ChatGPT answers, unedited

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

If the brief is specifically “rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site”, I’d shortlist agencies that can move quickly without turning it into a six-month digital-transformation project.

Chicago shortlist

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — Strong fit for brand + UI refresh. They combine UX/UI, visual design, branding, and web development, and have experience with corporate/marketing websites. Their public project profile puts typical UX/UI engagements in the $10k–$49k range. Clutch UX Planet

I'd ask them for: a 1–2 week UX teardown followed by a focused homepage/key-template refresh.

• UX 4Sight — Strong fit if the UX audit itself is the priority. They explicitly offer UX audits, usability testing, research, wireframes, responsive web design and UI, with a research-driven process. UX Planet

I'd ask them for: an audit → prioritized recommendations → Figma refresh of the highest-impact pages.

• Solid Digital — Particularly interesting for B2B marketing sites. They specialize in B2B website design/redesign and combine UX/UI with conversion and digital marketing considerations.

I'd ask them for: UX/CRO audit plus redesign of the homepage, navigation, and core conversion paths.

• Clique Studios — Better if you might want to go beyond a visual refresh. Their offering spans strategy, UX/design, content, engineering and marketing, including UX/UI, information architecture, usability testing and accessibility.

Tradeoff: potentially more agency/process than you need for a very small, fast engagement.

• Sandstorm Design — Research-heavy option. They emphasize usability research/testing, information architecture, navigation and messaging alongside visual design.

Tradeoff: I'd consider them if you're seeing genuine usability/conversion problems, rather than primarily wanting the site to look more current.

• Toimi — Worth a look for a genuinely sprint-oriented engagement. They explicitly advertise UX audits and recommendations in 1–2 weeks, followed by rapid screen/logic improvements and UI design. Toimi
• VA Designs — Another potentially good fit for a lean engagement: they specifically offer UX audits, competitor analysis, analytics/heatmap insights, wireframes/prototypes and UI/UX design, with a Chicago base and Webflow specialization. VA Designs

How I'd narrow it

For the brief you gave, I'd probably have ArtVersion, UX 4Sight, and Solid Digital pitch the work, with Toimi as a fourth if speed is the overriding constraint.

The key is to not ask for “a website redesign.” I'd give them something like:

Phase 1 — 5–10 business day UX audit: analytics review, heuristic review, navigation/content assessment, competitive scan, mobile review, and prioritized conversion issues.
Phase 2 — UI refresh: Figma redesign of homepage + 1–2 highest-traffic/highest-value templates, responsive states, lightweight design system.
Phase 3 — optional implementation: only after approving the design direction.

That structure should make it much easier to compare agencies on speed, thinking, and actual design quality, rather than whoever produces the slickest sales deck.

One other interesting option: Legible Studio advertises a written website audit delivered within 48 hours and focuses on custom, conversion-oriented Chicago websites. That could be useful as a very lightweight benchmark before commissioning a larger audit. Legible Studio

If you tell me your company/site, approximate budget (e.g. <$10k, $10–25k, $25–50k), and whether you're B2B/SaaS/consumer, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and explain exactly what I'd ask each one to pitch.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

If the brief is specifically “rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site,” I’d look for a partner that can diagnose quickly and then move directly into high-fidelity design—not a six-month product-design consultancy.

A Chicago shortlist I’d put in front of you:

• UX 4Sight — probably the closest match to the brief. They explicitly offer UX audits, usability testing, UX/UI design, responsive web design, and design validation. Their current positioning covers both audit/research and the subsequent interface work. UX Planet
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — strong if the UI refresh also needs brand polish. They combine UX/UI, visual design, branding and web development, so they're suited to a marketing site that needs to feel substantially more modern rather than simply more usable. Clutch
• Solid Digital — worth considering for B2B. Their focus is B2B websites, UX/UI and measurable digital/marketing outcomes, with UX discovery, wireframes, user flows and interface design in the mix.
• Sandstorm Design — good if you want the audit to be research-heavy. They emphasize usability studies, testing, information architecture and research-driven digital experiences, alongside creative design. Expertise
• Clique Studios — good if this could grow into a broader website redesign. Their offering spans UX, content strategy, information architecture, UI, accessibility, brand and engineering.
• Grand Studio — more strategic/product-oriented. They do deep UX research and high-fidelity UI, but I'd consider them if the underlying problem is more complicated than “our marketing site needs a refresh.”
• Flamingo Agency — a smaller-shop option if you want something hands-on and relatively lightweight rather than a large consultancy.

