Robynne Raye

As co-founder of Seattle-based Modern Dog Design Co, Robynne Raye has gained international recognition for her wholly vibrant serigraphs. The designs and illustrations she creates embody her modern spirituality, her ability to make people laugh and a lifelong dedication to world peace. Sis-R wishes to pass on to all of her students and followers the message of hope and love. Raye and her partner, Michael Strassburger, are the authors of Inside the World of Board Graphics, due out in October 2011.

Sister Raye: Artwalk Poster Remix

Friday night's beautiful Seattle weather and hundreds of artists and performers brought out the crowds to the annual PhinneyWood ArtWalk, organized by two neighborhoods located a few miles north of downtown—Phinney Ridge and Greenwood.

Topics: Color, Environmental Design, Handmade, Pattern & Palette

Sister Raye: Wine, Condoms, Coffee, and Fancy Couture

Over the course of 15 weeks, 30 Junior level students from Cornish College of the Arts, in Seattle, created packaging for the 7th Annual Design + Packaging Show, held at the end of the semester on campus in downtown Seattle.

Topics: Branding Identity, Fashion, Packaging, Pattern & Palette, Product Design, Professional Development

Sister Raye: What would Snoop Dogg think?

A few weeks ago Rockport acquisitions editor Emily Potts contacted my company, Modern Dog Design Co.

Topics: Design Reference, Professional Development, Random, Studio Secrets

Sister Raye: The AIGA Link Program

I was talking to another designer the other day when he told me he always thought he would be an art teacher.

Topics: Color, Handmade, Pattern & Palette, Product Design, Professional Development

Sister Raye: How I Got My Interview With Surfboard Artist Martin Worthington

Back in the mid '70s, champion Australian surfer Terry Fitzgerald teamed up with artist Martin Worthington.

Topics: Color, Design Reference, Handmade, Pattern & Palette, Profiles

Sister Raye: DIY Bus Panels

Recently I dusted off several slide binders of old Modern Dog work from more than two decades ago.

Topics: Design Reference, Handmade, Product Design, Self-Promotion, Studio Secrets

Sister Raye: The Poster Art of Shogo Ota

Have you ever hired someone just because they had a cool sounding name? I did.

Topics: Color, Design Reference, Handmade, Profiles

Sister Raye: Wish List, a Funny Quote and a Big Thank You

The official start of the 2012 Holiday season has started whether you like it or not.

Topics: Product Design, Professional Development, Random

Sister Raye: The Woman Behind the Greatest Fashion Magazine of all Time

Unorthodox page layouts and colors, the magazine Flair challenged the design world at the time of its first publication in January 1950.

Topics: Color, Design Reference, Fashion, Layouts, Profiles

Sister Raye: All That Love Makes Me Think the World is a Very Small Place

For the first time in 25 years, we are homeless.

Topics: Branding Identity, Managing Design, Professional Development

Sister Raye: Fight the Power

I've been thinking a lot about Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, and his unapologetic, confrontational delivery of "Fight the Power" which has become my design studio's theme song of the past year.

Topics: Design Reference, Managing Design, Professional Development, Random

Sister Raye: Tim Manthey and a Double Cappuccino

There's truth in stereotypes, and if you live in Seattle you probably feed your addiction at a coffee shop where they serve delicious caffeinated beverages, and if you're lucky, sometimes host great art shows.

Topics: Handmade, Profiles, Random

Sister Raye: People I Admire: Mzwandile Buthelezi

Designer Mzwandile Buthelezi grew up in Soweto, where he developed his unique graffiti-style typography built from his twelve years as a graffiti artist.

Topics: Handmade, Product Design, Profiles

Sister Raye: Steamroller Smackdown

Located in a building that was once a hat factory, Seattle's School of Visual Concepts has had thousands of students pass through its doors since its inception 40 years ago.

Topics: Handmade, Random, Self-Promotion, Studio Secrets

Sister Raye: Memories of My Youth: 1980's Music Buttons

While doing some major housecleaning and purging, I discovered a box of memories from the 1980's.

