After many years of great service, Astwood Bank Carnival’s current logo will be retired at this year’s Carnival, in favour of a brand-new design. The latest logo has already been selected and is the result of a competition launched by the Carnival committee and Birmingham’s biggest signage and graphics company, Hollywood Monster. The competition called upon the children of Astwood Bank to illustrate an emblem that celebrated the diverse range of events that the Carnival committee organise throughout the year. The lucky winner was then awarded the chance to bring their design to life, collaborating with Hollywood Monster’s design experts.
After the competition’s launch, the committee was inundated with entries from the Astwood Bank’s talented youngsters. A panel of judges comprised of experts from the Carnival committee and Hollywood Monster picked their three favourite logos, with the selected creators being awarded with £20 gift vouchers. A design was then picked from these three candidates to be crowned the overall winner.
Commenting on the competition’s popularity, the Chair of Astwood Bank Carnival Ashley Hewitt said: “We were delighted not only with the quantity of entries that we received but also the high quality and variety of ideas that the entrants had. While the old logo was much-loved, the committee felt like it was time to spruce it up and make it more relevant to the work that we do now. I think the logo that we’ve chosen is definitely the worthy winner.”
After much deliberation, the judges announced the winner to be Olivia Bevan, a Year 6 student from Ridgeway Academy. In addition to her £20 gift voucher, Olivia won the opportunity to visit the Tyseley headquarters of Hollywood Monster. She spent her day there working alongside studio manager Emma Hyland, to transform her drawing into a logo that will be suitable for Astwood Bank Carnival events for years to come. Emma guided Olivia through the process, starting with her hand drawn original design, before helping her digitise, edit and simplify, lastly presenting her with the final product.
Speaking about the day, Emma said: “Olivia was an absolute joy to work with! She had a knack for design and together we worked to make sure that the finished logo was exactly what she had envisaged. It was a pleasure to be able to be a part of the process. All of the Hollywood Monster team would like to congratulate Olivia again and thank her for all of her hard work on the day.”
Eager to catch a glimpse of the new design? There isn’t long to wait! The logo will make its grand debut at the Astwood Bank Carnival on Saturday 9 July, and future events organised by the committee, including their quiz night in September and Carols in the park in December.