Supporting the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of the UK's ambulance community.
Why it matters
Behind every blue light is a person. The people who care for us in an emergency carry a lot, and the toll is real.
Need to talk to someone?
If any of this affects you, you don't have to face it alone. Anyone can talk to Samaritans free, day or night, on 116 123.
If you work or have worked for the ambulance service and you're having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, TASC's Ambulance Staff Crisis Phoneline is open 24/7, 365 days a year, on 0300 373 0898. It is completely independent and confidential.
That's where your donation comes in. Here's what it does for the people behind the service.
gives 14 ambulance staff a year of online wellbeing support
gives 29 ambulance staff financial help when they've fallen on hard times
gives 22 ambulance staff a mental health support session while they're dealing with trauma
All figures from The Ambulance Staff Charity.
This isn't just a t-shirt. The winning designer gets the lot.
Tap any prize to see what's behind it.
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Your artwork goes onto a limited-edition t-shirt that we sell to the public, with your name as the designer. Bristol introduced itself to the world, and you're the one who drew it.
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You take a share of the profit on every shirt sold, alongside our partners at The Ambulance Staff Charity. We guarantee you'll receive at least £250 whatever happens, so your work is rewarded from the first shirt.
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Got your own idea you've been sitting on? Business cards, stickers, a run of shirts for your band or your team? You've got £250 to spend with us on whatever you like.
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A bundle of the finished t-shirts carrying your design, yours to wear, gift or sell.
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The very first print of your design, framed and ready for the wall. Your artwork as a piece in its own right, not just something on a shirt.
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Your name kept permanently in the Designed by Bristol winners section on the site. The first name on the list, there for good. A great addition to any CV!
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Want to sell your work? We'll help you set up and run a designer store, hosted by Atlas, so your designs can reach buyers long after the competition ends.
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You keep the original print files, plus a mockup pack showing your design on a range of products. The kind of professional shots that make a portfolio look the part.
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A written profile of you and how you work, your story and your design front and centre on the Atlas blog and across our socials, so people know exactly who made it.
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The opportunity to have a seat as a guest judge for the next Designed by Bristol competition.
Shortlisted but didn't win?
Making the final group is no small thing, and we won't let you leave empty-handed. Everyone on the shortlist gets a free t-shirt of the winning design and a £25 Atlas print credit voucher to use on your own work.
Everyone who enters
Enter a design and we'll send you a discount code for atlasprint.co.uk as a thank you, whether you make the shortlist or not.
In partnership with The Ambulance Staff Charity, we're inviting the people of Bristol to introduce themselves to the world and show their incredible talent, with the chance to win life-changing exposure and some cash too.
Entries are free. All you need to do is submit a design that you feel meets our theme and can be printed onto a t-shirt.
Anyone can enter, regardless of age, profession or address. As long as your entry meets the criteria below, it doesn't matter who you are. Groups can enter too, though this needs to be stated on the entry form.
The theme: Bristol and the Blue Lights
We encourage you to bring your own artistic interpretation to your design. It can be positive, negative, bold or outrageous, however you see it.
What we're looking for:
- Powerful: something that creates an emotion.
- Thoughtful: something that offers a deeper reflection on Bristol's connection with the emergency services.
How it works
- Create your design.
- Send us a JPG or PNG of your design.
- All entries are shortlisted into a final group of 5.
- The shortlist goes to a public vote.
The winner
The winning design becomes a limited-edition t-shirt we sell to the public. You take a guaranteed minimum of £250 plus a share of the profit on every shirt, alongside The Ambulance Staff Charity. Plus a whole host of other prizes.
Want to give your design the best possible shot? Here's how to make sure it looks brilliant on the t-shirt and meets the rules.
The print
The winning design is printed on the front of the t-shirt as a full-colour digital print, up to 280mm wide by 400mm tall (portrait). Digital printing handles detailed, colourful and photographic artwork really well, so you have a lot of freedom.
Do
- Work in portrait to suit the print area, taller than it is wide, around 280mm by 400mm.
- Design in high resolution. Aim for 300 dpi at full print size so it stays sharp rather than blurry.
- Be bold and use colour freely. Full colour, gradients and photographic detail all print well.
- Keep the important parts of your design away from the very edges.
- Make it your own. Hand-drawn, digital, painted or collaged, however you create, it should be genuinely yours.
Don't
- No AI. AI-generated artwork is not allowed. Every entry must be your own original work, and anything created with AI will be removed.
- Don't use the TASC logo or any emergency-service badges, crests or logos. They're protected, and any entry using them is automatically dismissed.
- Don't use images, fonts, characters or artwork you don't own or have the rights to.
- Avoid very fine lines and tiny text, which can get lost when printed.
- Don't build your design from low-resolution images, as they'll look fuzzy printed large.
What can and can't be printed
For this competition the design is a single, full-colour print on the front of the shirt, up to 280mm by 400mm, so a detailed, colourful front design works brilliantly. What won't work is anything that needs printing across multiple areas like the back or sleeves, runs beyond the front print area, or relies on special finishes such as foil or embroidery.
How to send it
Enter with a JPG or PNG of your design. If you win, we'll ask you for a print-ready PDF so we can get the best possible result on the shirt.
Latest entries
About The Ambulance Staff Charity
The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC) is the national charity dedicated to the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of the UK's ambulance community. They support serving and retired ambulance staff, service volunteers and student paramedics, with counselling and mental health support, a stress and PTSD programme, physical rehabilitation, financial grants and bereavement support.
Caring for those who care for us
Every entry to Designed by Bristol helps raise money and awareness for TASC, so the people who look after us in an emergency are looked after too.
Support TASC Visit theasc.org.uk
Designed by Bristol is run by Atlas Printing in partnership with The Ambulance Staff Charity.