I'm Rachel, New York City-based Graphic Designer & Art Director!
I have spent the last decade working in various capacities with clients ranging from local small businesses to large global corporations. I was drawn to marketing and advertising early on, and I have spent the majority of my career in agencies, learning to strategize and honing my creative technique. My experience thus far has taught me that I am incredibly adaptable as a designer and even more so as a person.
I am a perceptive and versatile designer with good instincts. I recognize that effective strategy plays a vital role in complementing creative design. From the meticulous attention to detail necessary in building complex print mechanicals, to the thoughtful selection of type and color when defining a brand’s identity. The collaboration required to create nimble social media campaigns, to the importance of an organized file naming structure. So much care goes into creating compelling, meaningful work. I have a huge appreciation for that process and my contribution to it.
I pride myself on my natural propensity for creativity and organization.
Creativity and organization are skills I have embraced throughout my life and career. From the careful building of paragraph styles for a 200-page publication in Adobe InDesign to the maximization of every inch of my small New York City apartment, I thrive on the challenge of creating order where there is overwhelm.
I believe that design is a powerful organizational tool and that creativity and organization complement each other. Design is a vehicle to organize information and present it in digestible ways. It can make complex information easier to understand, it can aid in connecting people to broader communities, and it has the power to transform a brand’s identity to reach new audiences. As a designer, I have an opportunity to grant some peace in the ever-present chaos we all exist within as humans.
Growing up alongside the technological transformation of the world fueled my endless curiosity and shaped me into a designer.
Sitting at the desktop computer as a child, I explored my creativity by designing paper dolls using Microsoft Word, spent hours meticulously building homes for my Sims (the best part of the game), and tested the limits of the family printer when crafting song lyric collages to decorate my walls. The computer was a portal for me to transport myself. I learned to use it when my hands were so small that I adapted to clicking the mouse with my thumb, a quirky trait that remains a part of me over 20 years later.
Throughout my life and career, I have maintained a relentless pursuit of knowledge and an instinct to soak in as much information as possible. That has enabled me to always strive to be a better designer and instilled confidence that I can adapt to any situation thrown at me.
You’ll find me wandering around New York City, listening to a Broadway cast album and explaining Lorelai Gilmore’s contributions to society.
My favorite days are spent aimlessly exploring a city and making discoveries along the way. Relocating from my hometown of Buffalo, NY, to New York City has introduced endless possibilities for exploration. Getting to wander the streets of New York every day is my childhood main-character dream come true.
I love theater–Broadway, Off-Broadway, having niche conversations about random actors in shows. I’ve been dissecting the nuance and complexity of Wicked to anyone who would listen since Defying Gravity became the first purchase on my iPod Shuffle. Having access to the epicenter of theater here in New York, I spend my time trying to immerse myself whenever possible.
My love for design embedded itself at an early age, and I have always loved experimenting with designing my environment. As another millennial recovering from my all-gray interiors of the past, I am actively filling my space with color and texture. Embracing the pursuit of creating these joy-filled spaces has become a nice hobby.
I am fascinated by pop culture. I have always been interested in analyzing its effects on society. People develop around the things they love, and those interests deserve to be embraced and celebrated. It is always safe to assume that I have Gilmore Girls on in the background, a constant that has been there for me from my pre-Rory years to my almost-Lorelai years now. I cannot imagine who I would be without letting the younger versions of myself get lost in the obsessions of my youth.
I have an impressive ability to store information in my brain, like quotes from decades-old shows or song lyrics I haven't heard in years. These seemingly useless skills informed by pop culture have helped shape me into an incredibly reliable person with meticulous attention to detail.
These formative pieces of my identity have given me the ability to strategize, empathize, and approach problem-solving from multiple perspectives.
Thank you for taking the time to learn a bit about me!
I love connecting, learning people’s stories, and expanding my perspectives.
If you would like to learn more about me or discuss working together, please contact me!