In 1971, Raab founded his own industrial design firm, Raab Associates, in New York. Over the following decades, he worked on numerous design projects, including for brands such as IBM, Kodak, Polaroid and Xerox.
Raab's work is characterized by attention to functional and aesthetic detail, as well as ergonomics and ease of use. He has won numerous awards for his work, including an IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) for the design of the IBM Infoprint 2000 laser printer in 1999.
Rex Raab has also taught industrial design at Syracuse University and New York's Parsons School of Design. He retired in 2006 and passed away in 2018.