Rachel Berger

Creative Director 

Rachel Berger is a designer, educator, and academic leader who serves as Vice Provost at California Institute of the Arts. Before joining CalArts in 2024, she was a tenured Associate Professor of Graphic Design at California College of the Arts, where she chaired Graphic Design from 2014–2023 and served as president of the Faculty Senate. Her work brings together graphic design, pedagogy, civic engagement, and contemporary culture, with a particular interest in how design can create spaces for dialogue and collective inquiry. She previously directed TBD*, a student design studio partnering with nonprofit and civic organizations, and Studio Forward, an interdisciplinary initiative exploring questions such as belonging through collaborative design practice. She holds a BA in American Studies and an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University and maintains an independent creative practice through Rachel Berger Design.

For UC CAAN, Rachel Berger serves as Creative Director, helping shape the network’s conceptual identity and public presence. She developed the visual language that connects the UC CAAN website, the California Art and Climate Archive, and the Arts & Ecology Festival, creating a coherent design framework across the project’s digital, archival, and public-facing platforms.