One mission of Draw Near Designs is supporting other Orthodox small businesses and artists, and we are excited to introduce a new series showcasing different Orthodox small businesses! Today, we’d like to introduce you to the man behind Orthodox Design Co!
Andrew Ritchey, the talent behind Orthodox Design Co
Introduce yourself!
I'm Andrew, a 19-year-old student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am currently studying graphic design, which goes hand-in-hand with my company, and the things I do here. I live in Birmingham and attend St. Symeon Orthodox Church, where I am an active member of the congregation, serving in the Altar, singing in the choir, and staying involved with many other events and groups at the church. This is both my full time job and my side hustle - I'm technically a full-time student, but this is one of a couple of main sources of income for me since I'm getting married in November and I'm working hard to support my future and my family.
Who is your patron saint, and is that a meaningful person in your life?
My patron is St. Andrew the first-called. He has always been a source of inspiration and a saint whose life is honorable and serves as a good role model. I try to emulate his courage in sharing the Faith and his boldness even unto martyrdom. By his prayers, may we have the same boldness and courage, and may God have mercy on us!
How did you get started doing what you do now?
Around third grade, I started to become a little more familiar with technology and discovered many new software and devices for creating things digitally. Around 2013 or 2014, St. Symeon was building a new temple. This allowed plenty of opportunities for me to design media to attract donors and sponsors, to create awareness, and help encourage participation in the project. After that, as I began to grow in skill and hone my craft, I was regularly being approached to design all sorts of documents for a variety of media, as well as creating custom icons for people. Before the Diocese of the South Assembly in 2017, I officially started Doxology Design, to advertise on a more professional level. One thing led to the next, and four years and one name change later, the ODC is alive and doing well, thank God!
What is your favorite part of what you do?
I love working with clients and using my skills to bring their ideas to life. Seeing reactions from clients is one of, if not the best part of what I do.
What do you try to communicate with your art/work?
One of the most important things about icons, in general, is that they should inspire prayer and conviction in the viewer. When I do any of my work, particularly with icons, I try to make it as beautiful as possible, to show the viewer even a fraction of the beauty that we can achieve by living Godly lives, and inspire them to "go forth and do likewise".
What is your favorite project that you have completed?
The Orthodox Search and Find Book has to be one of my very favorite projects (ours too!), particularly because of the reaction it garnered. Another one of my favorites is probably the icon of the Theotokos (seen below). I was very pleased with how it turned out.
What is your dream product/project for the future?
Oh, if I could go on for hours... One project idea I would love to do but that would require a team of very skilled professionals and more money than I have would be an issue of the Orthodox Search and Find Book that used a scale model of a monastery as its pictures. I had this idea while working on the first book, and I still can't stop thinking about how much fun that one would be. (oh wow!!! That sounds like it would be AMAZING!!!)
If you’d like to see more of Andrew’s work or contact him, head over to his website: http://www.orthodoxdesigncompany.com ! He offers custom icons, graphic design work, and the book that he created. We also carry his book, The Orthodox Search and Find in our Marketplace, and highly recommend it.