There are also a couple of particularly interesting speed-oriented options. Toimi explicitly advertises a “Quick start” format with a UX audit and recommendations in 1–2 weeks, followed by fast screen/logic adjustments. Toimi Legible Studio says it will provide a written website audit within 48 hours and is currently booking Chicago projects, though its positioning is more small-business-oriented. Legible Studio

How I'd frame the RFP

I'd ask each agency for a 2-phase fixed-scope engagement:

1. UX audit — 5–10 business days

• analytics/session-recording review
• heuristic UX review
• information architecture/navigation
• messaging + CTA hierarchy
• mobile UX
• accessibility
• competitive/peer benchmark
• prioritized findings, not a 60-page report
• UI refresh — 2–4 weeks

• homepage redesign
• 2–4 representative interior-page templates
• responsive states
• updated visual system/components
• Figma handoff
• optionally implementation

I'd explicitly ask them to show you one before/after marketing-site case study where they improved an existing site rather than designing a new product from scratch.

If I were making the initial outreach list, I'd contact UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, Solid Digital and Toimi. That gives you four materially different approaches—research/UX, brand/UI, B2B growth/web, and rapid execution—without turning the selection process into a giant agency bake-off.

If you tell me your company type (B2B SaaS, professional services, ecommerce, etc.), approximate site size, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/etc.), and rough budget, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a suggested scope + questions to send them.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a focused digital/UX shop rather than a big branding agency. You want someone who can quickly identify friction, prioritize changes, and then actually redesign the important pages—not spend six weeks in strategy.

Based on current Chicago options, these are the ones I’d put on the shortlist:

My top 5

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Very directly aligned with your brief: UX audits, usability testing, user research, UI design, responsive web design and validation.
• Their process includes competitive analysis, personas, task flows, wireframes and design systems. Clutch
• I'd call them if the site has genuine usability/conversion problems, not just an outdated visual design.
• Their Chicago office is in the Loop.
• Solid Digital — best B2B marketing-site option

• Particularly compelling if this is a B2B/SaaS/company marketing site.
• They combine UX/UI, website strategy, development and digital marketing, so the refresh can stay connected to pipeline/conversion goals rather than becoming a purely aesthetic redesign.
• Current Chicago listings describe them as focused on measurable B2B outcomes. Clutch
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best UX + visual polish combination

• This would be high on my list if your primary complaint is "the site doesn't feel as good as the company/brand anymore."
• They combine brand strategy, visual design, UI/UX and web development under one roof. Clutch
• Strong fit for a relatively fast "audit → new visual direction → key-page redesign" engagement.
• Sandstorm Design — best research-driven option

• More substantial UX/research orientation than a typical web-design shop.
• They emphasize usability studies, prototype testing, information architecture, navigation and research-informed design. UX Planet
• I'd consider them if you have meaningful traffic and a complicated site/funnel where getting the UX diagnosis right matters more than simply moving fast.
• Clique Studios — best if the refresh may become a larger redesign

• They cover strategy, UX, content, UI, accessibility, engineering and digital marketing.
• Their positioning is explicitly broader than giving an existing site a cosmetic facelift.
• Good choice if you suspect this "quick refresh" could turn into a more comprehensive site overhaul.

One wildcard I'd seriously consider

Solid Digital would probably be my first call for a B2B marketing site, while UX 4Sight would be my first call if you're primarily concerned with UX quality.

There's also Orbit Media, which is unusually relevant to the audit part of your request. Their Chicago team explicitly combines analytics, heatmaps/session data, UX review, conversion analysis and prioritized recommendations. Orbit Media Studios

And if "rapid" means literally get us useful findings within 1–2 weeks, Toimi explicitly advertises a quick-start format with a UX audit/recommendations in 1–2 weeks followed by fast screen/interface adjustments. Toimi

How I'd structure the engagement

I'd not ask agencies for a generic "website redesign." I'd give them this brief:

Phase 1 — 5–10 day UX audit: analytics review, heuristic evaluation, mobile review, IA/navigation, messaging hierarchy, CTA/conversion paths, accessibility and competitive scan.

