Rachel [she/her] is an independent creative executive whose career has followed the rise and dominance of an entire era of digital design. Since founding her SF-based consultancy in 2020, she has brought her expertise to both major companies like Dropbox and emerging women-founded ventures such as Chicken & Egg Films. Currently serving as an interim creative director at Airbnb, Rachel brings strategic leadership to global organizations on a fractional basis while exploring the dynamic intersection of design, culture, and technology.
As a solopreneur, Rachel has influenced many energizing projects for her clients—from launching editorial publications from scratch and leading org design efforts, to designing TV show pitch decks for influential public figures and building brand systems for global media and entertainment companies. Before launching her business, she built multidisciplinary teams at GQ, The New York Times, Meta, and Godfrey Dadich. Check out her resume here.
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Services
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As an experienced design leader, Rachel provides creative, editorial, and operational guidance on a fractional basis. With expertise building brands from scratch and sixteen years at major media and tech companies, she’s an ideal thought partner for organizations of all sizes. Rachel requires minimal onboarding and has helped agencies not only win pitches but scope out the project and oversee the execution. In the realm of good, fast, and cheap design, Rachel appreciates constraints and merges strategic intuition with high craft.
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As a design systems and ops expert, Rachel helps brands retain their integrity in a world demanding disruption. Blending creative vision with pragmatism, she adapts well to fast-paced, budget-conscious projects. Drawing on culture trends, she can concept and deliver distinct brand identities — from visual territories to launch campaigns, motion and sonic identities, and more. Now a solopreneur, Rachel provides hands-on or creative leadership as an embedded yet fractional partner, like her current part-time executive creative director role guiding HoneyBook’s in-house brand studio team.
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Beyond brand identities, Rachel has influenced initiatives such as TV pitch decks, print publication launches, book covers, independent film posters, and digital experiences. A visual strategist at heart, she believes that all projects require a mini discovery phase in order to get fully immersed in the competitive and aspirational landscape. Rachel’s process enables visuals to transcend mere looks to become vehicular — driving concepts, ordering information, and guiding understanding between creators and audiences.
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Rachel is also passionate about crafting innovative educational experiences for diverse learning environments. She named “The Pedagogy of Generative Transformation” for Krista Tippett (in collaboration with Fraîche Design Thinking) and designed curricula for prestigious institutions like the School of Visual Arts and California College of the Arts. Her career design elective at CCA exemplifies her ability to address evolving work models and empower emerging leaders. Rachel adeptly translates complex concepts into engaging curricula, seamlessly adapting semester-long courses into impactful workshop series.
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Though Rachel observes her clients’ cultures from the outside, she is capable of driving change and innovation within organizations. She believes that connecting employees to mission, community, and core values through storytelling and shared experiences can (re)build an enduring culture. As a design leader, Rachel feels that you don’t manage the creative process, you enable it. With more distributed-first models, investing in culture programs beyond the physical walls of an office space are more critical than ever. Leverage Rachel to help build new rituals and operating systems for your teams.
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Rachel navigates organizational design complexity with extensive leadership experience and diverse skills. Having built multidisciplinary teams for several brand initiatives, she can determine optimal structures, identify diverse talent, and address business needs before suggesting who to invest in longterm. Rachel also augments in-house capabilities. She thrives shaping equitable employee experiences — building teams from scratch (0 to 1) or fixing them for a company’s next evolution. Rachel essentially “designs” how people work, actively connecting org culture and internal brand.
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With hybrid work models becoming the new norm, many knowledge workers are redefining career success. Having held titles ranging from design director to head of creative, Rachel’s experience as a hiring manager provides individuals with behind-the-scenes insights and practical resources. She’s coached countless professionals — from struggling new managers to designers looking to optimize resumes and negotiate their salaries or rates. Rachel seeks to empower all people as they start — or continue — designing their careers.
Select Clients
Select Clients
Acora
Airbnb
Allbritton Journalism Institute
Anew
Coalition Inc.
Departures
Diane von Furstenberg
Dropbox Design
Fraîche Design Thinking
Giant Spoon
Godfrey Dadich Partners
HoneyBook
Loyalkaspar
Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)
MYLES Magazine
NBC’s Bonnie Hammer
Netflix
NikeSB
On Being’s Krista Tippett
Penguin Random House
Protocol
SNL’s Marci Klein
Sundance TV
Warner Bros. TV
Passionate about nurturing the next generation of creative talent, Rachel divides her time between consulting and education. She teaches Career Design Lab at California College of the Arts’ DMBA program and offers an on-demand course through the School of The New York Times. Her commitment to mentorship extends through platforms like ADPList, Talk To A Creative Director, and AIGA NY, building on her role as AIGA SF’s Women in Leadership & Design chair (2021–24).
A queer advocate championing marginalized voices, Rachel addresses industry inequities through speaking engagements, published writing, and active involvement in purpose-driven initiatives. She is also a member of Neol and Queer Design Club. Having started her career in publishing, Rachel was previously a board member of The Society of Publication Designers (2015–18).
Recognized on Forbes and Inc.’s “30 under 30” lists, she later earned a 2022 Webby nomination for spearheading the Departures rebrand. Her insights have been featured in PRINT, Creative Review, Fast Company, and Design by Women. After hours, you can find Rachel museum hopping, playing basketball, or plotting her eventual return to her beloved hometown of Paris.
Speaking
Adobe Creative Retreat
Bloomberg Creativity Series
Birmingham Design Festival
CreativeMornings FieldTrips
Dropbox Design
General Assembly
HOW Design Live
LinkedIn Design Week
UX Copenhagen
Teaching
Academy of Art University
California College of the Arts
NYT Edu
Parsons The New School
Pratt
School of Visual Arts
University of Pennsylvania
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
Podcast Interviews
Tune in to Women Designers You Should Know (Episode 3), Teal’s Hiring Behind The Scenes Podcast, or Wix’s Now What? Podcast (Episode 4) to hear Rachel dive into the future of branding and independent work, eight essential skills to manage teams today, the art of packaging your skills to sync with a business’s needs, and her admiration for iconic designer Barbara “Bobbie” Stauffacher Solomon.