Rachel Teo

Hi, I’m Rachel!

With a background in anthropology and sociology, I’m always curious about what makes people, communities, and societies tick—and how we might be able to tick better.

Portrait of Rachel Teo, smiling, in a navy top.

I love research, and turning research insights into practicable solutions that bring about real, meaningful experiences.

I’m most energised when working collaboratively to solve problems and to facilitate tangible change.

A talk in progress, with a slide titled ‘Designing for Digital Dignity: 5 Principles’.
A three-person panel discussion at the DBS Transformation Festival 2025.

Some thinkers & thoughts that inform my practice & life

Staying with the trouble

Donna Haraway

Resist the urge to smooth over contradictions: the most interesting insights & interventions emerge from sitting with complexity.

Design designs

Anne-Marie Willis

The objects and systems we create shape what becomes possible: every design decision carries weight.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly

Buckminster Fuller

Transformation isn’t always obvious from the onset; trust the process!

How you do small things is how you do all things

The care and intention in the smallest interaction reveals itself everywhere. Details compound; patterns become systems.

When I step away from the screens

I enjoy making things with my hands: printmaking/linocut, leatherwork, cooking—either laboriously elaborate, or highly improvised meals & dishes.

A spread of hand-printed linocut cards reading ‘Klein rustig zacht’ in green ink.Two linocut prints: a repeating pattern of dogs, and a night-time cityscape under the stars.A hand-stitched leather card wallet on a cutting mat.A home-cooked dinner of seared steak and roast vegetables on a floral plate, with a glass of red wine.A flaky flatbread with a bowl of curry, on a polka-dot cloth.Sliced poached chicken over rice, with chilli and coriander.