2022
The Last Brass Monkey
The Last Brass Monkey
Ranfurly, NZ
Nick George
For 40 years Central Otago had been the venue for the biggest gathering of New Zealand’s Motorcycle enthusiasts. To pay respects to the event that celebrated their passion for 4 decades, more than 4000 riders showed up for the very last Brass monkey event held on the queens birthday weekend, June 2021. For this iconic gathering, Nick George wanted a custom commemorative merchandise set designed as a deeply personal homage to two riders that tragically lost their lives in motorcycle crashes. They both loved the Brass monkey rally and rode over the Dunstan trail to the event multiple times.
Vector Graphics
Event Graphics
Vehicle Signage
Merchandise Design
Challenge
The challenge was to commemorate a passed loved one and honor the 40-year legacy of New Zealand’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event in Ranfurly. To achieve this we were tasked with creating unofficial, highly customized memorial merchandise that incorporated deeply personal motifs from the individual's life, including their local pub and freestyle motocross history.
Strategy
The first step was to modernize and elevate the traditional Brass Monkey event imagery to serve dual purposes: an iconic tribute to the festival’s final run and a personal memorial. To reference specific locations and shared memories we added subtle, highly detailed visual easter eggs into the graphic while keeping the classic biker aesthetic. We also made sure to make the final artwork adaptable across multiple physical mediums such as apparel, print, and bike graphics.
Identity
Aesthetic: Detailed, heritage biker graphic with a commemorative, personal tribute focus.Color & Tone: High-detail vector illustration designed for high-contrast printing on dark apparel.Imagery: Redesigned Brass Monkey mascot integrated with customized freestyle motocross elements and local pub references.
Application
The artwork was digitally illustrated and refined in Adobe Illustrator to ensure high-detail vector scalability for print. This design was then used for custom hoodie prints, event posters, and commemorative vinyl stickers distributed at the final event.
Outcome
We were able to deliver a meaningful, personal tribute worn and displayed during the landmark final gathering of the 40-year event. We managed to create a cohesive, production-ready merchandise set for the friends of the departed, to remember them and to remember the legendary event that created great memories and stories over the years.
Gallery
Commemorating a passed loved one and honoring the 40-year legacy of NZ’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event
Commemorating a passed loved one and honoring the 40-year legacy of NZ’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event
The graphics were created to celebrate 40 years of Brass Monkey Rally and to remember two souls who never missed the event
The graphics were created to celebrate 40 years of Brass Monkey Rally and to remember two souls who never missed the event
2022
The Last Brass Monkey
Ranfurly, NZ
Nick George
For 40 years Central Otago had been the venue for the biggest gathering of New Zealand’s Motorcycle enthusiasts. To pay respects to the event that celebrated their passion for 4 decades, more than 4000 riders showed up for the very last Brass monkey event held on the queens birthday weekend, June 2021. For this iconic gathering, Nick George wanted a custom commemorative merchandise set designed as a deeply personal homage to two riders that tragically lost their lives in motorcycle crashes. They both loved the Brass monkey rally and rode over the Dunstan trail to the event multiple times.
Vector Graphics
Event Graphics
Vehicle Signage
Merchandise Design
Challenge
The challenge was to commemorate a passed loved one and honor the 40-year legacy of New Zealand’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event in Ranfurly. To achieve this we were tasked with creating unofficial, highly customized memorial merchandise that incorporated deeply personal motifs from the individual's life, including their local pub and freestyle motocross history.
Strategy
The first step was to modernize and elevate the traditional Brass Monkey event imagery to serve dual purposes: an iconic tribute to the festival’s final run and a personal memorial. To reference specific locations and shared memories we added subtle, highly detailed visual easter eggs into the graphic while keeping the classic biker aesthetic. We also made sure to make the final artwork adaptable across multiple physical mediums such as apparel, print, and bike graphics.
Identity
Aesthetic: Detailed, heritage biker graphic with a commemorative, personal tribute focus.Color & Tone: High-detail vector illustration designed for high-contrast printing on dark apparel.Imagery: Redesigned Brass Monkey mascot integrated with customized freestyle motocross elements and local pub references.
Application
The artwork was digitally illustrated and refined in Adobe Illustrator to ensure high-detail vector scalability for print. This design was then used for custom hoodie prints, event posters, and commemorative vinyl stickers distributed at the final event.
Outcome
We were able to deliver a meaningful, personal tribute worn and displayed during the landmark final gathering of the 40-year event. We managed to create a cohesive, production-ready merchandise set for the friends of the departed, to remember them and to remember the legendary event that created great memories and stories over the years.
Gallery
Commemorating a passed loved one and honoring the 40-year legacy of NZ’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event
Commemorating a passed loved one and honoring the 40-year legacy of NZ’s iconic Brass Monkey rally at its final 2022 event
The graphics were created to celebrate 40 years of Brass Monkey Rally and to remember two souls who never missed the event