Rachel Bergeron Folsom, Creative Director

Creative direction with a scientist's eye for hair.

I build beauty brands that look beautiful and tell the truth about what is in the bottle. B.S. in Biochemistry, minor in Graphic Design, with in-house creative at MYAVANA and Estée Lauder Companies, and creative direction at Emerson North today.

Pleascent perfume packaging
Pleascent · packaging concept
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Selected work

  1. PleascentA concept perfume brand explored through identity, packaging and digital.Concept project
  2. MYAVANAHair science turned into visuals, reports, video and live events.In-house creative
  3. AvedaIngredient chemistry translated into art direction.Estée Lauder Companies
  4. GreaA student concept taken from dieline to physical prototype.Packaging
  5. NaturallyRachBCreator partnerships for natural hair and beauty brands.Content
  6. Brand systemsIdentity and style guides for Emerson North clients.Creative direction

Brand concept project

Pleascent

A school design project exploring natural perfume branding, packaging and digital design.

The idea

Where chemistry meets nature. This design project imagines a brand where customers step into the lab and build their own scent from flowers, herbs and essential oils, so the brand had to feel botanical and scientific at the same time. I wrote the brand brief first, then carried one floral mark and a five-color palette across every touchpoint.

Touchpoints

  • Brand brief
  • Mood board
  • Logo suite
  • Pattern system
  • Packaging
  • Stationery
  • Social launch
  • Website
  • In-store scent kiosk

In-house creative, 2023 to 2025

MYAVANA

Chief Hair Analyst, Creative Designer and on-camera educator.

The idea

Make hair science legible to the curl community. I turned what I saw under the microscope into a visual language for type, texture, condition and porosity, then used it everywhere the brand spoke: education, product testing, video and live events.

Touchpoints

  • Hair ID education system
  • Product testing reports
  • Video series host
  • Trade shows
  • Brand activations
  • AI microscope training

Ran 1,000+ hair analyses, built the Product Performance Testing program from scratch, and represented the brand alongside PATTERN Beauty and Cécred at live activations.

Product Performance Testing: science in practice

Product Performance Testing reports for Alódia and Sienna Naturals

On camera for MYAVANA TV

At the activation

Estée Lauder Companies, 2022

Aveda

Global Creative Development intern, New York.

The idea

Every Aveda formula starts with a plant. I researched the active ingredients in each product and the plants they come from, then turned that chemistry into visual direction the creative team could shoot and market against.

Touchpoints

  • Ingredient research
  • Art direction
  • Photoshoot casting
  • Model decks
  • Shot lists
  • Behind the scenes
  • Email marketing

From product staging to the set

Botanical and product photography

Packaging concept project

Grea

A school design project exploring beverage packaging and labels.

The idea

Packaging only works if it works on a shelf. I designed a soft, flavor-coded label system and a carrier box, then printed, cut and assembled real prototypes to check color, fit and readability in hand before calling it done.

Touchpoints

  • Label system
  • Carrier box dieline
  • Flavor color coding
  • Physical prototypes
  • Product photography

NaturallyRachB, 2024 to now

Creator partnerships

Concept, shoot, edit and post, for my channels and for brands.

The idea

Show women what healthy natural hair really looks like, in content brands can put their name on. Wash days, silk presses, styling and launches, made by someone who knows both the camera and the hair strand.

Touchpoints

  • Brand partnerships
  • UGC
  • Short-form video
  • Photography
  • Live events

Trusted by 9+ brands including TRESemmé, Donna's Recipe, EDEN BodyWorks, PuffCuff, Olori Beauty and PATTERN Beauty.

Olori Beauty
Cécred
Wash Day
ANDALIA Head Spa
TRESemmé
Ulta Beauty World
TRESemméDonna's RecipeEDEN BodyWorksPuffCuffOlori BeautyPATTERN BeautyHairFirst Beauty

Emerson North, 2024 to now

Emerson North

Creative Director and Client Success Manager.

Carex Clinic ↗Website creative oversightBlue Planet Labs ↗Website update oversight

The idea

A brand is only as strong as its least careful touchpoint. I design identities and style guides that a whole team can use, then review every client-facing deliverable through a design and UX lens before it ships.

Touchpoints

  • Logo design
  • Style guides
  • Color and type systems
  • Print and digital
  • Presentations
  • Quality review

How I work

A highly technical creative.

Build
I use Claude Code and Codex every week to build and test marketing systems, landing pages and digital touchpoints. I coded and deployed NaturallyRachB, my graphics portfolio and this creative direction portfolio with AI, turning my design decisions into responsive websites.
Train
At MYAVANA I directed image sorting and labeling to train the brand's AI hair microscope, so I know how these tools learn and where they fall short.
Review
At Emerson North I test automated campaigns end to end and catch gaps before a client or customer ever sees them.