Rene Payne

Rene Payne is a designer, teacher and the director of multidisciplinary design agency included. She uses her design strategy and life experience to break down antiquated social and cultural barriers. Her work spans the marketplace from community organizations to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to receiving numerous design awards over the years, she earned a Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the DesignxRI Hall of Fame in 2012. Rene is the first African American designer to receive this prestigious award, which honored her unique contributions to design on local, national and international levels. 



Rene has served as a diversity fellow at RISD and supported internal social equity initiatives connected to the RISD SEI plan, the MLK Series and the RISDiversity poster series. She currently teaches and advises in the Graphic Design department, where she continues to pay it forward by supporting the next generation of creative talent.