Illustrated portrait of designer Seth Patrick

Hi, I'm Seth.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Virginia Beach, home to NAS Oceana and right next door to the world’s largest naval base in Norfolk. Growing up less than a mile from the ocean, I spent most summer days riding my bike on the boardwalk or swimming in the calm Atlantic. I went on to Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!), where I earned a B.A. in Graphic Design and a B.A. in History.

How did you get started?

My first big design home was Portfolio Weekly, Norfolk’s arts and culture alt-weekly, where I designed pages, ads and covers right as print was giving way to the internet. From there I worked as an in-house designer for a few different companies while taking on freelance work on the side, including gig posters for bands while living in Durham, NC. Today I keep creating design and art for contract clients and personal projects.

Why did you choose to become a designer?

I’ve found my main talents revolve around art: creating things by hand or on the computer. When I tried exploring non-art subjects in college, I noticed there were more illustrations than notes in my class notebooks.

What kind of projects do you take on?

  • Logos and brand identities
  • Event and gig posters
  • Custom illustration, including 3D clay-style and isometric work
  • Infographics and editorial illustration
  • Websites built in WordPress and Elementor

SELECT CLIENT LIST

I love working with nonprofits, small businesses and anyone open to letting me create for them. A few I’ve had the pleasure of working with:

  • Integrity Bank for Business
  • Riverside Pediatrics
  • Old Dominion University, Monarch Magazine
  • Eastern Virginia Medical School
  • Tidewater Parent
  • Portfolio Weekly
  • School of Rock
  • Bowtie
  • UniKey
  • Protect My ID
  • Dr. Ryan Ponton
  • Virginia Beach Student Leadership Foundation
  • Chattahoochee Hills Farmers Market
  • Snowball Fundraising

What’s it like to work with you?

  1. Let’s talk. We start with a quick call or email about your goals, audience, timeline and budget.
  2. Concepts. I sketch and explore a few directions, then share the strongest ones with you.
  3. Refine. We narrow it down together and polish the design through rounds of feedback.
  4. Final files. You get everything you need, print-ready and web-ready, organized and easy to use.

What software do you use the most?

I’m still loyal to Adobe: Illustrator for illustration and logos, Photoshop for photo work and InDesign for page layouts. Figma is my go-to for interface and web design, and I build WordPress sites with Elementor Pro. For my soft 3D clay-style pieces, I design in Illustrator and Photoshop and render with Adobe Firefly.

What do you like most about being a graphic designer?

Creating things for people and using visual imagery to explain things.

What do you do when you’re not designing?

I’m trying to travel as much as possible with my beautiful wife and our three creative, fun kids. You’ll also find me coaching soccer, driving carpools and handling general dad work.