Topics: Branding Identity, Design Reference, Packaging, Pattern & Palette, Random

Sister Raye: Art Crush

I first heard of Paul McNeil through my friend, neighbor, and renowned illustrator Ed Fotheringham—who also happens to be an avid surfer.

Topics: Color, Handmade, Product Design, Profiles

Sister Raye: Make money drawing dogs...or not?

In 2008 Chronicle Books published our first book—a collection of posters from our then 20-year history, Modern Dog: 20 Years of Poster Art.

Topics: Design Reference, Managing Design, Professional Development

Sister Raye: Cain Morehead: Seattle Street Artist

Every city has it's hidden gem, and Seattle is no exception; we have Cain Morehead, an artist who creates disposable art in the form of exterior A-frame store signage.

Topics: Handmade, Profiles, Random, Self-Promotion

Sister Raye: Cornish College of the Arts Presents: Packaging Design

My relationship with Cornish College of the Arts began in January 2000 when I was brought in to teach a new class I proposed: packaging design.

Topics: Packaging, Product Design, Profiles

Sister Raye: Dream Client: 17 Years of Posters

It's remarkable to have a client relationship like the one my studio, Modern Dog, has with the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

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Sister Raye: When Mike's not around people think I'm hilarious: My interview with Michael Strassburger

I met my business partner in 1983, when we both attended college at Western Washington University.

Topics: Packaging, Product Design, Professional Development, Profiles

Sister Raye: Chie Mihara Makes the Best Shoes in the World

If I ever had a chance to do something other than graphic design I want to swap lives with Chie Mihara.

Topics: Fashion, Profiles

Sister Raye: Illustration Jam Session: Modern Dog Does Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is the soul of our city.

Topics: Environmental Design, Handmade, Layouts, Studio Secrets

Sister Raye: Made in Mexico

I am writing from the seaside village of Troncones, Mexico located about 20 miles north of Zihuatanejo, the town made famous by the movie The Shawshank Redemption.

Topics: Color, Design Reference, Handmade, Packaging, Profiles

Sister Raye: The Balloon Chaser

I know, I know, this is a blog about design.

Topics: Profiles, Random

Sister Raye: That Time of Year

A day before Thanksgiving, I was getting my yearly checkup with my dentist while listening to the sound of Christmas music.

Topics: Professional Development, Random

Sister Raye: Old Man Forgets Punch Line

Describing the work of Seattle artist and retired Professor Ron Carraher is a daunting task; his impressive body of work spans six decades in the fields of photography, graphic design, illustration, sculpture and writing.

Topics: Profiles, Random

Sister Raye: Flashback to Fucking Cool

I graduated from college with an art degree on the cusp of the Macintosh revolution that would forever change our industry.

Topics: Design Reference, Handmade, Layouts, Type

Sister Raye: Five students. Ten Decks. Six Days.

I teach because it makes me feel good.

Topics: Color, Handmade, Random

Sister Raye: Interview with Peta Matsumoto, Part 1

I like misfits, freaks, and outcasts.

Topics: Profiles, Random

Sister Raye: Modern Dog Poster School 2

This past Spring, my business partner Michael Strassburger and I taught our second poster class appropriately called "Modern Dog Poster School 2" at our Seattle studio.

Topics: Handmade, Random

Sister Raye: Lead Belly Gets the Last Laugh

In July of 1997, the Modern Dog Crew—Vittorio Costarella, Mark Atherton, co-owner Michael Strassburger and I—took a trip to Nashville for an Art-Directors-speaking-gig thing.

Topics: Design Reference, Packaging, Random

Sister Raye: Skateboarding Afghani-Style

Every once in awhile I see a logo and it really sticks with me–there's usually a directness and simplicity about it that I find appealing.

Topic: Handmade

Sister Raye: This German Magazine I Can't Pronounce Kicks Ass

I'm a big fan of used book stores.

Topics: Color, Layouts