Pssst...

Please now find me here...

http://beccapikeillustration.wordpress.com/

Contact me via hello@beccapike.com

MOVING

I am moving (internet-speaking) and currently constructing a brand new shiny website and blog so watch this space...

After Graduation...

Now I am officially Graduated (as of Tuesday just passed), I have some time to do some spare bits of work before my internship with Paper&Cloth begins for three months in August. My professional life, as a grown-up, has now began with a wedding card... in colour! A bird cage was specified as well, I can't pretend I didn't enjoy myself.

Grimms Fairy Tales...

The Picture of Dorian Gray...

The Phantom of the Opera...

Dracula...

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde...

Part one of my six part 'Gothic Classics' series.

UNESCO doodles...

Poster for UNESCO's '2010 International Year For The Rapprochement Of Cultures'

Boys and Girls...

Ideas for the redesigning of 'Buster Books' titles 'The Girls Book' and 'The Boys Book'. These are the typographic elements however I think there is more to do with these...

The Life Book

My final project for Semester 1 was redesigning 'The Life Book' by Nina Grunfeld. I discovered the book at my Mum's where she had bought a copy after looking through the one my brother bought his girlfriend. It is a really lovely self help/feel good book, using a straight-to-the-point alphabetical system to communicate how to deal with certain issues. I have never really been a fan of books like this as I often find them patronizing or non-realistic and I hate the whimsical, pansy-like language some use and I don't think it's good to tell people things they want to hear. This book is pretty blunt in some places and isn't embellished or too flowery, which I think is ideal for the massive teen/young adult market for this genre. However, I recognised that it is quite uncomfortable for young people to seek books like this and I know it can be quite unnerving to stand in 'this section' of a bookshop. So I decided it would be nice to redesign the cover and a few of the title pages in a sensitive yet contemporary manner to attract the attention of the audience without making them feel uncomfortable. I think I have done this well, however it may be a bit too gender-specific as I can't really see it attracting as much male attention as female.

I also changed the format from a big bulky book to a smaller, handbag sized version so it is more convenient for transportation.

Ted Baker Promotions...

The promotional material I designed for the Ted Baker campaign consisted of Badges and a pocket calendar of September - December, both free giveaways in store. The idea behind the calendar was that it would be useful as customers prepare for the party season and Ted Baker could compose a selection of 'lookbook' pieces for the back of my designs. I also thought of fun deals for certain days of the month, for example, having a promotion on the 10th such as 'shop between 10am and 11am and save 10%' as this would encourage custom and also give the calendar more purpose as a vehicle for exhibiting these deals. However, I purely designed the aesthetics with every intention of Ted Baker using my visuals and adding their own information.

The badges were just an idea for a fun giveaway in store, as I know people like badges as they can be quirky and expressive and the intention was for them to be used on garments and accessories. I made the judgement to use clip backs instead of pins and this wouldn't damage the item the badge is placed on. I also thought it would be ideal if staff members wore them as it would tie in with the whole campaign and become recognizable.

All Things Ted Baker...

This is the Ted Baker brief I completed for the YCN Student Awards. The brief required promotion of the Autumn collection, using store windows as the primary vehicle and additional elements such as in store and promotional material. I chose the theme of the clocks going back in Autumn and the countdown to Christmas at this time of year. The above two and bottom two images are of vinyl designs I composed for store windows, I displayed these designs on a glass sheet.

Below are my final designs, the top takes the form of vinyl, framing the store window and the bottom is a backdrop for display within the window or shop, using an autumn colour pallete. I chose to compose elements of a campaign with the intention of Ted Baker deciding on specifics like manikins, props, and promotional deals. All these things were explored in my sketchbooks however I came to the judgement that those details were not necessary for me to decide on when I could purely work on aesthetic qualities.

All Things Wrapping paper...

I submitted two entries to a YCN competition for No:ID gallery in central London. The brief asked for 10cm x 10cm designs which would be duplicated and screen printed to create wrapping paper that would be sold at a local London market over Christmas. I drew my designs from vintage Victorian shop signs and the cast iron gates of Spitalfields market.

All Things Everything...

I handmade all my Christmas cards this year rather than duplicating one image across lots of cards, but I didn't get the chance to scan them each in as they took so long to make I had to just give them to people at the last minute before going to the Lake District for Christmas. So I am gradually trying to request scans of them for my collection, which will probably take a while! They were calligraphy based, similar to my LUSAD Christmas Card entry but addressed to each recipient E.g. 'Merry Christmas... Mum / Nan & Grandad' etc. When it came to creating my Thank You cards, I thought it more time efficient to just stick to the one card, but this image ended up taking a whole day anyway! The inspiration was the birdcage and fabric owl that Freddie got me for Christmas, by far my favourite present. I think this is my favourite card I have made as instead of being personal to someone else, it is personal to me and it was nice to get the opportunity to showcase my favourite thing this Christmas.

Below is the card I created for my friend Coops, her 22nd birthday was December 22nd, the day after mine. She really loves Russian dolls so I thought it would be nice to create the card as not only a Birthday gesture but a piece of illustration, hence why I left 'Happy Birthday' off the cover.

All Things Christmas...

Copyright Rebecca Pike 2009.

My entry for the University Christmas card competition this year. I haven't really moved on, just created a more-adult-less-kid version of the Anorak project I just completed. I think I am done with lanterns and lights now, it's definitely time to move on.

Bonsai Birthday...

Another birthday card, this time more model less 'card' if you will.

It was my boyfriend Freddie's birthday on the 31st and I wanted to get him a bonsai tree but I am too poor, so thought I would make one instead of a card as I can hang things from it and it will last longer than a living plant. It took absolutely ages because its very fiddely but I think he likes it and I enjoyed the process. Sadly, it's too top-heavy so I have to use a twig to prop it up because I don't want to ruin the curly trunk, real bonsai-style.

I always feel the need to hang things, or draw hanging things - lanterns, bird cages, stars, lights. I think it's the festive inspiration and I will make the most of it at the moment while I can get away with it, hence why I am working on the LUSAD christmas card competition and the YCN Ted Baker brief for Autumn window decorations. No doubt that will involve some sort of hanging decorations.

All Things Wintery...

Copyright Rebecca Pike, 2009.

I have just submitted my work to the Anorak Magazine brief, after 4 long long weeks.

It is for the Winter issue, so I have gone for the pantomime/decorations theme with lanterns and fairy lights. I like some elements of it, however I am still not comfortable on Photoshop and I cant quite marry together the hand made (inked) elements with the digital bits, hence why I cant pull off the colours of the lanterns. Oh well, at least it looks christmassy!

Next, I shall enter the Loughborough Uni Christmas card competition while I am on a festive roll and I want to make a book about the alphabet experimenting with hand drawn typography. Hopefully this will all fill the next four weeks.

Home Sweet Home...

It is important for me to have a lot of home comforts around me when I work and also a lot of imagery to look at, who likes a blank wall? Decoration is key in my life and I love my new room, especially my desk and work area.

The Ugly Bug Ball...

My friend Coops and I have had a joint birthday party the past two years since meeting at University as her birthday is the day after mine. In true student style, there is always a theme and there is always fancy dress as we love to dress up. This year, we were thinking of having an Ugly Bug Ball, it would be challenging to dress up and also so much fun to fill the flat with giant flowers and leaves and make us feel really small! I was daydreaming about it and my inky hands started doodling again...