Rachel Gogel

Rachel Gogel (she/her/hers) is a Parisian creative director, designer, educator, and speaker based in San Francisco, California. Currently, she runs her own independent consultancy as a solopreneur where her approach is informed by experiences both in-house and agency side. As a fractional design executive and queer leader, she 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 continued to use design as a tool for change — from building multidisciplinary teams at Meta, GQ, and The New York Times’ award-winning T Brand to launching story-driven experiences at Airbnb, Departures, and Godfrey Dadich. Her career also followed the rise and dominance of an entire era of digital design — from building mobile commerce apps for the first generation of the iPhone, to navigating how to advertise on the iPad, to optimizing content for mobile devices, and everything in between. And the global pandemic only accelerated this digital transformation. As a consultant, Rachel has influenced many exciting initiatives including: 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 for academic institutions and startups. She’s led projects ranging from developing global brand systems to scaling creative operations. Nominated for a 2022 Webby for her work on Departures, she 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.

Beyond this, she seeks to influence the next creative generation as a design educator at the California College of the Arts (CCA) and the School of The New York Times (NYTEdu). At CCA specifically, she teaches courses called “Leadership by Design” and “Designing Your Career” for graduate students completing their Master’s degree in Human Computer Interaction Design. Before moving to California, she was also an instructor at the School of Visual Arts (2012 – 16).

Outside of teaching, Rachel is the Women in Leadership & Design (WILD) Chair on the AIGA SF Board of Directors, an active member of Queer Design Club and Neol, and previously served on the board of The Society of Publication Designers. She is also a mentor on ADPList and Talk To A Creative Director, a workshop facilitator, and an avid public speaker. In fact, this year, Rachel has already been a keynote speaker for UX Copenhagen and Dropbox Design Summit, and in June, she spoke at HOW Design Live in Nashville. All of these platforms amplify her commitment to supporting women- and nonbinary-led causes and addressing gender-based disparities in the design industry. Throughout her career, Rachel has come to care deeply about using her voice and privilege to help create connected communities, especially for queer people.

Rachel has been featured in publications such as PRINT Magazine, Design by Women, Fast Company, among others. To learn more, check out her work on her website and feel free to follow her at @rgogel on Instagram and X.
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