Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Dimond
Hi Patrick, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
* From the barrier islands of Savannah, Georgia, Patrick Dimond seeks inspiration from the natural world and energies around him. He developed his practice through bookmaking, branding, and publication design at Appalachian State University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Graphic Design. With a keen eye for detail, Dimond creates for fulfillment, not just expectation. He enjoys building trust in team environments and understanding how the creative processes of his peers contribute to successful design. He aims to provoke emotion within his audience, creating a safe space that encourages individualism and tests the bonds between intimacy and art. With experience serving as the Art Director of The Collective Magazine, Dimond led editorial design projects that involved input from creatives across the disciplines of fashion, photography, and journalism. He has grown accustomed to designing communication systems that do not distract from the variety of content included in the works, further executed through his role as head publication designer for Liminal Figures, his undergraduate cohort’s capstone exhibition catalogue. The atmosphere created when people of the same passion come together draws his attention towards working for cultural institutions and publishing houses, particularly environments where he will design for causes larger than himself.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
On the 2022 winter solstice, my dad passed away from ALS a couple of months after he was diagnosed. Having experienced a silent force of such strength travel up his body, until it took his voice, was indescribable. There was nothing we could do except be together and let it happen. Among the memories that are still resurfacing, I’ll never forget how brave he was in his surrender to passing at home. The absence of life support machinery just showed how inspiring, selfless, and heroic he was as the Jacob Dimond everyone loved. He didn’t want to hang on longer if it meant images of him hooked up to scary tubes would burn into our brains. Touching him while his soul released and became the entirety of the room amazes me every day.
Two weeks later, my mom, sister, and I all returned to our schools in different places . I think we all just had to go away for a bit and not talk to each other, as horrible as that feels in my throat right now. I threw myself into design projects and found support in my cohort and professors; here, no one had to know the depths of what I just went through… I didn’t even know what I just went through. I produced collections of work that fulfilled my heart more than ever before. Once the grief started presenting itself outside of my body, I could feel people watching. My small community was so interested to peek into something so vulnerable and unexpected. I was not fishing for sympathy or calling for help, I was just making. It was a fascinating feeling… making people stop and stare. I’m not sure how it unfolded but I really tapped into something that last semester of college, after everything around me fell.
In the meantime, my mom bought her dad’s old house down the street on the island. I returned home after graduation to help her move (and “figure things out” career-wise). It took many months of being hard on myself for not having a job straight out of school. Acknowledging that insecurity was difficult, I just wanted to keep going. The shock tried to save me from a much-needed crash. In the shadow of the reality that this move is only happening because her dad (my grandfather) and husband (my father) died, our lives have been consumed by the selling of our home, renovating the new one, sorting through memories, selling multiple rooms of sentimental furniture, and on top of it all, learning, balancing, and respecting each other’s (my sister’s included) unique relationships with grief. It has been far from easy, but we did it because we have to. We make a good team.
Designing our new home has unlocked an interior design bug that I always knew was there. Setting up our new space has been wonderful in awakening my power again. My love language has been redefined through setting up functional spaces for my mom; I can fully embody my dad’s energy and talents this way. Everything’s new because he always did this for us. Sometimes that will ruin my day, and I’ll cry or run to manicure all of my plants, god forbid they see me coming in that state. On a good day, channeling him is so heartwarming and feels like golden champagne in my stomach. Working with our contractor, scheduling deliveries, mapping my life out, taking time to laugh (not in a good way) at the rollercoaster these past two years have been, and trying not to be too neurotic about the craftsmanship of the workers in the house, reminds me of how much I loved the fun chaos of a collaborative publication/brand identity design project and project management.
I have picked up a few solid freelance projects with local creatives since establishing my LLC and have been steadily assisting Marcus Kenney in his studio. It has been such a gift to work alongside him and learn the ropes of a successful, independent artist. Not only can I feel my creativity transitioning away from grief again, but particularly how my creativity is different here. It’s more about expression and organic movements of the hand, whereas my design brain enjoys focusing on organization, alignment, and grid/typography systems and structures. Although I do expect to earn a position with a genuine team of designers, this chapter of my life has shown me that wait… actually I can be my job. He’ll jump out one day and you’ll know it. There’s so much gratitude and love.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My personal artwork centers around woodcarving and printmaking. Birds and fish, even a mermaid, are what’s coming out of me right now. I’m not sure what each one means specifically yet, but I do know the way the figures interact with the composition symbolizes overcoming old patterns and breaking cycles, something I’ve had to do a lot recently. Cyclops, a large fish I printed from a hand-carved woodblock, is an interesting example of what happens when my technical graphic design brain leaves room for more of my soul to show. It’s weird… but cool. I know that’s an important part about myself, being able to turn things on and off inside, tuning into different channels to get the bigger picture that I want. I am currently writing Retrograde, my newest book about my dad passing away and all that my family has done to grow and step into ourselves. It’s full of film photography I’ve taken while living the story. Sometimes new events will wrap up loose ends from the beginning of this book that I didn’t find meaningful at first. It’s very helpful in making myself set aside time to process things, in a visually beautiful way. There’s a huge running list of all the purposes this book fulfills, and I know it will hit most people however it’s meant to. I am very excited to release it in the next coming months. My big catharsis wrapped up in a pretty hardcover.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am very active on Instagram @patrjckdimond, sharing project updates and what I’m up to while making. Since I’ve moved home, I’ve found it very inspiring to follow along with other artists and designers here. I’ve pleasantly learned this isn’t the suburban Savannah I grew up in. There is so much here to be shared and celebrated and talked about. I am continuing to build my portfolio designing for two start-up brands at the moment, and my true heart lies in the world of books and print. There’s just something that clicks in my head when I can design layouts and information into a memorable reading experience. I also have a lifestyle Instagram @pkdimond, that I keep on the side as sort of a manifestation tool. Just in case I run off to Europe and try to be a runway model. I’m kind of kidding? I find greater fulfillment when I’m working with my hands or helping someone reach the bigger picture they see for their business, or collection of work. Thank you so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://patrickdimond.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrjckdimond/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimondpatrick
- Other: [email protected]
