A special edition livery design for one of the new 18 metre-long ftr vehicles has been unveiled in York. The design is the result of a UK-wide competition judged by fashion guru Wayne Hemingway.

Winner Adam Johnson, 21, who is studying graphic design at Leeds Metropolitan University, turned to bus routes for inspiration to produce his winning design. His entry, one of many designs submitted by creative students from colleges and universities all over the UK, features the different coloured routes from First’s network map for York, and is reminiscent of Harry Beck’s iconic underground map.

Adam explained: "The idea just leapt out at me. I was looking around the First York website, saw the network plan, and realised the pattern could be adapted quite well to the ftr."

Wayne Hemingway, founder of the Red or Dead label, said he was very impressed with the overall standard of entries, which was unusually high for this sort of competition. Mr Hemingway, in York to present Adam with a cheque for £1000, said "It is important to keep the whole thing visual because they want to sell tickets and get people out of their cars and on to public transport. It shouts York, but also shouts in an artistic way."

Barbara Bedford, Project Director for ftr added: “We wanted students to come up with a special edition livery that would complement the design of the vehicle. We also wanted this design to represent the undiscovered creative talent of the UK. I am pleased to say that this is exactly what we have got. This will be a moving piece of art.”

The winning design can be viewed here.