Tote Bag-Collaboration RSUA/Pearse Gillan

Pearse Gillan studied Architecture at Queen’s University Belfast, from undergraduate level through to Part 3 qualification between 2017 and 2024. Alongside his studies, he gained professional experience working in both Belfast and Dublin with practices including Metropolitan Workshop, Consarc Design Group and FaulknerBrowns. Pearse currently works for Like Architects in Belfast.

During the time of the RSUA quiz (2025) he was working at Consarc Design Group where the team, named ‘Table at the Front’, won that year’s quiz.

They designed a tote bag on the night inspired by one of Belfast’s best-known landmarks, ‘The Big Fish’. Using a scattered pattern made from the sculpture’s ceramic tiles, the concept won the round and led to the opportunity to develop the tote bag for the RSUA.

Researching the artwork revealed many interesting things, including that many of the tiles were designed by local schools, featuring designs including newspaper headlines and illustrations of an Ulster fry.

To capture this variety, Pearse focused on the west-facing side of the fish, photographing and cataloguing every tile before tracing them digitally in Procreate, Illustrator and Photoshop. The final stage involved arranging the tiles into a new composition while preserving their relative scale and individuality.