About

Design & Strategy.
Creative executive and strategic design leader with two decades of experience, most recently as Creative Director at NASA Headquarters, where he manages the NASA brand. Renowned for a "problem-first" approach, David leverages design to drive organizational transformation, optimize operations, and deliver measurable impact across diverse sectors including government, entertainment (Disney+, Disney Digital Network - reaching 1 billion+ people), and cultural institutions. He brings a rare blend of hands-on creative excellence, executive-level strategic thinking (including budget oversight and organizational health), and cultural intelligence honed through international experience, empowering teams to solve complex challenges and consistently achieve tangible results.

Contact

info@davidrager.co
+1.323.384.9117

Current

Designer, Creative Director for NASA, co-founder of Weekends design studio, public speaker, musician

Previous

Manager of DesignLab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Art Director at Disney & Disney+, Art Director at Compass, Art Director for New Museum (NY) and MoCA (LA), and Project-based Designer for clients including: Landor, Chiat-Day, Laird + Partners, Sub-Pop, Virgin Records, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Xavier Veilhan & Galeries Lafayette.

Appearances

Upcoming:
In-house, In-focus, In-person 2026

Previous:
OSMED 2025 Summit, 2025 Creative Ops Summit (Henry Stewart), 2025 UCDA Design Conference, Los Angeles Athletic Club 2025: LA to the Moon, Collins House SXSW 2025, NASA House SXSW 2025, SUNY Purchase Visiting Artist Lecture, Kevin Kelly's 'Cool Tools' podcast, NASA: Vision by Design at SXSW 2024, UC Davis Center for Spaceflight Research with Astronaut Stephen Robinson, Stories from NASA: Launching Rockets and Brand Campaigns at Adobe Max 2023, Art Center Guest Crit. / Lecturer (ongoing).

Press

USA Today: NASA on the fashion frontier, The New Yorker: A Design Geek’s Space Race: Meatball vs. Worm, The New York Times: How NASA Learned to Love 4 Squirmy Letters, Fast Co.: NASA is breaking a cardinal rule of branding, The Octet: 8 Questions, Sight Unseen Studio Visit, T Magazine: Paris Restaurants Cali Vibes, Res Magazine, Print Magazine, The Selby

Awards

Webby's for NASA's Immersive Earth, Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website relaunch (2023), and JPL's Virtual Tour (2022) / Shorty: Disney+ Launch Campagin (twitter). 8 Adobe awards (Editorial, Exhibition & Signage, Industrial Design, UI/UX)