Deliverable: prioritized findings with severity/impact, recommended changes, and a proposed new page hierarchy.

Phase 2 — 2–3 week UI refresh: redesign homepage + 2–4 highest-value templates/pages, establish refreshed visual system/components, responsive designs and developer-ready Figma.

Optional Phase 3: implementation and A/B testing.

That should get you much more useful proposals than asking for a wholesale redesign.

If you tell me your site's URL, what the company does, and roughly whether you're thinking <$25k, $25–75k, or $75k+, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually interview and tell you what I'd ask each one.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d favor a boutique UX/web team over a huge digital-transformation consultancy. You probably want a partner who can diagnose the site quickly, identify conversion/usability issues, then turn that into a sharper visual system—not a six-month strategy exercise.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Fuzzy Math — my first call
   • Strongest choice if UX quality is the priority.
   • They explicitly offer UX assessments/competitive evaluations and UI design, including responsive web, design systems, usability testing and front-end support. fuzzymath.comfuzzymath.com
   • They also advertise one-week, low-commitment engagements including a UX & Competitive Evaluation, which is unusually well aligned with your "rapid audit" requirement. fuzzymath.com
   • Their Hyatt work is particularly relevant if you need to refresh a substantial marketing-site ecosystem rather than just a few pages. fuzzymath.comfuzzymath.com
   • Caveat: they're more UX/product-design-oriented than a pure "make our marketing site gorgeous" creative shop.

2. UX 4Sight — best if conversion optimization matters
   • Particularly interesting if you want the audit to be research/data/KPI driven rather than primarily heuristic.
   • Their services include UX audits, usability testing, user research, responsive web design and design validation, and they work on both marketing experiences and digital products.
   • This is probably the agency I'd put in the pitch process if you want a strong before/after measurement story.

3. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for UX + visual/brand refresh
   • I'd consider them if "UI refresh" really means the site needs to look substantially more modern and premium, not merely become easier to use.
   • They combine brand strategy, visual design, UI/UX and web development under one roof.
   • Good middle ground between a UX consultancy and a traditional creative agency.

4. Bounteous — best for a larger/enterprise site
   • They combine experience design with engineering, analytics, marketing and martech.
   • I'd only put them high on the list if your marketing site is tied into Adobe/Salesforce/CRM/analytics/commerce or a complicated enterprise CMS.
   • For a straightforward rapid refresh, they may be more agency than you need.

5. IDE Interactive, Inc. — worth a look if you need design + build
   • More of a design/development studio, which can be attractive if you want the same team to go from audit → redesigned pages → implementation.
   • I'd investigate them particularly if the existing site's technical architecture needs attention along with the UI.

If it were my project

I'd invite Fuzzy Math, UX 4Sight, and ArtVersion to a tightly scoped first phase.

I'd ask each for essentially the same deliverable:

10-business-day UX/UI audit → prioritized findings → redesigned homepage + one key conversion page → visual direction/design system → implementation roadmap

That makes the pitches much easier to compare. Fuzzy Math would likely be strongest on UX diagnosis, ArtVersion on visual transformation, and UX 4Sight on data/conversion-oriented optimization.

One interesting signal: current Chicago UX-agency rankings also put Fuzzy Math, ArtVersion and UX 4Sight among the city's notable UX firms, while independent review data currently shows Fuzzy Math at 4.9/5 on Clutch with substantial Chicago UX/UI experience. agency.uxplanet.org

If you give me your site's URL, approximate company size/industry, and whether the goal is primarily more leads, better brand perception, or both, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually contact and tell you what I'd ask each one to do.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

If the brief is specifically “rapid UX audit + UI refresh for an existing marketing site”, I’d avoid the giant transformation agencies and look for a team that can diagnose quickly, make strong design decisions, and actually ship.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

