Women in Leadership and Design
Rachel Gogel (she/her/hers) is a Paris-born, SF-based queer creative director and designer whose skills range from branding, strategy, and design management to art direction, editorial, and product design. She runs her own small consultancy as an independent creative culture officer where her approach is informed by experiences both in-house and agency side. As a passionate design leader and experienced people manager, Rachel believes in fostering inclusive spaces that unlock human potential. She is committed to building teams that build brands — with a focus on creative culture, design, and technology.
Over the last fifteen years, Rachel has continued to use design as a tool for change — from building multidisciplinary teams at The New York Times’ award-winning T Brand, GQ Magazine, and Meta to launching story-driven experiences at Departures and Godfrey Dadich Partners. She has led projects ranging from developing global brand systems to scaling creative operations. In 2022, Rachel influenced many exciting initiatives, including internal brand programs at Airbnb, a new magazine called MYLES, and a brand identity system for Jacqueline Novogratz’s latest passion project, Anew.
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 in Interaction Design. Before moving to California, she was also an instructor at the School of Visual Arts (2012 – 16).
Outside of teaching, she is the Women in Leadership & Design (WILD) Chair on the AIGA SF Board of Directors, an active member of Queer Design Club, and previously served on the board of The Society of Publication Designers. Rachel is also an avid public speaker and workshop facilitator. These platforms amplify her commitment to supporting women- and nonbinary-led causes and addressing gender-based disparities in the design industry. Throughout her career, she’s come to care deeply about using her voice and privilege to help create connected communities, especially for queer people.
Beyond being featured in several design publications, including PRINT, she was also nominated for a 2022 Webby for her work on Departures, and has 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. Check out more of her work on her website and feel free to follow her at @rgogel on Instagram and Twitter.
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