Brisbane has eight community groups to thank for the artwork decorating the new BRISBANE sign alongside the river at South Bank.

Since being placed on the South Bank forecourt near QPAC, the sign has become a popular place for visitors and tourists to group for photographs.

The 25-metre sign is part of the G20 Cultural Celebrations and has been designed to celebrate the city's many community groups.

Each of the letters was decorated by a different Queensland association including Amnesty International, the Multicap Association and Queensland Country Women's Association.

Design student Aaron Couples from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) designed the shape of the letters and said he was approached by producers behind the G20 after they spotted his set design at a local theatre.

"From my little computer screen to seeing the letters standing three metres tall is pretty cool," he said.

"We had to pick the right font and we chose capital letters to keep things upright. We also wanted them to be big enough to make a statement."

Building a sign from the ground up

Eight branches of the Queensland Men's Shed Association constructed the letters for the sign

President Graeme Curnow says the organisation was happy to be entrusted with the construction of the letters.

"[It's about] Queenslanders from all walks of life, different ages and cultural backgrounds working together to make something special to share with people everywhere," he said of the project.

Bianca Beetson, acting conveyor of Griffith University's Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art group, said her artists were excited to be given the letter 'S'.

"The letter S for us relates to sorry, stolen and sovereignty," she said.

One of those artists, Damien Anderson was motivated by rock art and the sea.

"The three stingrays represent my ties to Stradbroke Island as they have three main ancestors over there - the pelican, the crane and the brolga," he said.

"And handprints, because when people see handprints on rocks it symbolises that Aboriginal people must have been here. "

Hover over each of the photos to read more about the artwork on the individual letters.

The sign will remain at South Bank for the duration of the G20 Cultural Celebrations and will be illuminated at night as part of the Colour Me Brisbane project.