Companiesfor architecture + design / Entrepreneurship

While Brian Hock trained for the Louisville Ironman in 2010, he had an idea for a way to stay hydrated along the way. That idea evolved into Simple Hydration, a start-up company with an innovative product that is being manufactured in the US.

Five months ago, David Johnson and his wife Estelle McNair started a branding company together. Today, Johnson-McNair is beginning to gain traction and serve clients all over the country.

Two friends and experienced graphic designers - one on Cincinnati, one in L.A. -  are turning their passions into unique and fun paper products catching the eyes of mothers and hostesses in the Queen City and beyond.

Mindbox Studios started in 2005 as a web design company created to fund other web-based business projects of founder and CEO, Joshua Johnson and his creative, entrepreneurial partners.

Founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2002, Electronic Art is an interactive agency specializing in kiosks, digital signage and related online services.

In 1994, Jeff Eberlein and Tony Magliano purchased a six-employee graphic design shop and christened it “Strata-G Communications.” Over the last fourteen years they have grown the business to its current ranking as one of Cincinnati’s largest advertising agencies, with more than 60 employees, topped by 20 percent growth in 2007.

Marketing the Pursuit of Happiness is what happens at Barefoot Inc., an agency that works on making consumers passionate about brands and products. Cincinnati-based Barefoot has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies,

making it on to the magazine’s inaugural Inc. 5000 list.