Wade received his MFA in Visual Communications from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, and his BFA with a dual major in Design and English from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He began his professional career as an editorial illustrator. As a graphic designer, he has been both an art director and a creative director, and his work has won recognition from such organizations and publications as UCDA, American Illustration, the Washington Illustrators Club, UCDA, Graphic Design: USA, and Print. He has exhibited design work and been an invited speaker nationally and internationally. Currently, he is an assistant professor at the Longwood University, where he teaches 3D and 4D design, illustration, and design history and theory at the undergraduate levels.