Beekman 1802
ARCADIA
Pattern Illustration, Lettering, Branding
Surface patterns and spot illustrations created for Beekman 1802's new Arcadia collection - "a pastoral paradise with notes of sweet autumn clematis, jasmine and a hint of almond".
To see (and shop!) the collection, visit https://shop.beekman1802.com/collections/arcadia
Beekman 1802 has a wonderful story, and the moment we connected to brainstorm the collection, I knew it would be a perfect fit.
THE BRIEF
Arcadia: A vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, derived from the Greek province of the same name which dates to antiquity.
Scenes of walking through upstate NY in fall.
Fragrance Notes
Top: Orange, Muget
Middle: Clematis, Bois De Rose, Patchouli, Jasmine
Bottom: Musk, Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla
Image courtesy Beekman 1802
I am fortunate to work with consumer goods manufacturers that are as passionate about their work as I am about mine. Because of this, I want to honor the craft they have put into their products by creating interesting, beautiful packaging for them. In the case of Beekman 1802 products, my job was to make sure that each soap, lotion and gift box tells a story, sparks sensory notes, and accurately represents just how wonderful the products are.
THE ARTWORK
I was commissioned to bring Arcadia to life.
My design process always begins with thorough plant research and sketches. The Arcadia collection had to span multiple products of varying sizes. My primary goal was to have the artwork scaled perfectly across the collection, keeping a consistent size and detail level across all products regardless of their size. My solution was to build three pattern tiles that could either be repeated to create an infinite pattern, or could be rotated and placed randomly to create entirely new compositions.
Below, you'll see the progression of the pattern tiles from initial outlines to full density completion:
Very early stage sketch of the pattern
For this collection, I used a combination of hand-drawing and digital illustration to create the hand-crafted feel. Linework and shading was done by hand with Pigma Micron ink pens before being scanned and refined in Adobe Photoshop.
Pattern tiles were finalized and layered digitally in Procreate on iPad with Apple Pencil.
Three illustrated pattern tiles, from sketch to completion - illustrated by Maggie Enterrios
Rough initial placement alongside artwork progression.
THE VECTOR ASSETS
A secondary illustration, the 'A' monogram for Arcadia, was illustrated and vectorized for use on products and in promotional applications.
See below for initial sketch, digital and vector icon.
Additionally, Beekman 1802 wanted the flexibility to use elements of the pattern in large format applications, both digitally and in print. To accomplish this, I was tasked with vectorizing a subset of the artwork.
For those familiar with vector illustration, this was quite a feat, but an enjoyable exercise in problem-solving. The intricate, inky feel of my illustrations created a challenge: I built a custom brush to mimic the slight dither and bleed of an ink pen and rebuilt the artwork in Adobe Illustrator.
See below for a video of the vectorization process:
To view more of my work and process, connect with me on Instagram: