At the beginning of 2023, we opened a call for new t-shirt designs to promote plant pathology with the BSPP. We were hoping for creative members of our community to share ideas, designs or images of plant pathology that would promote the power of plants and the complexity and beauty of our discipline.
We received 16 fantastic designs and whittled these down to 3 winners.
The overall winner is: “Pennington”
This is a design created by William Kay using artwork by Helen Pennington. Our judges felt that this design showcases the diversity of plants and diseases studied in plant pathology and looked fantastic on the t-shirt.
Helen trained to PhD level as a plant pathologist at Imperial College London and then worked as post doctoral scientist at The Sainsbury Laboratory, before joining APHA and Defra, UK. This project: hgpennington art started as a home hobby “aiming to paint one plant pathogen each week, using ink paints, and to post them all online no matter whether I am happy with the end result or not.” In 2022, BSPP supported this project and are also excited to share a calendar of plant pathology art.
“I love this design! I’m so happy to see that my plant pathology art is being used in such creative ways. Will deserves full credit for his beautiful composition.”
We have made this T-Shirt availabe to buy here: BSPP “Pennington” T-Shirt (teemill.com)
The BSPP Junior t-shirt winner is: “Superspuds Cartoon”
We were so impressed by the Superspuds design that we decided to feature a BSPP Junior t-shirt winner. This design was created by Dionne Turnbull as part of a series of artwork for the “Superspuds” initiative, which aims to communicate the importance of potato research and the threats that potatoes face from multiple diseases. Our judges loved this design and the way it so clearly shows the different organisms that threaten plant health, particularly a staple crop like the potato.
After a PhD in molecular plant pathology at the James Hutton Institute, and postdoctoral research with the University of Dundee, Dionne now works in scientific communication with a side-line in illustration. You can see some of her work on instagram @scienceanddoodles
In her words: “On behalf of myself and my previous PhD supervisor Dr Eleanor Gilroy, we submitted 6 designs for consideration. These represent ‘superspuds’ defending themselves from pathogen attack, plus one poor susceptible variety being infected by a bacterium, fungus, virus, nematode and oomycete pathogen!”
We have made this T-Shirt availabe to buy here: BSPP “Superspuds Cartoon” T-Shirt (teemill.com)
Our final winning BSPP t-shirt design is: “Fungal Terrarium”
Having selected our overall winners, we wanted to see “The fungal terrarium” as part of our new and updated BSPP t-shirt range. Our judges loved this design, for its unique concept; giving a magnified perspective into the world of plant pathogenic fungi.
Hsuan Pai, a technician at The Sainsbury Laboratory, created this design. Originally from Taiwan, Pai has a background in Horticulture and plant virology. In the lab, she assists the team in deciphering plant immune networks.
Outside of academia, Pai is passionate about drawing and handcrafting, often drawing inspiration from how living things work. Combining her love for science and illustration, she is interested in using illustrations to communicate scientific concepts. To further develop her storytelling skills, she is currently pursuing a degree in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.
Pai’s description of the fungal terrarium: “I’m always drawn to the microscopic world, and am often envisioning what it would be like if we were the same size as microbes. Although mushrooms are well-known to the general public, the beauty and complexity of microscopic fungi often go unnoticed. Here I depict the various shapes of fungal sporangium/conidiophores by imagining growing them in a terrarium. By showcasing these intricate structures, I hope to inspire awe and appreciation for the fascinating world of fungi.”
We have made this T-Shirt availabe to buy here: BSPP “The Fungal Terrarium” T-Shirt (teemill.com)
To view the TEEMILL shop you can go here: BSPP T-Shirt Shop (teemill.com)
Thanks to all of our entrants for the BSPP 2023 t-shirt competition. We were very impressed by the range of designs.