• UX 4Sight — Best pure UX choice. They explicitly offer UX audits, usability testing, research, responsive web design and UI, so they’re a particularly good fit if you want the audit to drive the refresh rather than simply getting a visual makeover. UX Planet
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — Best UX + brand/UI combination. They combine UX, visual design, branding and web development, which makes sense if your site feels dated both experientially and visually. UX Planet
• Solid Digital — Best B2B marketing-site option. They focus heavily on B2B websites, UX/UI and measurable business outcomes, so I'd put them high on the list if the site is primarily about generating leads/demos. Clutch
• Clique Studios — Best if you want audit → redesign → implementation. Their offering spans UX, content strategy, UI, accessibility, engineering and marketing, so they can take the work all the way through launch. Clutch
• Sandstorm Design — Best research-heavy option. They have a strong research/testing orientation and pair it with digital design and engineering. I'd choose them if you're dealing with a more complex audience or significant uncertainty about what isn't working. Clutch
• Flamingo Agency — Best smaller/faster-shop option. They skew toward smaller businesses and marketing websites and emphasize hands-on web design and positioning, so potentially a better fit for a relatively contained refresh.
• Grand Studio — Excellent, but probably overkill for a simple refresh. They're particularly strong at research, UX strategy and complex digital products; I'd consider them if the “marketing site” actually has substantial product-like functionality. Clutch

If it were my project

I'd make the first three calls UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and Solid Digital.

I'd frame the ask as:

1–2 week UX audit → prioritized findings → redesigned key pages/components → lightweight design system → implementation-ready Figma.

And I'd explicitly ask them not to start with a wholesale redesign. You want them to identify the 5–10 highest-impact problems first—navigation, hierarchy, messaging, CTA/conversion paths, mobile, accessibility, visual credibility—and then refresh the UI around those findings.

One other interesting option is ArtVersion® Creative Agency if the site needs to look substantially better without changing the underlying brand; their combination of brand and digital design is unusually relevant to that brief. UX Planet

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, startup, consumer, etc.), approximate budget, and whether you want Figma only or actual implementation, I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually interview, including what I'd ask each one and a realistic budget/timeline.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d avoid firms that are primarily product-app UX shops unless you have a complex funnel. You probably want a team that can quickly diagnose conversion issues, improve hierarchy/messaging, redesign key pages, and hand off production-ready UI.

A Chicago shortlist I’d consider:

My picks by scenario:

• Need a 2–4 week audit + prioritized UI fixes: UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, Sandstorm
• Need “make the site look dramatically better” quickly: ArtVersion, Bright Bright Great
• Need more leads from the site (B2B/SaaS/services): Solid Digital, Orbit Media
• Need a bigger redesign/replatform: Clique Studios, Sandstorm

For a rapid engagement, I’d ask agencies for a very specific package:

1. Heuristic UX audit (navigation, hierarchy, CTAs, mobile, accessibility)
2. Analytics review (top landing pages, bounce/drop-off points, conversion paths)
3. Competitive teardown
4. Homepage + 2–3 priority page redesigns
5. UI component/style refresh
6. Implementation estimate

A realistic timeline:

• Audit: 1–2 weeks
• UI refresh concepts: 2–4 weeks
• Production updates: 4–8+ weeks depending on CMS

If you tell me your company type (B2B SaaS, services, ecommerce, nonprofit, etc.), CMS (Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/custom), budget range, and whether you need strategy or just design, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I’d actually contact first.

• Fuzzy Math - 1440 N Dayton, Ste 307, Chicago, IL 60642
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604
• Mekanism Chicago - 950 W Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606
• Very Good Ventures - 909 Davis St Suite 500, Evanston, IL 60201
• DS&P Digital Marketing & PR Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604
• Affordable Web Design Chicago - 5141 W Altgeld St, Chicago, IL 60639
• Design Henge - 2259 W Rosemont Ave, Chicago, IL 60659
• Comrade Digital Marketing Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604
• RedShark SEO - 65 W Erie St #1901, Chicago, IL 60654
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can move from audit → prioritized recommendations → polished designs → implementation guidance without turning it into a six-month product-design engagement.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. Fuzzy Math — best for serious UX

