It’s no secret that over the past year I’ve been immersed in freelance PR, marketing, and writing — a chapter that has been both creatively energizing and deeply eye-opening. Working alongside founders, makers, journalists, and marketers who hustle every day sharpened my perspective on what it takes not only to design beautifully, but to build sustainably and strategically, to write objectively and thoughtfully, and connect the dots so that an audience is not just interested in the story but loves it.
So, when the opportunity to apply for Editor-in-Chief of Design News Now crossed my desk, I paused. In a challenging and ever-evolving employment landscape, I wasn’t sure I would be considered. I applied — carefully hopeful. Shortly after, I realized my longtime colleague Susan Jones was at the helm as publisher. That’s when possibility shifted into vision. Conversations turned into ideas. Ideas to alignment. And alignment turned into reality.
I am deeply honored to join this accomplished team of writers and industry voices.
This weekend, I found myself reflecting on an iconic illustration of Chanel by her friend and collaborator Jean Cocteau. It is faceless, poised, composed. No expression. No defining features. Just presence and possibility. The mystery was intentional. For me, it represents something larger.
Design is often about what isn’t immediately visible.
The unwritten story.
The unseen strategy.
The thinking behind the form.
Behind every designer, every brand, every product, every showroom, and every retail experience are layers of decision-making, innovation, risk, reinvention, and leadership that don’t always make the final photograph. That’s the conversation I’m excited to expand here.
From luxury to mass.
From legacy houses to emerging makers.
From aesthetics to economics.
Design is never limited to what we see. It’s how we build, create, innovate, collaborate, and lead.
As we move forward, my goal is simple: to ask thoughtful questions, to surface meaningful insights, and to create space for the full complexity of this industry — the visible and the invisible.
If you’re shaping what’s next in design, I want to hear your story — including the parts that haven’t yet been written.
Let’s decode it together. Reach me at ra****@*********ow.com. I can’t wait to hear from you.
xoxo
— Rachel
