Cincinnati As the Best Place to Pursue Design, These Alums Think So
Design alums Davis and Cindy Stanard both came to UC from other cities. They then co-opped in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston and upon graduation, took jobs in New York and Boston, respectively. But when it came time to set up their own firm, they could find no better place than Cincinnati.
University of Cincinnati design alumni Davis and Cindy Stanard's one-time plan to find the best city to open up their own design firm was more than disciplined.
But then the couple, who had met when starting their first graphic design co-op jobs in 1995, began to think about opening their own design firm. "In a way, we were lucky," explained Cindy. "When we began to think about opening our own firm, we had friends who had already gone through that process, and we could learn from their experiences."
She recalled the experiences of one such friend who opened an independent firm in Boston. "He really struggled," she stated. "Studio space in Boston is so expensive, and there was so much competition for a young, boutique designer."
And so the Stanards made a plan and made a list. The list consisted of medium-sized cities with a good industrial base that could support an entrepreneurial design firm. And they resolved to research and visit each city to determine its suitability as their new personal and professional home. Oh, and they decided to use their honeymoon as the proper occasion to visit each one of these cities: Annapolis, Maryland; Asheville, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Harrisburg, Pa.
"We had a lot of personal and professional reasons for choosing the cities we did. Personally, we didn't want to be as cold as we'd been in Boston," he laughed, adding seriously, "We'd struggled with the cost of living there. Everything from housing to transportation is off-the-charts expensive. And we'd actually started with a list of every city east of the Mississippi River with a population of 50,000 or more because we theorized that these might offer the right business climate and opportunities for a newly minted design firm. We'd narrowed it down to these five finalists."
And as for choosing among their geographic finalists by means of a honeymoon trip, both Davis and Cindy laughed that they figured if there new marriage could withstand this trip, it could withstand anything.
It might seem that Cincinnati had an edge because both of the Stanards had attended school here at UC. Not so. They said there only experience of the city had been the Clifton neighborhood around the city, and besides, they'd spent so much time on required cooperative education quarters working for design firms around the country.
One by one, the other urban finalists had to be dropped. "For instance," said Davis, "We were just walking around Asheville, and without even trying, we found six graphic design companies all within close proximity to one another. I had to ask myself, where was the industry to sustain these artistic and design endeavors."
Eventually, Cincinnati received the nod, not only because of its diverse economic base but because the Stanards discovered something they'd never really known about the city from their student days. Cincinnati is home to a variety of vibrant, walkable neighborhoods, each with its own "small town" square. "We loved all the neighborhoods' squares where life is still pedestrian. There's Hyde Park Square, Oakley Square, Columbia-Tusculum, Mt. Washington's business district and Mt. Lookout square. Eventually, we settled in Mt. Lookout and opened our firm in Mt. Washington," explained Cindy, adding, "We love the walkability of both locales. In Mt. Lookout, we can walk to a cafÃÂé or coffee house or bar. We can shop in boutiques in both locales."
Their first client turned out to be Federal Home Loan Bank, and the business has expanded every since they founded it in 2001, though it wasn't easy at first, according to Davis.
"Most people who start a new business have a few clients already in their pocket, maybe from where they previously worked. Because we were coming from Boston, we didn't have that. Our friends and family connections, who might have referred work to us, weren't in this area," said Davis.
As Stanard Design Partners "salesman," Davis recalled making 100 calls every week when he was first soliciting business. "I'd say that in that first year, maybe one out of every 500 contacts resulted in a job. I think I got so used to calling, writing and contacting people that I could call up the president if I had to," he jokes.
While some jobs came in, Davis and Cindy recall that Federal Home Loan Bank became the client that really made a big difference to their small business. "They originally came to us for a trifold brochure, and they really liked the look. And we found that as client and designers, we were a very good fit." That's led to referrals and many other clients, including the Cincinnati Art Museum, E. Gordon Gallery, Great American and Kao Brands. In fact, they're so busy that neither Davis nor Cindy solicit business anymore.
And the success of their business gave them a little more time to pursue another passion: their adopted hometown of Cincinnati. The pair has become a dynamic duo in promoting the personal and professional options available in the city to designer friends in other cities. "There are one or two who are thinking of moving here just like we did," said Cindy.
"Our site seeks to portray the Cincinnati that we know - unique, fun and with a diversity of offerings. We think that so many people within Cincinnati and outside of it just don't know what we have here," said Cindy.
As users browse their Internet city with a mouse, details abut the city's landmarks and entertainment venues pop up with useful information. The site takes its name from the city's area code of 513. It was deliberately launched on May 13 (5/13) this year.
Right now, the site highlights 12 neighborhoods in the city limits plus Covington and Newport in Kentucky. In all, it contains about 115 attractions, including everything from the Cincinnati Museum Center to coffee houses to the Earth Toys store in Pleasant Ridge.
Said Cindy, "It's a fun, quirky, interesting site with a simple message: By living in other places, we found Cincinnati has a lot to offer."
The Stanards worked with programmer Derek Damon on the site, and they have plans to continue to grow its offerings. More neighborhood amenities that provide the city a real sense of place.
The Standards are not sure of how large the site's offerings may eventually grow, but they are sure of one thing: As designers, as individuals and as a family, they've found their place.
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