• Strongest if the site has complicated journeys, multiple audiences, or a B2B/enterprise sales motion.
• They explicitly do UX research, UI design, usability testing, responsive web design, and front-end support. They also have a specific case study involving a complete website UI redesign. Fuzzy Math Fuzzy Math
• Caveat: they may be more process/research-heavy than you need for a quick marketing-site refresh. A recent Chicago UX-agency review makes the same distinction. UX Planet
• My take: great if you want the audit to actually uncover why the site isn't converting, not just make it prettier.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — probably the best fit for UX + visual refresh

• I'd put them high on the list if your primary objective is “make our marketing site substantially better-looking, clearer, and more credible” while still improving UX.
• They have a strong brand/digital orientation and are specifically cited as a Chicago option for brand-focused UX/UI and corporate websites. UX Planet
• My take: particularly interesting if your brand itself needs some modernization alongside the website.
• Orbit Media Studios — best if you want a marketing-site specialist

• I'd seriously consider them if this is primarily a marketing/growth website, rather than a product/application.
• They are much more squarely in the website/content/conversion world than a pure product UX consultancy.
• My take: I'd talk to them if SEO, content architecture, lead generation and CMS/implementation are as important as the UI.
• UX 4Sight — best for data-driven conversion optimization

• Worth considering if you have meaningful traffic and analytics and want the audit grounded in behavior/conversion data, rather than primarily expert opinion.
• Industry comparisons characterize them as particularly analytical and data-driven. parallelhq.com
• My take: strongest when you can give them GA4/Hotjar/Clarity/funnel data and say, “Find the biggest UX problems affecting conversion.”
• Mekanism Chicago — if this is really a brand/creative problem

• They're a bigger creative/advertising-oriented shop, so I'd consider them if you're saying “our site doesn't express the brand and we're losing attention/credibility” rather than simply “our UX needs work.”
• Less obvious choice for a surgical UX audit, though.

If it were my project

I'd actually run a 3-agency mini-RFP:

There's a useful distinction here: Fuzzy Math is more “figure out the experience,” ArtVersion is more “make the experience and brand excellent,” and Orbit is more “make the marketing website perform.” That distinction is more important than which agency has the fanciest portfolio. UX Planet Fuzzy Math

One thing I'd ask for

Don't ask them for a generic “UX audit.” Ask for a 2–3 week fixed-scope sprint with:

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/funnel review
• 5–8 key user journeys
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Mobile + desktop UI critique
• Competitive teardown
• Prioritized P0/P1/P2 recommendations
• Redesign of the homepage + 1–2 highest-value templates
• Mini design system / visual direction
• Figma deliverables
• Implementation recommendations

That makes the agencies compete on something concrete and prevents you from buying a giant strategy deck when what you really need is better UX and a sharper site.

If you tell me what your company does, roughly how big the site is, CMS/stack (Webflow, WordPress, custom, etc.), and whether the goal is leads, demo requests, signups, or brand credibility, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd expect each to charge.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can move quickly, understand conversion goals, and don’t turn a website tune-up into a 6-month product redesign. In Chicago, I’d shortlist these:

My shortlist

1. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best fit for brand + UI refresh

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-837-7466)

Good choice if your site mostly needs:

• sharper visual system
• stronger messaging hierarchy
• more premium brand feel
• improved marketing pages

They combine branding, UX/UI, and web development, which is useful when the issue is less “usability failure” and more “our site feels dated and doesn’t represent us.” UX Planet

I’d ask them for: a 2–3 week audit sprint followed by prioritized homepage + key landing page redesigns.

2. UX 4Sight — best if you want a real UX diagnosis

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-224-0095)

Better fit if you suspect:

• visitors aren’t finding things
• conversion paths are weak
• navigation/content structure is the problem
• you need evidence before redesigning

They focus heavily on UX audits, research, usability testing, wireframes, and validation. UX Planet

I’d ask them for: heuristic review + analytics review + prioritized UX recommendations.

3. Sandstorm Design — best for larger organizations

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4200)

A strong option if you’re a B2B, nonprofit, healthcare, enterprise, or complex organization. They have a research-led approach and combine UX strategy, design, and development. Expertise

Watch-out: may be more process-heavy than you need for a quick refresh.

