About the Logo
The logo for this year’s conference was designed by Martin Dyer, a member of the Sheffield RSE team. Martin’s background is in astronomy, but he also has an interest in graphic design and heraldry.
The main element of the logo is a stylized version control tree, which represents the natural geography of the city of Sheffield while also chronicling the history of RSECon.
Sheffield’s Geography - The Outdoor City
The green hills on top of the tree represent the Peak District to the west of the city centre; a large portion of the National Park falls within the city limits. Due to this, Sheffield is one of the greenest cities in Europe, and it has been claimed that the city contains more trees than people! Like many cities, including Rome and Edinburgh, local legend has it that Sheffield is built on seven hills, and the logo features seven edges joining the nodes of the tree.
The blue lines below the tree represent the five rivers that flow through the city: the Don, Sheaf, Porter, Rivelin, and Loxley. Sheffield’s position at the confluence of these rivers led to it developing the forges and steelworking industry that grew the city into one of the industrial centres of the world. The blue lines also represent the conference venue, The Wave, which is on the site of one of the many reservoirs built to supply water to the growing city in the 18th century.
RSECon - 10 Years, 10 Editions
The logo features several references to past and present RSECons. There are nine outer nodes on the graph, representing the nine previous RSECons that have taken place since 2016. The central “main” branch, coloured in SocRSE purple, represents the week of conferences taking place in Sheffield in 2026, with the first two nodes representing the first IRSC conference on the Monday and Tuesday and the white rose representing the start of RSECon on Wednesday running to Friday.
Local Heritage - Made in Sheffield
RSECon26 will be the first edition of the conference to be held in Yorkshire, the largest traditional county in England known for its history and local pride. The White Rose of Yorkshire is one of the defining symbols of “God’s Own County”. It features on the Yorkshire flag, in the badges of Sheffield’s two major football teams (United and Wednesday), and the logo and coat of arms of Sheffield University.
Sheffield is also recognised as “The Home of Football”, as the birthplace of the “Sheffield Rules” that defined much of the modern game as well as the home of the world’s oldest independent football club, Sheffield FC. The conference’s 10th anniversary badge is inspired by the traditional design of football team crests and shirts.