Food & Culture

Jazz up Your Next Video Call With These Seattle-Themed Backgrounds

From Husky pride to colorful illustrations, hide your laundry pile in style

By Sam Steele April 13, 2020

pam-wishbow-zoom-background-945


Seattleites are finding creative ways to offset the monotony of isolation. Some have taken to slightly lengthening each of their daily tasks—adding ten minutes to showers, trading rushed bowls of cereal for elaborate breakfasts—while many of those working from home are embracing video conferencing shenanigans like Rickrolls and special appearances from pets. Another option for adding a little levity to those virtual meetings: customizable video call backgrounds. Here are our picks for free, Seattle-themed Zoom backgrounds to help make your next meeting a little more fun for everyone involved.

Show Some School Pride

Whether a current student or a nostalgic alum, the University of Washington and Seattle University have got you covered with high-quality images of their campuses, gorgeous views and one adorable canine mascot.

Upgrade Your Living Room

Local illustrator Pam Wishbow has created a series of eight colorful backgrounds showcasing mid-century furniture, plants and other cozy home decor elements. Download and use for free, but tip the artist if you’re able.

Enjoy the View

Columbia Center is closed, but you can enjoy breathtaking city views from Seattle’s tallest building without leaving the comfort of your home, thanks to Sky View Observatory’s virtual backgrounds.

Break Out the Jersey

Soccer season is postponed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get in the competitive spirit. The Sounders FC has created backgrounds with images of the stadium, players, and fans to help you show your coworkers where your allegiances lie.

Celebrate Seattle’s Charm

Visit Seattle has shared backgrounds based on Seattle’s most famous landmarks, including the Fremont Troll, Pike Place Market and SODO’s Ken Griffey Jr. mural.

Join The Must List

Sign up and get Seattle's best events delivered to your inbox every week.

Follow Us

Heartbeat: When Hearts and Heads Collide

Heartbeat: When Hearts and Heads Collide

Perhaps everyone has heard the saying that goes something like “to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results is the definition of crazy.” We all smile knowingly, perhaps even smugly. Of course, that’s true. But we shouldn’t be so smug because if that’s the definition of crazy, we are all…

Essentials: Hot Girl Walk Thaws Seattle Freeze

Essentials: Hot Girl Walk Thaws Seattle Freeze

Weekend walkers come together for friendship, community

What began as a way for Courtney Byers to meet some friends in a city known for the “Seattle Freeze” has blossomed into a full-on army. Byers, a women’s strength coach and birth doula who recently moved to the area, created the Seattle chapter of Hot Girl Walk last August. Two women showed up. Nine…

Letter to Seattle: Little Things Matter

Letter to Seattle: Little Things Matter

A small gesture has big meaning for uplift Northwest client

Letter to Seattle highlights the good deeds and positive experiences in our region. This is a letter from Devin Pullium to Uplift Northwest, a Seattle nonprofit that provides job opportunities and job-preparation services to people experiencing poverty and homelessness. I’ve been with Uplift Northwest since 2016 as a day laborer. I love working with Uplift…

100 Years of Seattle Modernism

100 Years of Seattle Modernism

UNIQUE STRUCTURES REVEAL SEATTLE’S PENCHANT FOR DESIGN

Modernism is a 20th-century style roughly defined by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as encompassing “individual design movements that expressed modern ideals in different ways. Technical innovation, experimentation, and rethinking the way humans lived in and used the designed environment, whether buildings or landscapes.” Frank Lloyd Wright launched his firm in Chicago in 1893,…