Grasshopper Adventure Series
2026 Kit Design
Client
Grasshopper Adventure Series
Year
09/2025
Behind the designs
The Grasshopper Adventure Series is a multi-race series, featuring multiple off-road cycling events throughout the year. These races range from rugged California coastlines, to blistering, flat-out races across endless gravel roads. For these jerseys, the color selections needed to embrace these unique racing venues, and encapsulate the adventurous spirit that the Grasshoppers have come to be known for.
When working with the Grasshopper team, we decided to go forward with five different kits, four short sleeve, and one long sleeve. Having this freedom meant that we could really lean into the Hopper DNA, and by exploring their archives of photos, jerseys, and written stories, select a meaningful color palette that really appealed to the Grasshopper community.
Grasshopper Demographics
The Grasshopper Adventure Series was founded in 1998, and since then, have ammassed a passionate, dedicated, and eclectic crowd of mixed terrain cycling enthusiast. From Olympians to weekend warriors, these races have it all. This meant that these jerseys, which are released once a season, had to appeal to a huge range of customers, varying in gender identity, age, professional status, and even riding style.
In additon to these dedicated riders who attend every race, we also had to factor in those who treat these races as more than a race, but as a vacation experience. People travel from all over the world to try a Hopper, and these jerseys also had to serve as a memento of the epic weekend they had exploring a seldom-ridden portion of Northern California.
Final Color Palette
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Final Designs
For the final designs, four different color schemes were selected, featuring 7 different colors. Each jersey, with the exception of the black kit, feature a central body color, and a lighter accent color for the sleeves. The exception to this being the dark green long sleeve kit, which is entirely comprised of the body green.
These colors were chosen for their ties to Hopper races, biomes, and natural flora and fauna that can be found at different race venues. However, they were not chosen purely to mimic the ocean, the grass, or flowers found on course. They tie back to previous Hopper jerseys, a nod to the many generations of Grasshopper loyalists who collect these jerseys, year after year.
Lastly, each jersey had to feel cohesive within not only the brand, but the cycling world as a whole. Below is a mood board constructed for this project, helping to serve as a reference for how these colors would fit in beyond the Grasshopper ecosystem, but rather fit into the cycling industry too.
What I Learned
This project was such a great ooportunity to design for a company with a lot of potential customers, both returning and new. Additionally, the Grasshopper DNA is so intertwined with the history and culture of Northern California, where I grew up and learned to ride bikes. I really wanted to do this capsule justice, and harness the beauty and culture of not only the races, but also where I grew up.
Similarly to my BlackStrap internship, learning how light interacts with color and fabrics played a huge role in this project. Finding work locations to see the color in natural daylight was key to keeping the color as accurate as possible. In addition to this, working with the manufacturer, Castelli, to have samples of the actual fabric that the jerseys would be constructed of, was very important as the white point of these fabrics was different to the sample sheet sent to us initially.
Overall, this was a fantastic experience and I am so happy with the final result, as were the folks over at Grasshopper. It was a great opportunity to have more creative control, and there was no shortage of inspiration as far as colors were concerned. I look forward to working with them in the future, and hopefully working more in the cycling industry!
Mood Board and Color Considerations
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