Surfing Australia   |   Irukandjis

Leading into the Olympics, Surfing Australia is moving forward for the first time ever with a unified team name and design. We  were tasked to take on the visual identity project and conceived an integrated idea with a deeper meaning – helping connect the sport to the spirit of sea country.

The name of the team, “The Irukandjis”, was sparked by seven-time world champion surfer, Steph Gilmore, recognising the box jellyfish as ‘deadly in the water’. We  consulted with the Yirrganydji people, custodians of the sea in far North Queensland, from Cairns to Port Douglas. Incorporating the Indigenous stories to the concept meant gifting Surfing Australia with the name “Irukandji”, the native stinging box jellyfish that inhabits northern Australian waters.

To bring the concept to life we collaborated with the Indigenous artist Jasmine Craciun of the Barkingji, Malyangapa people to help curate an identity that embodies ancestral love and respect for sea country.