Robynne Raye
Modern Dog
2003 Grant Recipient
2004 Judge
“Like all designers, at Modern Dog, we strive to understand what makes us unique and communicate that to our clients so that we can work together to meet their marketing and communications needs. Part of what we think defines us is our desire to to mix humor and our punk rock aesthetic to put our best work forward for our clients. Some of the work we’ve created is courageous, some of it is whimsical and funny, and some just rebellious.
We recently published a 20-year retrospective of our posters. While organizing the posters we realized we had a whole section on social causes. From my experience, I know that posters have the ability to send a fast message to an audience, especially when the work pushes the status quo and makes the recipient question his or her beliefs and feelings. And, it’s a great medium for how we like to design.
Not only did I look for that kind of immediacy and strength when I judged projects for Ideas that Matter in 2004, but I also drew on an understanding of what we do well when we planned our project that was awarded an Ideas that Matter grant in 2003.
The idea that a designer can apply for a grant to send a message — whether it’s a poster or another form of communication — is exciting and encourages applicants to focus on what they do well in order to make a difference for their non-profit client.”
