Origin story

The Rural Design Studio was founded by Kallie Rollenhagen in 2025. After years of working as a one-person communications and marketing team, and then as a design director in smaller communities, Kallie wanted an easier way to find rural creative collaborators.

So, in an effort to connect rural creatives with rural design needs — thereby keeping design dollars more “local” to small places — RDS was started. We fully expect our scope and network to grow and shift as we work more with our community partners and identify their range of needs.

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Who We Work With

RDS clients include:

  • Nonprofits
  • Foundations
  • Small businesses
  • Colleges
  • Campaigns
  • Economic developers
  • Chambers of Commerce
  • Tourism bureaus

RDS creative collaborators include:

  • Graphic designers
  • Web designers
  • Illustrators
  • Copywriters & editors
  • Marketing strategists
  • UI/UX designers
  • Photographers & illustrators