Interaction Design

Kasey Klimes

Founder & Principal Design Researcher at Rhizome R&D

Faculty Profile

Kasey Klimes is a design researcher and strategist with over a decade of international experience in emerging technology and environmental design. He is the founder of Rhizome R&D, a design consultancy that supports early-stage ventures as they navigate complex and ambiguous problem spaces. At Google, Kasey led research for the first world-scale augmented reality experience in Google Maps—which was listed among Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021 and won a Webby among several other awards. At Gehl, an urban design consultancy in Copenhagen, he led urban transformations in cities around the world and architected the world’s largest public life database. He has since advised industry-leading venture studios, world-class medical research institutions, national digital news media organizations, international real estate developers, and numerous startups. Kasey holds a Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in political science.

Experience

2021-Present
Founder & Principal Design Researcher
Rhizome R&D
2017-2021
Senior UX Researcher
Live View Google Maps
2012-2017
City Planner & Data Scientist
Gehl
2015–2016
Graduate Student Instructor
UC Berkeley
2014
Survey Manager
Schulze+Grassov
2011–2012
Consultant
Mindmixer (Seed & Series A)

Education

Masters in City Planning
Concentration: Urban Design UC Berkeley
Political Science
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Urban Design and Sustainable Development
DIS-University of Copenhagen

Honors & Awards

Webby Winner & People's Voice Winner
Google Maps Live View Best User Interface 2020
Fast Company Innovation by Design
Google Maps Live View 2020 Finalist – General Excellence, Apps & Games, User Experience, Mobility
International Design Awards
Google Maps Live View Gold – Interface Design
International Design Awards
Honorable Mention – Design for Society
Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2021
Google Maps Live View
"Methods and System for Providing a Notification in Association with an Augmented Reality View", June 25, 2019.
U. S. Patent 20200410720
"Immersive Audio Tours", Oct 5, 2021.
U.S. Patent 11137976

Publications

The Supply and Demand of Human Scale Neighborhoods in America.
Professional Report, UC Berkeley.
Older, Smaller, Better: Measuring how the character of buildings and blocks influences urban vitality.
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Infographic of the Day: Growth in a Shrinking St. Louis.
The Atlantic Cities, February 17, 2012.

Courses by Kasey

Product Management

Design Research for Complex Systems (2023)

20 May - 07 June 2024

Barcelona

Product Management

Design Research for Complex Systems (2022)

07 Nov - 25 Nov 2022

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