Kate Rutter is a senior practitioner at Adaptive Path. During her ten plus years in the web industry, she's honed her talent for bringing companies and customers closer together through smart strategies and inventive design. She actively embraces the term "specialized generalist."
Professional Background
Kate's diverse and intense interests are constantly taking her and her clients to new places — her background spans technology, marketing, interactive media, and business management. She's worked with corporations, startups, and nonprofit organizations to help them grow, change and successfully chart new paths in ambiguous times and shifting markets.
Before joining Adaptive Path, Kate spent several years as a consultant focusing on web strategy and design. Prior to that, she was the Director of Business and Operations for The Crucible, a landmark nonprofit arts organization in the East Bay creative scene. During the bubble, Kate was Senior Director of E-business Development and Operations at Epicentric in San Francisco.
Past clients include: Travel + Leisure, Dice.com, Globo Networks, MICA.
Kate attended Wellesley College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in studio art. She finds inspiration in a wide variety of subjects: Semiotics, textile arts, origami, code, urban design, fire, and other dangerous things. She is an active community leader as well as a formidable welder.

Latest Essay
Indi Young Tells Kate About Mental Models & Her New Book
“Kate Rutter [KR]: Hello, I'm here with Indi Young, an Adaptive Path founder and the author of the new book,...” Read more »
AP Blog
The Adaptive Path Team
- Alexa Andrzejewski
Interaction Designer - Andrew Crow
Senior Experience Designer - Brandon Schauer
Experience Design Director - Brian Cronin
Project Manager - Bryan Mason
COO - Chiara Fox
Senior Information Architect - Chula Carlson
Controller - Dan Harrelson
Senior Technologist - Dan Saffer
Experience Design Director - David Verba
Director of Technology - Gina Crescenti
Client Relations Associate - Henning Fischer
Design Strategist - Jesse James Garrett
President - Julia Houck-Whitaker
R&D Manager - Kate Rutter
Senior Practitioner - Kim Lenox
Senior Interaction Designer - Kumi Akiyoshi
Visual Practice Lead - Laura Kirkwood-Datta
Vice President of Professional Services - Leah Buley
Experience Designer - Pam Daghlian
Event Manager - Patricia Merino Price
Client Relations Manager - Peter Merholz
President - Rachel Brune
Project Manager - Rachel Hinman
Design Strategist - Robert Kinyon
Office Manager - Ryan Freitas
Experience Design Director - Sarah Nelson
Design Strategist - Sebastian Heycke
Design Strategist - Teresa Brazen
Project Manager - Todd Elliott
Project Manager - Todd Wilkens
Design Researcher