003. Barbara Stauffacher Solomon and Rachel Gogel: Defining Design, Then and Now

This dual feature episode honors the life and legacy of Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, the trailblazing graphic designer who defined California cool with her iconic supergraphics. Joining today's episode is Rachel Gogel, a Bay Area-based designer and fractional design leader, who reflects on Barbara’s influence and shares her own story of building a dynamic and flexible career in modern design leadership.

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View 1-min Reel of Barbara Stauffacher Solomon's Work

About Barbara:

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon is a prolific designer, muralist, landscape designer, and architect.

Born in San Francisco in 1928, she spent her formative years studying ballet, cultivating a deep appreciation for rhythm, movement, and expression.

Her path took a transformative turn when she journeyed to Switzerland to study at the Basel School of Design. It was here, that Barbara immersed herself in the principles of the International Typographic Style.

Returning to San Francisco in the 1950s, Barbara found herself at the forefront of a cultural revolution, she burst onto the design scene with her groundbreaking concept of "Supergraphics" when she became involved in the design of Sea Ranch, the experimental utopian town on the coast of Northern California. Her work at Sea Ranch embodied a holistic approach to design, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment.

She once famously declared, "I'm not an artist, I'm a designer," emphasizing her commitment to functionality and purpose in all her creations.

She's not just a trailblazer; she's a visionary whose indomitable spirit continues to shape the way we think about design and innovation.

Sources:

Hall of Femmes

Why? Why Not

Adobe Create YouTube

Interview with Wallpaper Magazine

Thank you Rachel for joining us!
rachelgogel.com
@rgogel

Rachel Gogel (she/her) is a Parisian creative director, designer, speaker, mentor, and educator whose career has followed the rise and dominance of an entire era of digital design. 

Based in San Francisco, she runs her own small consultancy as an independent design executive and has led major brand initiatives at GQ, The New York Times, Meta, Godfrey Dadich, Airbnb, and Dropbox. Now working as a solopreneur, Rachel has influenced many exciting projects for her clients — from launching editorial publications from scratch, to crafting story-driven digital experiences, to leading org design efforts, to designing TV show pitch decks and book covers for influential public figures, to building brand systems for global media and entertainment companies in a fractional capacity. As an experienced people manager, she is committed to designing teams that build brands — with a focus on culture and technology. Having stepped into interim executive creative director, head of brand, and design director roles in recent years, she has helped companies through transitional periods, built out their cross-disciplinary creative teams, and trained her full-time replacement(s). 

When she is not consulting, Rachel teaches in the Master’s of Interaction Design program at the California College of the Arts (CCA). She is also a passionate advocate for gender equity in the design industry. For 2.5 years, she has served on the AIGA San Francisco Board of Directors with a focus on amplifying women and non-binary designers’ collective power and visibility through a program called Women in Leadership & Design (WILD), for which Rachel is the Chair. Rachel also actively participates in Neol and Queer Design Club. 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 women.

Nominated for a 2022 Webby for her work on Departures, Rachel 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. She has been featured in publications such as PRINT Magazine, Design by Women, Fast Company, among others. After hours, you can find Rachel museum hopping, planning her next trip abroad, or relaxing with her wife at home.

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View all the visually rich 1-min reels of each woman on IG below:

Instagram: Amber Asay
Instagram: Women Designers Pod