When the uniform damage state of structures is developed under strong earthquakes, each story has an approximately equal story drift ratio and damage, and the material potential of each parts is fully exploited, which makes for the global energy dissipation mechanism. By considering the global and local damage, the optimization design procedure of reinforced concrete frame structures is constructed based on the optimality criteria method. The analytical model considering the soil-structure-interaction is developed based on the Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) model. Three 5-, 8- and 12-story reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures were employed as the prototype structures. The uniform damage optimization design was performed and the main convergence parameters were analyzed. According to the story shear distribution of three optimized RC frames, a new lateral force pattern was proposed using the format of Chinese seismic design code. The developed uniform damage optimization design and new lateral force pattern, can provide a basis and reference for seismic design of RC frame structures in China.