The Difference continues with Paul Cloutier, who shares his extraordinary journey reimagining rural America through the transformation of Humboldt, Kansas. After moving from Oakland to this small town of 1,800 people, Paul and his team at A Bolder Humboldt have spent eight years revitalizing the community through innovative placemaking, strategic action, and grassroots entrepreneurship. Paul reveals how meaningful change happens in rural communities—from converting empty buildings into thriving businesses like breweries, boutique hotels, and music venues to addressing deeper systemic challenges of housing, workforce development, and community infrastructure. The conversation explores the power of gathering places to reconnect diverse communities, the advantages of rural entrepreneurship as a new frontier for creatives, and the potential for small towns to lead in climate resilience and manufacturing innovation. A fascinating look at how intentional design can transform not just physical spaces but the social fabric of a community. https://lnkd.in/gk4sxrCm
Kei
Business Consulting and Services
Belvedere Tiburon, California 410 followers
Kei is a strategic creative agency. Our work spans brands, products, and places to help organizations define what’s next
About us
Kei (系): The Japanese concept of systems and interconnection. More than our name—it's our foundation. We see the systems that shape how organizations actually work. By understanding the connections between intent, behavior, and culture, we help reveal what's possible. We move between seeing and doing, between thinking and making. This flow from understanding to creation helps us turn strategic thinking into reality. Our ability to both architect change and build it sets us apart. We shape brands, products, and places that become natural extensions of how people work and explore. Each piece of work strengthens the whole, making complex interactions feel intuitive. From brands that build value at every touchpoint to places that build stronger communities, our work gains strength through use. This means looking beyond immediate challenges to understand what matters. Through vision and creation, we help organizations shape lasting change.
- Industry
- Business Consulting and Services
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Belvedere Tiburon, California
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2023
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
6 Beach Road #234
Belvedere Tiburon, California 94920, US
Employees at Kei
Updates
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What does a self-driving car worship? 🚧 In this hilarious moment from The Difference podcast, our guest Robin Sloan (bestselling author and AI philosopher) shares his revelation that to autonomous vehicles, traffic cones aren’t just obstacles—they’re deities that ‘shine like the sun.‘ Robin has a perfect blend of philosophy and unexpected humor as he discovers what it’s like to see the world through AI’s eyes. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/g367eNy3 Available wherever you get your podcasts! #TheDifferencePodcast #AIHumor #WaymoRevelation
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Recent Kei speaking engagements in Hiawatha and Caldwell, Kansas, explored how rural revitalization differs fundamentally from urban development. Addressing economic development groups, these presentations challenged conventional wisdom by positioning community connections as precursors to economic growth. The talks drew remarkable attendance and introduced “ruralism” as distinct from urbanism, emphasizing that people stay in rural communities primarily because of relationships, not jobs. These presentations form part of an ongoing program spanning four states, contributing to an emerging framework for rural-specific development that honors the distinctive strengths of non-urban places.
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🎙️ NEW PODCAST ALERT 🎙️ We’re thrilled to launch our new podcast, “The Difference”, with our first guest, Robin Sloan—bestselling novelist, olive oil entrepreneur, AI experimenter, and generative musician. What does it mean to create with machines in an era when AI permeates every creative practice? As technology increasingly influences our creative lives, Robin offers a philosophical and craft-based approach for how to collaborate with the machines. In this thought-provoking and very wide-ranging conversation, Robin describes working with AI as more like gardening than carpentry—creating conditions for something to evolve rather than controlling it directly. He explores how balancing digital experimentation with physical creation can lead to more meaningful outcomes in this new creative landscape. Join us as we wend through technology, creativity, and craft, seeking a thoughtful path to the future of creativity. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/g367eNy3 Available wherever you get your podcasts!
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We recently designed an interactive visualization of the climate AI market for Climactic, mapping how 200+ companies relate across capabilities, sectors, and regions. Standard market maps place companies into rigid categories, hiding connections that reveal valuable insights. Our approach shows relationships across multiple dimensions simultaneously, allowing users to discover patterns in how AI addresses climate challenges. The visualization features capability clustering, cross-sector visibility, and a responsive interface for both desktop and mobile. This serves the climate tech community as both a reference tool and a discovery platform, helping stakeholders understand competitive positioning, identify promising technologies, and examine how AI applies across climate sectors.
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Our work with Samba TV revealed a critical insight about modern media measurement: the most meaningful patterns exist not on individual screens but in the connections between what people watch and what they subsequently do. Samba had evolved from its origins in smart TV interfaces to build a unified analytics platform with powerful capabilities. They could track viewing behavior across platforms and link it to consumer actions but needed to communicate this complex value quickly at CES, where attention is scarce and competition fierce. The fragmented media landscape created their opportunity. Traditional panel-based measurement struggles with multi-device reality, while platform-specific analytics from players like Google provide only partial views of audience behavior. Samba’s approach bridged this gap by connecting attention (what audiences watch) with intention (their subsequent actions). Rather than creating conventional slides, we designed an interactive experience that demonstrated how Samba’s platform could answer pressing business questions: How do ads across platforms drive consumer action? Where are advertising dollars being wasted? Which creative approaches drive engagement? These visualizations made abstract data capabilities tangible and tied them directly to outcomes that matter to C-suite decision-makers. The interactive format served dual purposes—functioning as an immediate sales tool while testing new positioning language without requiring a complete brand messaging exercise. The positioning around the connection between attention and intention resonated strongly, helping Samba articulate a distinctive vision for the future of media measurement.
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Hear Kei Co-Founder Paul Cloutier talk about one of the businesses from https://kei.inc/humboldt/
As part of the placemaking work that I’ve been doing in Humboldt, one of my main projects has been designing, building, and operating a bar–The Hitching Post. It has been an incredible project tying together all of my interests from branding to architecture to hosting and community building. We were recently nominated for an economic development award by Thrive–a Kansas development organization–and they shot this short video where we talk about the importance of creating third spaces as generators of community cohesion. This kind of work–creating places that bring different kinds of people together–feels like the most important kind of work to be doing right now. Glad we are starting to see more of this kind of work come across our desks at Kei.
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🚨 Freelance Gig Alert! Creative Technologist: 2-Week Contract We're seeking a creative technologist who brings data-driven interfaces to life through motion and interaction. You are: - A developer who thinks in motion and interaction - Someone who sees code as a creative medium - Ready to deliver within a tight timeline Technical requirements: - Advanced JavaScript and Three.js expertise - Strong motion design implementation - Data visualization and JSON integration - Figma to clean, performant code - GSAP/Anime.js proficiency Quick details: - 100% remote - 2-week contract - Start: Immediate - Competitive weekly rate Full details: https://lnkd.in/gRPurAbM Apply: Email portfolio/interest to letstalk@kei.inc #CreativeTech #WebGL #DataVisualization #JavaScript #MotionDesign #WebDevelopment #InteractiveDesign
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🚨 Design Recruiting Alert Polymath Designer Remote Contract-to-hire We seek a polymath designer who moves fluidly between product interfaces and brand systems. You’re a systems thinker who crafts high-fidelity design while seeing the bigger picture. Starts Nov 12th 100% remote $4,000-6,000/week You’re equally skilled at: Product UI Information design / data viz Brand systems development Required: Figma + Adobe CC mastery, mid to senior experience. Full details: https://kei.inc/recruiting Interested? DM or email letstalk@kei.inc #DesignInnovation #DataStorytelling #UserCenteredDesign #ExperienceDesign #CreativeTech #FutureInterfaces
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