In 2024 BMSS celebrated its 60th anniversary! To mark this milestone, the BMSS Chair at the time, Neil Oldham, called for proposals from the committee. Mark McDowall proposed a special pin badge and an initial design. Many committee members favoured the idea, Mark Barrow proposed new design ideas and investigated options with multiple suppliers, students worked on further design concepts, and a special meeting was chaired by Jackie Mosely as Immediate Past Chair, where the committee approved the final choices and budget. The badge was initially made available to members via the annual meeting in September.
We wanted to include the younger members of the BMSS in the creation, and we were pleased that three students from Warwick University - Samuel Mutto, Benedict Gannon, and Sanugi Dassanayake volunteered to create a memorable design. We spoke to them about their reflections on this project:
1. How did the request to help with creating the BMSS @60 pin badge come about?
The request came through Dr. Mark Barrow, who was involved in the decision to make a badge to celebrate the 60 years of BMSS. We three were involved in the discussion due to our creative nature and were very keen to get involved in this opportunity.
2. What did you think about when agreeing to help out?
I think all three of us thought this task would be a good use of our artistic skills that we had, and it would be enjoyable to do as a group and discuss the possibilities. Additionally, we thought it would be nice to see something we created being enjoyed by the members of BMSS. It was definitely something we were excited about doing from the very get go.
3. Tell us about the thought process about creating the design for the badge, what kind of ideas were considered?
We had a few designs in my that came from a couple different places. The first thing we decided on was to use the BMSS blue as featured on the logo, this would give a familiar feel for the consumer regardless of the new design. Following this, we went through a few different designs that pulled on representing BMSS in a distinct way, including both the British and mass spectrometry.
4. How did you decide on the final design?
Ultimately, we went with the diamond design for the 60th anniversary, an idea that was originally suggested by Mark and we ran with it. The decision was made by committee with choosing first the broad design and then considering a few different variations. One of the major challenges was the size; knowing it would be so small made any text have to be above a certain size. This meant that any intricate designs, for example the coastline of Britain, were difficult to effectively execute.
5. What does it mean to you that you were involved in this project?
We were all pleased to have been involved in the process of designing this badge. It was very fulfilling being at BMSS 60 and seeing everyone walking around with the designed badge, satisfying in a very tangible way. Additionally, it was a great opportunity for us as a lab group to spend quality time team building and coming up
with the design itself.
6. As younger members, what are your thoughts about the BMSS turning 60 years old?
As younger members of the BMSS, its inspiring to see the organisation reach its 60th anniversary. Mass spectrometry has evolved significantly over the past six decades, from being a niche analytical technique to a cornerstone of modern science. This is extremely encouraging and motivating to be a part of as upcoming members.
A selection of the alternative designs for the BMSS 60th Anniversary badge
