Chicago-area software firm · Websites · Apps · Integrations
Websites, apps,and integrationsbuilt to last
We design the data model first, then build the software around it: marketing sites, web applications, dashboards, and the connections between your systems.
Services
Four core practices
From the founder
“If we have the data, we can build the insight.”
That's the whole approach. The real challenge in software is rarely the interface. It's the structure of the data underneath. Get that right and systems stay flexible, reports become possible, and good ideas work in practice.
Keith Clotfelter · Founder
About
A firm built on structure
The firm was founded on a recurring observation: good ideas fail quietly when the underlying structure isn't sound. Rushed implementations, unnecessary tooling, and unclear data models create systems that work briefly and then resist change.
The work traces back to a personal project called ShuffleArchive, a system that simulates a deck of cards being shuffled once per second, every second of the day. 86,400 shuffles, built to explore probability, randomness, and long-term distribution patterns. It wasn't built for a client. It was built to understand something deeply.
Sharing it with a colleague led to spatial database queries, which led to GIS systems, structured data workflows, document automation, AI-assisted processing, and eventually custom application builds and API integrations across industries.
The throughline has never been trend-chasing. It's been structure.
The approach
Every engagement begins the same way: start with the data model, define the constraints, and design the system so it can withstand change.
From the founder
Keith Clotfelter
Clotfelter Data & Design grew out of a belief I've held for most of my career: when someone asks if something can be built, reported on, or understood in a new way, the answer starts with the data.
I take on a limited number of projects at a time. Good systems require attention, not volume. When we work together, you get careful thinking, honest communication, and work that is built to last.
Selected work
Built, shipped, and still running
Mapping platforms, booking systems, document pipelines, and the databases underneath them. Every project on this reel is in production today.
All projects →
Legal services mapping platform
GIS · Integration
FastAPI · PostGIS · Azure
Process
How a project runs
The same five steps every time, sized to the project. You always know where things stand and what comes next.
- 01
Discovery
We learn how your business runs, what the project needs to do, and where the data lives. You get a written scope with a real timeline and price.
- 02
Data model & design
Schema, wireframes, and architecture on paper before anything is built. This is where most projects succeed or fail.
- 03
Build
Short cycles with a working preview link from the first week. You see progress, not status reports.
- 04
Launch
Production setup, performance checks, and a documented handoff. You own the code and every account.
- 05
Support
A warranty period on every build, then hourly or retainer support if you want us to stay involved.