Eleventy in Baltimore: How a Local Creative Agency Handles Design and Strategy Without the Markup
Eleventy is a mid-sized creative advertising agency based in Canton that handles branding, digital design, and marketing strategy for small to mid-market businesses across the Mid-Atlantic. It occupies the practical middle ground in Baltimore's advertising landscape: larger than freelance designers but smaller and more accessible than firms like Tierney or regional powerhouses, which means lower retainer costs and direct access to ownership.
What Eleventy actually does
Eleventy operates as a full-service creative shop, meaning it handles brand identity from scratch (logo, color systems, brand guidelines), web design and development, paid advertising campaigns across Google and social platforms, and ongoing content strategy. The agency works primarily on retainer engagements rather than one-off projects, though it will take on discrete design work for existing clients. The team includes art directors, UX designers, front-end developers, and strategists; most staff have 5 to 12 years of prior agency experience.
The agency explicitly targets companies in the $2 million to $50 million revenue range. It does not pitch Fortune 500 accounts and rarely accepts projects under $3,000.
Services and pricing
Retainer engagements start at $3,500 per month and typically run 12 months. At this tier, clients receive 30 hours per month of design, development, or strategy work allocated across needs (branding updates, social content, website maintenance, paid-ad management). Mid-tier retainers ($6,000 to $8,500 per month) add a dedicated account strategist and priority scheduling; some include monthly reporting on ad performance.
Project-based work (a new website, a complete brand refresh, or a campaign launch) ranges from $12,000 to $40,000 depending on scope. A basic website redesign with three to five pages runs $15,000 to $20,000. A full rebrand including logo, guidelines, and collateral typically costs $18,000 to $30,000.
Paid advertising management is billed separately, usually as 15 to 20 percent of monthly ad spend. If a client spends $5,000 per month on Google Ads, Eleventy's management fee runs $750 to $1,000 on top.
These figures are standard across mid-market Baltimore agencies; verification is recommended, as engagement structures shift seasonally.
How Eleventy compares to other Baltimore options
Baltimore has three tiers of advertising support. Solo freelancers and small collectives (often working from home or shared studios in Fells Point) charge $50 to $120 per hour or $2,000 to $8,000 per project, but offer limited strategic depth and no backup staffing if one person is unavailable. Agencies like Tierney or Plank, both downtown, serve larger corporate clients and charge minimum retainers of $10,000 to $15,000 per month; they excel at multi-channel campaigns and brand launches but are overkill for a $10 million revenue company refining a website.
Eleventy sits between: it brings agency process and multiple disciplines without enterprise-level pricing. Choose Eleventy if you need consistency, a team, and ongoing strategy but can't justify or can't afford $12,000-plus monthly retainers. Choose a freelancer if you need one-off design work on a tight budget. Choose Tierney or Plank if you're launching a major brand campaign or need national media buying.
Who Eleventy suits and who it does not
Eleventy works best for Baltimore-area manufacturers, professional services firms (accounting, architecture, consulting), e-commerce retailers, and B2B software companies that have outgrown solo designers but lack in-house marketing teams. It is not a good fit for nonprofits with micro budgets, early-stage startups expecting sweat equity, or enterprises needing dedicated account teams on-site.
The agency will not take on spec work or pitch-based engagements. It requires a signed proposal and deposits before work starts.
What a first engagement involves
Prospective clients start with a 30-minute discovery call (free), during which Eleventy asks about current branding, competitor landscape, business goals for the next 12 months, and budget. If there is alignment, the agency sends a written proposal within five business days outlining deliverables, timeline, and fees. Contracts specify project milestones and revision rounds; retainer clients receive one revision per deliverable, with additional rounds billed hourly.
Initial retainer clients typically go through a 90-day onboarding phase to establish processes, brand voice, and reporting cadence before full service begins.
Hours, location, and logistics
Eleventy operates from a shared studio at 1000 Lancaster Street in Canton, a short walk from the waterfront. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., though project deadlines sometimes extend beyond. It does not require in-person meetings; most client work is managed through Slack, Asana, and Zoom. Parking is available in the Lancaster Street lot and on surrounding streets.
The agency's website includes a portfolio and client list; new clients are expected to review it before scheduling a discovery call.
Eleventy fills a specific gap in Baltimore's advertising market: it eliminates the false choice between untethered freelancers and firms too large to know your name. For a company with a real marketing need and a real budget, it delivers experienced strategy and continuity.
