South Yorkshire-based dealer Lloyd Catering Equipment organised a special logo design competition to coincide with its 60th anniversary.
The firm decided to run the competition to give would-be designers a chance to gain valuable experience as well as awarding a cash prize to the overall winner, but was taken by surprise after receiving entries from over 100 aspiring graphic designers from across the world.
Designers were tasked with presenting ideas based upon developing a contemporary, professional and elegant logo design, resulting in entries from entries from as far afield as America, Europe and Asia.
The winning design was chosen by MD Simon Lloyd, and was awarded to ONW Design – a freelance graphic designer working in Shanghai. The newly developed logo will be used across the Lloyd Catering Equipment brand, including the company’s fleet vehicles.
Lloyd commented: “We wanted to update our corporate branding as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations and felt running a design competition would help to give designers who are just starting out on their careers with a chance to gain valuable work experience as well as the chance to compete for a cash prize. We’ve never run a competition like this before and were unsure of what to expect.
“When the entry submissions started arriving I was impressed with the overall high standard of work and genuinely surprised when we started to receive enquiries from designers based across the world. To make the competition fair, all entries were judged on the merits of the artwork produced and it was only after the winner had been chosen did we realise the design had been produced by a talented young designer based in Shanghai.”
Launched in 1956 by Eric Lloyd who began the business by selling kitchenware from a small unit in Sheffield, Lloyd Catering Equipment has continued to expand and evolve, relocating to purpose-built premises at Meadowhall.
Today, the company employs more than 40 individuals and responsible for overseeing the design, installation and maintenance of the foodservice areas of some of Britain’s best known pub companies and restaurant brands.
Simon Lloyd added: “The foodservice industry is one that has witnessed huge amount of change over the past six decades. When my grandfather founded the business, just 8% of British households owned refrigerator, a takeaway meant fish and chips wrapped in newspaper and eating a meal in a pub was almost unheard of.”
To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary, the dealer was recently presented with a salute to business by Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce in recognition of the contribution the company has made to the local economy.