Cinnovation Studio
Cinnovation Studio is a creative consulting practice founded by Kelly Hickler, AICP — a city planner, writer, musician, visual storyteller, and curious wanderer who believes our communities deserve to be designed with both function and feeling.
With nearly 20 years of experience in community planning, she’s worked on everything from long-range plans to open space projects in both the public and private sectors across the U.S. Yet after years of writing policies and reports, Kelly felt something missing — the spark that first drew her to the profession.
Her father’s passing in 2022 reminded Kelly how fleeting and precious time truly is, setting her on a deeper search for meaning and connection. That journey eventually led her to a small town in Germany, where she found solace in an unhurried calmness and, unexpectedly, love.
Enchanted by Germany’s fairytale villages and forests, with their distinctive “Fachwerkhäuser” (half-timbered houses), Kelly realized she hadn’t lost her passion for planning and place, only the way she had been practicing it.
She discovered that what she truly wanted was to help people reconnect with the heart behind planning. Through Cinnovation Studio, Kelly helps planners and place-lovers rediscover their wonder for the built environment — and, just as importantly, reconnect with themselves — through storytelling, sensory experience, and creative expression.