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Name:
Robynne Raye
Location:
Seattle, Washtington
Web Sites:
www.moderndog.com
Influences/Inspiration
random acts of kindness, patient retail clerks, the color of Zinfandel wine, a great movie, anything that grows between the cracks in a sidewalk
Best Things In Life
puppies, falling in love, popcorn, the internet, leisure time
Music
The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, the Velvet Underground, Television, Elvis Costello
Posted By:
Alexander Blue
Alexander Blue is an illustrator from Seattle, Washington
Web Sites:
http://www.alexanderblue.com
Contact
Alexander Blue
Suggest an Idea:
Forums
Posted By:
Alexander Blue
2006-07-20 10:54:59
Seattle's Modern Dog Design has become synonymous with the Seattle graphic design scene and is widely recognized as an inventive and often irreverent purveyor of popular culture. They are found on the pages of all of the major design magazines and books in the United States, receiving hundreds of awards from publications such as Graphis, AIGA, Type Directors Club, The 100 Show and Communication Arts. Their work has been exhibited around the world from Bellingham to Brno. Many of their posters are in permanent collections such as the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris, Museum Fur Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg and the Warsaw National Museum among others. On a late Friday in April, Kent Smith sat down with Robynne Raye and Michael Strassburger over afternoon beverages to talk about their journey from the Art Department at Western Washington University to their intimate design factory on Greenwood Avenue. After the end-of-week emergencies calmed down and the phones fell silent, it was replaced by some show-and-tell and general bull-shitting. Finally the mood became a little more serious and the tape recorder flipped on for the intended interview.
What type of work do you enjoy most?
My favorite work (in no particular order): posters, packaging, logos and custom lettering.
How do you decide to use illustration vs. photography for a particular piece? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
Most clients who hire us know that our strength is illustration and they are familiar with what we do and they let us do it. So 99% of the time we do illustration over photography. Illustration is typically more satisfying for me because it feels more organic and spontaneous. Lately though I have been using more photography because my boyfriend is a photographer. Photography does have it's place, especially when it's making fun of George W. Bush. That's an inside joke but it's so true.
How do you go about finding an illustrator?
I look across the table and ask Mike or Vito. If it's an illustration style we can't do in-house than I start calling friends or researching on the internet.
When looking at an illustrator's website what type of presentation do you like?
Simple and smart, something that makes me laugh.
Who are some of your favorite illustrators and why?
Of course the present and past people who have worked at Modern Dog are high on the list. And right now I'm really into an illustrator out of Rotterdam named Zeloot and a design/illustration studio in Philly named Headcase. And I hope you know I'm not being an asskisser when I say Nate Williams - I've had your work hanging in my house for 9 years and I still enjoy it.
What can illustrators do to make the experience positive for an art director?
Be Nice
You have been a huge inspiration to me and lots of young designers/illustrators.. is there any advice you could give them to get their career started?
That's a sweet thing to say. My advice would be to never give up.
What are some current/upcoming projects you are working on or excited about?
We are in the middle of pitching a Modern Dog book project so if that goes through it will be exciting. I don't want to give you too much right now because I don't want to jinx it.
Images
