David Brecount and Mark Miller started
US Digital Partners with a bold vision: they wanted to embrace the way the internet was changing business interaction and help Cincinnati companies develop and market their brands.
In July 2002, they launched their interactive design studio in OTR.
“We were business guys who were technology tinkerers,” Brecount says. “We didn’t want to be part of the big agencies; we wanted to start our own business and pursue the work we enjoy.”
In nearly 10 years, USDP has grown to 12 employees and into a new office on Elm Street. Since their first office in the 1300 block of Main Street, USDP has moved around downtown a few times as business has grown. “We’re all about Cincinnati,” Brecount says. “We’re dedicated to bettering it.”
A whopping 60 percent of their clients are local. USDP serves companies from big corporations like P&G to non-profits like Ugive.org. No matter the client’s size, USDP offers the same level of commitment, service and cost.
USDP started working mostly in website design and development, but with the constantly changing digital world, they now have expanded to mobile app design and social media campaigns.
“Our motto is design plus technology,” Brecount says. “Whether it’s social media campaigns or making the Downtown Cincinnati app, we just need a keen eye for design and to stay on top of the new programming languages.”
The Downtown Cincinnati app USDP created for Downtown Cincinnati Inc. is a prime work example. DCI came to USDP to redesign its website. After USDP redid the site, site visits and interaction increased drastically. Two years ago, with the prevalence of smart phones, USDP created a mobile version of the site. Once smart phones included geo-locating, the company worked with DCI to create a mobile app.
The app gives people a chance to track down food, offices, banks, shops and more in downtown Cincinnati. The app includes walking directions as a way to make downtown easier to explore. The staff at USDP walked around downtown with a beta version of their app to test it and make sure all businesses were included on their map.
“Our skills evolved with the client,” Brecount says. “It all started with the website but we continued to work with their business as technology changed.
By Evan Wallis