take our recent project featuring Penrith Panthers' stars Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary as an example. 

When we learned about Luai's 'The Last Ride' narrative leading up to the NRL Grand Final—his final game alongside halves partner Nathan Cleary—we saw an opportunity to create something special. As storytellers, we knew this moment deserved more than just another social media post.

We came across this photo from their early days.

‍

So we felt it fitting to illustrate this sentimental piece as a tribute.

We transformed this moment into a visual that captures not just the image, but the emotion and significance behind it. 

We understand that not every design will achieve viral status. However, lots of time ideating, experimenting, and refining techniques culminated in this final piece.

Here's how we approached the design:

1. Minimalistic Illustration Style: Bold block colours create visual impact
2. Simplified Background: Focuses attention on the key subjects
3. Typography: Understated text enhances rather than overshadows‍
4. Colour Palette: Strategic use of pink against dark background for maximum contrast

The results exceeded our expectations:

• 350,000+ views
• 40,000+ likes on Instagram
• Significant engagement across all platforms
• Widespread sharing among sports community

It’s Sport Design Australia’s most successful organic piece of content to date.

Of course, it’s always a bit of a gamble.

Sometimes the moment doesn’t land for one reason or another, and all that hard work ends up in the sports creative graveyard.

But if you're never preparing for these moments, you'll never have the chance to capitalise.