4. Solid Digital — best for B2B marketing sites

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-899-9981)

I’d consider them if your site’s main job is:

• generating leads
• supporting sales
• explaining complex offerings
• improving inbound pipeline

They position around B2B websites, UX/UI, and measurable marketing outcomes.

5. Clique Studios — best if you may rebuild

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-379-9329)

Good if the audit reveals you need more than a facelift. They combine strategy, UX, design, engineering, and marketing.

If I were running the vendor selection

I’d probably get proposals from:

1. ArtVersion — fastest path to a polished marketing-site refresh
2. UX 4Sight — strongest UX audit rigor
3. Solid Digital — strongest B2B conversion orientation

Then ask each for the same fixed-scope deliverable:

2-week UX/UI audit sprint

• heuristic UX review
• competitor teardown
• analytics review (GA4/Hotjar if available)
• homepage + top 3 conversion pages critique
• mobile review
• accessibility quick pass
• prioritized backlog (quick wins vs bigger changes)
• refreshed homepage concept in Figma

A reasonable ballpark for that kind of engagement is often $5k–$20k depending on depth and whether design comps are included.

If you tell me:

• your industry (B2B SaaS, healthcare, ecommerce, etc.)
• current CMS (Webflow, WordPress, HubSpot, custom)
• approximate budget
• whether you need just recommendations or actual redesign/build

…I can narrow this to the 3 I’d actually contact.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a studio that can diagnose quickly and then actually redesign the important pages—not a giant agency that wants to turn it into a six-month transformation.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strongest fit if you want the audit to be genuinely UX/research-led rather than just “here’s a prettier homepage.”
• They do UX audits, usability testing, user research, UI design, responsive web design and validation. UX Planet
• I'd use them if: conversion problems, navigation, messaging hierarchy, or user journeys are the main concern.
• Watch-out: potentially more process than you need if the brief is simply “make our site look significantly better, fast.”
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — probably my favorite for your exact brief

• Particularly strong combination of brand + UX/UI + marketing websites. Their work spans visual design, UX strategy, accessibility, design systems and web development. UX Planet
• This is the kind of partner I'd pick if the existing site is functionally okay but visually dated, generic, or inconsistent with the brand.
• Best fit: “Audit it, tell us what matters, then give the site a substantial visual/UI upgrade.”
• Solid Digital — best for B2B

• Very compelling if this is a B2B SaaS, professional-services, healthcare, technology, or other complex marketing site.
• Their Chicago team combines UX discovery, user flows, wireframes, UI, development and digital marketing, with an emphasis on measurable business outcomes.
• Best fit: you want the refresh tied closely to pipeline, demos/leads and the broader marketing funnel.
• Sandstorm Design — best research-heavy option

• Long-established Chicago UX/digital-experience shop with a strong research and usability orientation.
• They combine usability studies/testing with IA, navigation, messaging and visual design. UX Planet
• Best fit: your site has complicated audiences or journeys and you want evidence behind the recommendations.
• Downside: I'd expect this to be more substantial than a lightweight 1–2 week refresh.
• Clique Studios — best if you may want them to own the whole thing

• Strategy + UX + content + brand + engineering.
• Their offering includes content audits, information architecture, messaging workshops, UX/UI, usability testing and accessibility.
• Best fit: you're thinking, “Let's fix the site properly,” rather than just needing design files.

A couple of sleeper picks

Grand Studio is excellent if this is actually a more complicated digital product disguised as a marketing site. They're much more product/strategy oriented, so I'd only bring them in if there's meaningful complexity.

Flamingo Agency is worth considering for a smaller-budget, faster-moving engagement, particularly for a straightforward marketing/WordPress site.

And Toimi explicitly advertises a “quick start” format with a UX audit + recommendations in 1–2 weeks followed by fast screen/interface adjustments, which is unusually close to the engagement you're describing. Toimi

Who I'd actually call

If it were my project, I'd send the same brief to ArtVersion, UX 4Sight, Solid Digital, and Toimi and see what they come back with.

I'd frame it very specifically:

Phase 1: 1–2 week UX audit
Analytics/behavior review + heuristic review + competitive review + prioritized findings

Phase 2: UI refresh
Homepage + 2–4 highest-value templates, responsive design, component/design system direction

Deliverable: prioritized recommendations plus high-fidelity designs that our existing dev team can implement.

