Experts, including Rob Ryan, select the winner of the first Bloomsbury Festival design competition in partnership with Central St Martins. For the first time, the Bloomsbury Festival has teamed up with students at Central St Martins, giving them the chance to design this year's lead image for the event.

A panel of art experts and festival representatives, including artist Rob Ryan, The Duchess of Bedford, Director of the Bloomsbury Festival, Kate Anderson, Senior Lecturer at Central St Martins, Valerie Palmer, and Head of Arts and Tourism for Camden Council, Caroline Jenkinson, gathered at The Bedford Estates to decide their winner.

A popular landmark in London's autumn diary, Bloomsbury Festival is a creative explosion of arts, science, literature, culture and fun throughout the streets, parks, museums, galleries, laboratories and public buildings of this vibrant cultural quarter.

The judges unanimously selected Andrew Long's 'Bloomsbury door' submission as the winner. The design depicts an illustrated door, traditional of the area's Georgian buildings, projecting light beams from within. All judges felt the design captures the essence of the Festival, combining Bloomsbury's distinctive architecture with Light - the theme of this year's festival, inspired by UNESCO's International Year of Light and Light Based Technology.

Kate Anderson, Director of Bloomsbury Festival, commented, “Collectively we decided that Andrew's 'Bloomsbury door' was a worthy winner, and we're delighted to have the image as the face of this year's festival. Bloomsbury has an exceptionally young and diverse community, and the Festival is an exciting platform for emerging creative talent, which is why this competition is integral to this year's event.”

“We were all won over by Andrew's entry, and felt it responds to the festival and theme in an original way. I particularly like the way that it captures everyday life in Bloomsbury with the illustration of the traditional door, but transforms it with light - I thought this was a great parallel for the festival's four day transformation of Bloomsbury,” said Rob Ryan, Artist and competition judge.

“I'm thrilled and honoured to be selected as the winner of this competition, it's a fantastic opportunity to be a part of a very special event. Bloomsbury is home to some of the best museums and galleries in London, and it's a great place to study the arts. This competition has given me the opportunity to discover places in the area that I never even knew existed, and I'm looking forward to discovering even more at this year's event,” Andrew Long, a first year Graphic Design student originally from Southport commented.

The judges selected Eva Davidova's colourful festival scene and Kyra Nicholson's simple bunting-adorned lamppost as the two runners up. All shortlisted entries will be displayed at Senate House throughout the duration of the festival.The winner's design will be used on the cover of the marketing brochures and posters, as well as the Festival website: http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk.

The Bloomsbury Festival is taking place from 22nd – 25th October, with a special weekend launch event on Store Street on Friday 23rd October.
For more information visit: http://www.storestreetbloomsbury.co.uk/news/the-face-of-the-festival.