It’s about time sports creators and creative teams got the recognition they deserve. These are the individuals and groups who bring the game to life off the field, crafting the visuals, campaigns, and stories that resonate with fans and elevate the experience of sport.

That’s why we created the Sport Design Australia Awards - to celebrate and honour those who’ve contributed to the industry with their incredible creativity over the past 12 months. 

This program isn’t just about awards; it’s about shining a light on the talent, hard work, and innovation that often goes unnoticed but plays a vital role in the sports world.

From dope visuals and innovative campaigns to cohesive branding and powerful storytelling, the SDA Awards are a platform to recognise excellence across every facet of sports design and content creation. Judged by an expert panel, the winners exemplify what it means to elevate a brand, engage fans, and set new standards in the industry.

Below, we’re proud to introduce the winners of the inaugural SDA Awards - a showcase of the best of the best. Dive in below to explore their work and see how they’ve made an unforgettable impact on sports design.

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Best Art Direction - Brisbane Broncos

The Brisbane Broncos have taken out ‘Best Art Direction’ in the inaugural SDA Awards, and it’s easy to see why. 

This award recognises their outstanding ability to craft a unified style that not only looks incredible but also perfectly embodies the spirit of their brand. From bold visuals to thoughtful design, their work consistently sets a high benchmark for creativity in sports.

Holistically, every aspect of their content—whether it’s design, video, or photography—stands out with a cohesive look and feel that ties everything together seamlessly across their channels. This level of consistency doesn’t just happen by chance; it’s a testament to the skill, strategy, and dedication of their creative team.

A huge congratulations to everyone in their creative department for this well-deserved recognition. Your work continues to inspire and elevate the standard for art direction in the sports industry.

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Best Social Media Template Suite - Gold Coast Titans

The Gold Coast Titans have claimed the award for ‘Best Social Media Template Suite’ in the inaugural SDA Awards, showcasing their exceptional ability to balance creativity and brand consistency.

A strong graphics suite built around impactful key art is essential for any organisation, and the Titans design team delivered on this all year long. Their templates stayed true to their identity while consistently evolving to keep their graphics fresh, engaging, and relevant to their audience. This combination of flexibility and brand alignment is no small feat, and the Titans executed it flawlessly.

Their toolkit set a benchmark for consistency, with distinctive design elements that tied every piece of content together into a cohesive, polished collection. 

Their winning approach has set the standard for social media design in the sports industry.

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Best Visual Game Day Experience - Central Coast Mariners

The Central Coast Mariners Football Club has been awarded the ‘Best Visual Game Day Experience’ in the inaugural SDA Awards, recognising their incredible ability to transform game days into unforgettable spectacles.

Over the past 12 months, the Mariners have demonstrated a holistic approach to content during the critical 24-hour game day window. Their creative efforts spanned every stage of the fan journey—from the build-up to the final whistle and beyond. 

Whether it was their epic match day graphics that set the tone, innovative in-game stories that captured the action, or reactive post-game content that kept fans engaged long after the match, the Mariners excelled at finding fresh and impactful ways to elevate the game day atmosphere..

Their ability to blend creativity with fan engagement has set a new standard for game day content.

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Best Game Day Graphic Series - Melbourne Football Club

The winner of this highly competitive category is none other than Melbourne Football Club, setting the benchmark for game day design.

Their Game Day graphic series stood out for their exceptional creativity and execution. Featuring a manipulation-style, player-focused design, the series maintained consistent themes that tied seamlessly to the opposition, occasion, or location. 

This level of thought and planning ensured each piece felt relevant and impactful. The use of soft glows and balanced lighting elevated the visuals, giving them a polished, professional finish that captured attention instantly. With subtle Easter eggs and engaging elements seeded throughout, this series showcased exceptional storytelling and attention to detail.

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Best Graphic Series (Non-Game Day) - Big Bash Leagues

The Big Bash League (BBL) has been awarded the Best Graphic Series (Non-Game Day) in the SDA Awards! 🎉

The BBL created an outstanding series of illustrations for their 2024/25 Player Draft, with bespoke designs for each of the eight clubs.

In today’s crowded social feeds, it’s not enough to post the same old content—standing out requires fresh, emotional ways to connect with fans. The BBL nailed it with this series, using unique illustrations that grabbed attention, encouraged sharing, and made their brand feel more vibrant and distinctive.

Fans were hooked, eagerly anticipating the next announcement during the draft. It’s a perfect example of how thinking outside the box and investing in creative diversity can deliver big results. Well done to Cricket Australia.

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Best Campaign Execution - Brisbane Broncos

The Brisbane Broncos creative team has done it again, winning the ‘Best Campaign Execution’ award in the SDA Awards!

From a nostalgic launch video to a vintage-inspired IG carousel with seamless video integration, every detail was on point.

Their campaign showcased the power of layered execution—teasing the launch with clever, engaging content, delivering the main reveal with style, and adding depth through clean, behind-the-scenes shots from the set.

This wasn’t a ‘one and done’; it was a masterclass in how multiple creative pieces work together to keep fans engaged and excited. 