That framing should prevent agencies from immediately turning this into a giant “website redesign” proposal.

My ranking for your stated need:
ArtVersion → UX 4Sight → Toimi → Solid Digital → Sandstorm.

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is, roughly how many pages, your target audience, and whether you have an in-house developer, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd interview and what I’d expect each one to charge.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d favor a specialist that can move quickly from heuristic/analytics review → prioritized recommendations → redesigned key pages, rather than a big agency that wants to turn it into a 6-month website rebuild.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

My top picks

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strong fit if the main problem is usability, conversion friction, information architecture, and UI quality.
• They specifically offer UX audits, usability testing, research, wireframes, responsive web design, and UI design.
• I'd talk to them if you want an evidence-driven audit before touching the visual design. UX Planet
• Solid Digital — my pick for B2B marketing sites

• Particularly interesting if you're a B2B/SaaS/tech company.
• They combine UX/UI with website strategy, development, SEO and ongoing digital marketing, so the refresh can stay connected to pipeline/conversion goals rather than becoming purely cosmetic.
• Good option if you want the same team to actually implement the refresh. Clutch
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the site also needs to feel more premium

• Nice intersection of brand + UX/UI + web development.
• I'd consider them if the current site is functional but looks dated, generic, or doesn't communicate your positioning well.
• They have been operating in Chicago since 1999 and explicitly combine strategy, visual design, UI/UX and development. UX Planet
• Sandstorm Design — best research-heavy option

• Stronger choice if you actually want to understand why users aren't doing what you want them to do, rather than just getting a visual critique.
• Their process emphasizes usability studies, research, testing, IA/navigation and UX strategy. UX Planet
• Probably more agency than you need if this is literally a 1–2 week sprint.
• Clique Studios — best if this could turn into a larger redesign

• They cover UX, content strategy, information architecture, UI, accessibility, brand and engineering.
• I'd put them on the list if the "quick refresh" might actually expose a need for a broader site transformation.

One wildcard I'd seriously consider

Wojo Design looks interesting for a smaller, more hands-on engagement. Their services include UX/UI, wireframing/prototyping, website design, design systems and conversion-oriented redesigns. That could be a better fit if you want senior people doing the work rather than being handed off to a large agency team.

And VA Designs is worth a look specifically because they explicitly market UX audits + competitor analysis + user journeys + analytics/heatmaps + wireframes/prototypes + CRO—which is unusually close to the exact engagement you're describing. VA Designs

What I'd do

I'd actually get 3 proposals, not 10:

I'd ask each of them for a fixed-scope 1–2 week UX/UI sprint, rather than asking for a "website redesign proposal."

The deliverables I'd request are:

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/heatmap review
• Competitor teardown
• Mobile UX review
• Top 5–10 conversion/friction issues, ranked by impact
• Recommended changes to navigation/IA
• Homepage + 1–2 key landing-page redesigns
• High-fidelity Figma designs
• Design-system/UI recommendations
• Implementation roadmap with "do now / later" priorities

That makes it much easier to compare agencies—and prevents them from immediately selling you a $50k–$150k website rebuild. For context, current Chicago agency listings put Orbit Media at $50k+ minimum projects, while smaller firms can be substantially more accessible. Clutch

If you tell me your company/site URL and roughly whether you're B2B SaaS, professional services, ecommerce, etc., I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and tell you what I'd ask each one to do.

I'd ask each of them for a fixed-scope 1–2 week UX/UI sprint, rather than asking for a "website redesign proposal."

