He has worked as a graphic designer and art director with several prominent New England firms.
Today, Rafael finds equal amounts of enjoyment as a “maker” and “investigator.” His early personal work in abstract painting has transitioned into both narrative and experimental film, installations, the designing and building of musical instruments, soundtrack scores, and live performances. He has served as the Program Director for Pixilerations, a yearly new media showcase that investigates the state of new media arts through installations, concert performances, and film/video screenings. His work has been shown in New York City, Miami, Providence, Cambridge, Montpelier, as well as Caracas, Venezuela and Dublin, Ireland.
Rafael balances a professional life of art and design with an academic career, finding the combination mutually beneficial and dynamic. Rafael has been teaching at RISD since 1998, sharing his time between three different departments, Illustration, Graphic Design, and The Graduate Department of Digital Media where he has been part of the faculty since it it’s inception in 2005. Most recently he completed a feature length experimental doc film titled "My Emo Life" which will be premiering in 2016.