Area: Product design

Rachel Gogel (she/her/hers) is a Parisian creative director and designer whose career has followed the rise and dominance of an entire era of digital design. Currently, she runs her own independent consultancy where her approach is informed by experiences both in-house and agency side. As a fractional design executive and queer leader, Rachel believes in fostering inclusive spaces that unlock human potential. Specifically, she is committed to designing teams that build brands — with a focus on culture and technology. Over the last fifteen years, Rachel has led major initiatives at GQ, The New York Times, Meta, Godfrey Dadich, Departures, Airbnb, and Dropbox. Now working as a solopreneur, she has influenced many exciting projects for her clients including: leading organizational design efforts, shaping employee experiences and culture programs, coaching design leaders, building TV show pitch decks for public figures and media executives, advising on new publication launches, and developing brand identity systems.

Beyond this, Rachel seeks to influence the next creative generation as a design educator at the California College of the Arts (CCA) and as the Women in Leadership & Design (WILD) Chair on the AIGA SF Board of Directors. She is also an avid public speaker, a workshop facilitator, an active member of Queer Design Club and Neol, and a mentor on ADPList and Talk To A Creative Director. All of these platforms amplify Rachel’s commitment to supporting women- and nonbinary-led causes as well as addressing gender-based disparities in the design industry. Her words and actions over the years highlight how she’s come to care deeply about using her voice and privilege to help create connected communities, especially for queer women. Nominated for a 2022 Webby for her work on Departures, Rachel has also been recognized by Inc. as one of 2016’s “30 under 30 Movers and Shakers” and by Forbes as one of 2015’s “30 under 30” in media. She has been featured in publications such as PRINT Magazine, Design by Women, Fast Company, among others. Rachel lives with her wife — fellow CCA faculty, designer, and comics creator — Susannah Hainley, and their cat in San Francisco, California.