Local media firm helps companies stay connected

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Fastspot helps clients get within a mouse-click of their customers.

A Baltimore-based interactive design and development company, Fastspot was co-founded in 2001 by Tracey Halvorsen, the firm’s creative director. Through its work with midsized clients such as MTV U.K., the Smithsonian Institution, Black & Decker and Eyemaginations, the company has not only created a market niche for itself but also established a national market presence that has received national recognition.

“The nature of the Web these day is to engage a viewer and let them interact,” Halvorsen said. “Views and opinions are very important.” Two of the firm’s newer clients, the American Beverage Association (ABA) and Baltimore College Town, selected the company to develop comprehensive Web sites and marketing campaigns. For the ABA, Fastspot will focus on environmental initiatives, informing the public about recycling issues and putting out the organization’s side of the story.

With Baltimore College Town, Halvorsen’s company is working on developing a networking Web site to connect college students, graduates and the community.

Fastspot’s work for national clients has gained it wide-reaching recognition.

Last fall, the company did Web design for Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution in New York City. In the developed site, Fastspot emphasized user interaction and an online voting system for viewers to pick their favorite creation in People’s Design Awards competition.

“It had just been an idea, and they helped us realize it and think out the details,” said Bill Berry, webmaster at Cooper-Hewitt. “We are a cultural institution, and you usually don’t find this kind of content on a Web site, and it’s ahead of the curve in that sense.”

The site received rave reviews, including being featured in The New York Times.

“That’s a testament to how fun it is to use the site,” Berry said.

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com