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Best Innovation in Sports Design - Basketball Forever

Forever Network has won our ‘Best Innovation in Sports Design’ award.

The 'Basketball Forever' team consistently push the boundaries of how sports are communicated - transforming news, speculation, and history into engaging visual narratives.

What sets them apart is not only their bold risks; moving away from traditional content formats to deliver innovative concepts that seamlessly blend video, design, and storytelling.

It’s also their incredible speed to market, consistently creating timely, relevant content that resonates with fans when it matters most.

In a crowded media landscape, BF has redefined what modern sports media can look and feel like.

And judging by their impressive growth and engagement metrics, it’s clear their strategy is a winning one. 

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Best Innovation in Multimedia - Richmond Tigers

Richmond Football Club has won ‘Best Innovation in Multimedia’ in the SDA Awards for their Augmented Reality piece celebrating Dustin Martin’s 300th AFL game.

Fans could use their phones to scan Dusty and watch him come to life through a 3D-scanned filter that transformed into an interactive Snapchat and Instagram experience.

Activated via large and small poster prints on game day, the filter garnered over 15,000 views across both platforms, delivering an immersive and memorable moment for fans.

Pushing boundaries and trying something different... we love to see it!

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Best Sponsored Series - Personalised Plates Queensland x Queensland Maroons

Queensland Rugby League has taken out the ‘Best Sponsored Series’ in the SDA Awards.

They teamed up with Personalised Plates Queensland to create a unique team announcement for #Origin, building on PPQ’s existing presence in the team list graphic.

It featured junior rugby league players naming a Maroons player while holding a personalised PPQ number plate with a “plate speak” version of the player’s name.

As their most successful partner-branded content piece of the year, this campaign seamlessly aligned creative ideation with partner goals and delivered a very fun and impactful outcome.

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Best use of Motion Graphics - Richmond Tigers

Congrats Richmond Football Club on winning the 'Best Use of Motion Graphics' at the SDA Awards!

Richmond nailed it with their Game Day series, using animation to add depth and dimension to each piece. Every week, their design and video teams collaborated to produce creative that told the story of each fixture, keeping fans engaged during a challenging on-field season.

From 3D statues and footballs to nostalgic album covers and pop culture references, the series resonated with fans and drove high engagement. The creativity also carried through to key milestones, like retirements, utilising the same style and format.

Well done on revolutionising the ‘Game Day’ post, team 👏🏼

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Best Use of Typography - Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters have snagged the ‘Best Use of Typography’ in the SDA Awards for their dope creative work during the 2024 season.

Their team nailed it with font choices and layouts that brought their designs to life, creating a bold visual impact that stood out from the pack.

What really set their work apart was the fine art of integrating fonts seamlessly onto photo-heavy graphics. Balancing typography with visuals to ensure both elements shine is no small feat, and the Roosters made it look effortless.

In a space that can sometimes feel a little same-same, the Chooks went all in on something fresh - and it paid off 👏🏼

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Best Use of Illustration - Kevin Gold

Congratulations to Kevin Gold for winning Best Use of Illustration in the SDA Awards.

Kevin teamed up with 94 Feet, a family-owned property business with a love for basketball, to bring something truly special to life with the help of Art Courts

Using his incredible illustration skills, Kevin designed ‘Open Court’ - a rooftop mural and basketball court that’s a tribute to the legendary Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant, Kevin’s favourite #NBA player.

This project isn’t just about the art, it’s a space now open to the community, where illustration, sport, and accessibility all come together in the best way possible.

An epic tribute in an epic location!

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Emerging talent of the year - Robert Rossiter-Stead

Big congratulations to Robert Rossiter-Stead for being named Emerging Talent of the Year in the 2024 SDA Awards!

Rob took out both the panel and community vote, and it’s easy to see why!

From working out of his bedroom in a freezing student flat to now leading the creative direction for one of Australasia’s biggest sporting brands, NZ Warriors, Rob’s journey has been nothing short of impressive.

From creating a cohesive art direction and brand guidelines to working on major sponsor collaborations and leading merchandise campaigns, not many can say they’ve taken on such big projects so early in their career.

Rob’s story is an inspiration for young sports designers everywhere, showing just how far hard work and putting yourself out there can take you.

It’s been awesome to watch Rob’s progression from afar, well done mate 👏🏼

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Design team of the year - Brisbane Broncos & Basketball Forever

In the tightest result yet, we couldn’t separate two deserving winners for the Design Team of the Year award.

We’re thrilled to announce that the 2024 award goes jointly to the Brisbane Broncos and Basketball Forever. 

The Broncos topped the panel rankings, while Forever Network won the fan vote.

With very different but equally impressive approaches, both stood out as leaders in their field. The Broncos earned top marks for their brand consistency and premium-quality output, while BF shone for their epic manipulative style, timeliness and storytelling.

Congratulations to both teams for setting the standard in 2024 🙌🏼

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That wraps up the Inaugural 2024 Sport Design Australia Awards. A big thanks for those that submitted, those that got creative and for the industry as a whole. We can't wait to lift this even higher next year, keep your eyes peeled!

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