Innovation, imagination, inspiration – these qualities play a role in every successful business, and Kansas City has a long history of recognizing and rewarding the creative impulse. In particular, two broadly defined business sectors stand out as wellsprings of commercial creativity in Kansas City, Missouri: architecture and engineering, and advertising and design. Both have powerful legacies and promising futures.
Architecture and Engineering
Kansas City is home to a long list of nationally recognized architecture and engineering firms, including homegrown titans Burns & McDonnell (founded in 1898), HNTB Companies (founded in 1914), and Black & Veatch (founded in1915). These respected firms, along with many others – such as 360 Architecture, BNIM Architects, and Populous – are involved in major projects around the world, including airports, arenas, energy plants, government facilities, and retail developments.
This concentration of successful architecture and engineering companies has made Kansas City a leader in the industry. In fact, four firms in our area were recently ranked among the top 50 in the nation by Engineering News-Record: Black & Veatch at No. 15, HNTB at No. 25, Burns & McDonnell at No. 35, and Terracon (which is headquartered in Olathe, Kansas) at No. 50. Newer firms like Helix/Architecture + Design and Gould Evans are also contributing to Kansas City’s reputation as a leader in the world of architecture.
Advertising and Design
The advertising and design sector in Kansas City displays equally impressive depth and breadth. Kansas City is home to a wide array of advertising, marketing, graphic design, and web design companies. The city’s two largest ad agencies, Bernstein-Rein Advertising and Barkley, were both founded here in 1964, and agencies of all sizes and specialties have found success in Kansas City, including niche marketing firms like MMGY Global, which specializes in travel, hospitality and entertainment; Ad Farm, which specializes in agricultural marketing; and Prairie Dog (part of Trozzolo Communications Group), which specializes in health care marketing, VML, which specializes in digital marketing and media.
Last but not least, Kansas City is home to Hallmark Cards, a name that is synonymous with creativity. Hallmark got its start in Kansas City in 1910, when Joyce C. Hall started selling post cards out of a shoebox to local retailers. Today, Hallmark is the largest creative expression company in the world and one of the nation’s top 100 privately held companies.
Why is Kansas City, Missouri, a great place for creative industries?
Creative workforce
Kansas City has a high concentration of experienced creative professionals. For instance:
- KC ranks 6th in the country for commercial/industrial designers
- KC ranks 7th in the country in the number of visual artists
- KC ranks 12th in the country for its concentration of architects
Engineering and architecture firms in the Kansas City area pull graduates from dozens of degree programs at nearby universities, including the University of Missouri (Columbia, Rolla, and Kansas City campuses), the University of Kansas, and Kansas State University.
Arts and culture
One of the reasons Kansas City is a great place for creative professionals to live and work – and find inspiration – is because the city has a vibrant, diverse arts scene. The arts are an integral part of the city’s fabric, from galleries and museums, to concert halls and theaters, to cultural festivals and cutting-edge performance art. One of the hot spots for creativity is the Crossroads Arts District, which is home to dozens of galleries and supports a thriving arts community. Overlooking the Crossroads is the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Moshe Safdie, which will provide a world-class venue and a new permanent home for the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. These are just a few of the city’s many cultural assets and amenities, all of which feed a culture of creativity that helps employers attract and retain creative professionals.
Affordability
- Kansas City offers lower costs than most major metro areas and is consistently ranked among most affordable major markets in which to live and operate a business.
- When it comes to travel, Kansas City is a cost-effective central location for companies that need to visit widely dispersed clients and project sites. Kansas City International Airport – which is ranked No. 1 among medium-sized airports – offers 200 daily departures by 11 major airlines, with non-stop flights to nearly 50 destinations.
- Affordable office space for creative companies of all sizes is available in a variety of locations, including historic downtown buildings, eclectic converted commercial space for artists, and real estate that integrates the arts in areas such as the Crossroads and West Bottoms.
- Kansas City has a world-class telecommunications and electric infrastructure and is a point of national convergence for transcontinental fiber and related communications networks.
- The Kansas City area offers an affordable electric supply, generated through a combination of traditional energy sources and sustainable resources such as wind power.
Selected architecture & engineering firms headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri:
360 Architecture Inc.
ACI/Boland Inc.
BNIM Architects
Burns & McDonnell
BWR
Cook Flatt & Strobel Engineers PA
Crawford Architects LLC
Gastinger Walker Harden Architects
Gould Evans
Helix/Architecture + Design
HNTB Companies
Populous
Rafael Architects
Rees Masilionis Turley Architecture LLC
Shaughnessy Fickel and Scott Architects
Transystems Corporation
Selected creative companies in Kansas City, Missouri:
Ad Farm
Andrews McMeel Universal
Bernstein-Rein Advertising, Inc.
Barkley
Fasone & Partners
Geneva Roth Advertising LLC
Gray Healthcare Group
Gragg Advertising Inc.
Hallmark Cards Inc.
Kuhn & Wittenborn Advertising
McCormick Co.
MMGY Global
Osborn & Barr Communications Inc.
Sullivan Higdon & Sink Inc.
Trozzolo Communications Group
Two West Inc.
VML
