Creative Entrepreneurship

About the Initiative

The DAAP disciplines add value in creating products, services, and systems that create positive user experiences. Our goal is to bring our inherent strengths in creative problem solving into business and entrepreneurship and return such knowledge to the creative fields. DAAP faculty, staff, and students live Design Thinking and have the ability to realize and test conceptual ideation through digital and physical making to come to action with impactful and meaningful solutions. We have the expertise and capacity to collaborate in and be valuable contributors to solving wicked problems and naturally thrive in disrupting the norm as a value transaction framework.

For more than a decade, we have seen a surge in global efforts to energize entrepreneurial efforts especially in the creative fields of:

  • Agency Formation 
  • New Product Development 
  • Social/Nonprofit Initiatives 

These efforts have boosted the Cincinnati region into a national top 10 location for entrepreneurial ventures. Our university has established the 1819 Innovation Hub that houses Venture Labs, a reimagined technology transfer office focusing on transforming academic research into viable consumer products and services. 


Co-op Experience

Image of Joseph Curtsinger and his capstone project at DAAPworks

Joseph Curtsinger (pictured with his capstone project "Minnow") was mentored by Kyle Buzzard, co-founder of Glidance, Inc.

The College of DAAP is developing a new CO-OP experience designed to foster creativity and entrepreneurial spirit among students. This program aims to help students transform imaginative ideas into viable business ventures.

Central to this experience are the alumni entrepreneurs, who serve as mentors by leveraging their extensive networks and providing invaluable education on transforming concepts into actionable projects. This initiative is a collaborative effort between DAAP's School of Design, Experiential Learning, and Cooperative Education (ELCE) and is further bolstered by the alumni who generously open their studios to this unique experience.


Centers, Labs, and Initiatives

DAAP Alumni Entrepreneurs

  • App Development
  • Consumer Products
  • Service Design
  • Construction and Fabrication
  • Conceptualization
  • Research Methods
  • Prototyping
  • User Testing
Headshot of Steven J. Doehler

Steven J. Doehler

Associate Professor, Industrial Design Coordinator

Headshot of Ashley Kubley

Ashley Kubley

Associate Director Associate Professor

Headshot of Claudia Beatriz Rebola

Claudia Beatriz Rebola

Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor

Headshot of Renee Seward

Renee Seward

Associate Professor, Communication Design Coordinator

Headshot of Jenny Roesel Ustick

Jenny Roesel Ustick

Associate Professor

For inquires about Creative Entrepreneurship, please contact

Headshot of Steven J. Doehler

Steven J. Doehler

Associate Professor, Industrial Design Coordinator

513-556-4576

Headshot of Jenny Roesel Ustick

Jenny Roesel Ustick

Associate Professor

513-556-2426

Headshot of Claudia Beatriz Rebola

Claudia Beatriz Rebola

Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor

513-556-4239

For partnerships in alignment with faculty research areas and expertise in Creative Entrepreneurship, please contact:

Headshot of Laura Johnson

Laura Johnson

Senior Director of Development, DAAP

(513) 556-1211