The deliverables I'd request are:

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/heatmap review
• Competitor teardown
• Mobile UX review
• Top 5–10 conversion/friction issues, ranked by impact
• Recommended changes to navigation/IA
• Homepage + 1–2 key landing-page redesigns
• High-fidelity Figma designs
• Design-system/UI recommendations
• Implementation roadmap with "do now / later" priorities

That makes it much easier to compare agencies—and prevents them from immediately selling you a $50k–$150k website rebuild. For context, current Chicago agency listings put Orbit Media at $50k+ minimum projects, while smaller firms can be substantially more accessible.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d favor a team that can diagnose conversion/usability issues quickly and then actually redesign the key pages—not a giant digital-transformation consultancy.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Solid Digital — my first call for a B2B marketing site

• Strong fit if this is SaaS, tech, professional services, healthcare, or another B2B business.
• They combine UX discovery, wireframes/UI, web development, and ongoing digital marketing rather than treating UX as an isolated exercise. UX Planet
• Best for: “Audit the site, tell us what is hurting conversion, redesign the important stuff, and help us ship it.”
• UX 4Sight — best if you want a real UX audit

• This would be my pick if you want the first phase to be rigorous: usability review, user research, competitive analysis, task flows, wireframes, etc.
• They explicitly offer UX audits, usability testing, responsive web design, and website redesign, and they're Chicago-based. UX4Sight
• Best for: “We don't want someone to just make the site prettier; we want to know what's actually wrong first.”
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for a visual/brand refresh

• Particularly interesting if the current site is functionally okay but looks dated, generic, or inconsistent with the brand.
• They combine brand strategy, UI/UX, visual design and web development under one roof. UX Planet
• Best for: “Make this feel substantially more premium while improving the UX.”
• Sandstorm Design — best research-led option

• Established Chicago UX/digital-experience shop with a strong research/testing orientation.
• They emphasize usability studies, prototype testing, information architecture, navigation, messaging and visual design. Expertise
• Best for: a more substantial UX problem where you want evidence behind the recommendations.
• Marcel Digital — best if conversion/analytics matter heavily

• Their Chicago team combines UX/usability with CRO, analytics, SEO, development and digital marketing.
• Their UX process specifically incorporates data and implementation rather than delivering a design report and walking away. Marcel Digital
• Best for: “We need more leads/demos/pipeline from the existing traffic.”

The three I'd actually talk to

If I were running the project, I'd send the same brief to:

• Solid Digital — for the strongest overall marketing-site redesign fit.
• UX 4Sight — for the strongest UX-audit/research angle.
• ArtVersion — for the strongest UX + visual/brand refresh combination.

I'd also consider Orbit Media if the primary KPI is conversion. Their Chicago UX-audit process explicitly looks at analytics, heatmaps/session data, navigation, CTAs, forms, mobile, accessibility and performance, followed by prioritized recommendations. Orbit Media Studios

One important distinction

I'd not frame the project as “redesign our website.”

I'd ask for a 2–3 week rapid UX audit + prioritized UI refresh, with deliverables like:

• heuristic/conversion audit
• analytics + behavior review
• competitor/peer review
• prioritized list of UX problems
• homepage + 1–3 key templates redesigned
• mobile UI refresh
• updated typography/color/component direction
• annotated Figma
• implementation-ready specs
• a prioritized backlog of remaining changes

That structure should keep an agency from turning a relatively focused refresh into a 4–6 month website-rebuild project.

If you give me your URL, what your company sells, and roughly what you want to spend ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are genuinely appropriate, including who I'd contact and what I'd ask each one to quote.

• heuristic/conversion audit
• analytics + behavior review
• competitor/peer review
• prioritized list of UX problems
• homepage + 1–3 key templates redesigned
• mobile UI refresh
• updated typography/color/component direction
• annotated Figma
• implementation-ready specs
• a prioritized backlog of remaining changes

That structure should keep an agency from turning a relatively focused refresh into a 4–6 month website-rebuild project.

If you give me your URL, what your company sells, and roughly what you want to spend ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are genuinely appropriate, including who I'd contact and what I'd ask each one to quote.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid agencies that primarily do giant digital-transformation projects. You want a team that can quickly diagnose the current experience, identify conversion friction, and then actually redesign the highest-impact pages.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — probably my first call

• Very directly aligned with your ask: UX audits, usability testing, UX/UI design, responsive web design, and conversion-oriented redesigns.
• More UX-specialist than traditional marketing agency.
• Good choice if you want “tell us what's wrong, then fix the important stuff” rather than a massive rebrand.
• Chicago Loop.
• Solid Digital — best if this is a B2B marketing site

• Strong combination of UX/UI, website redesign, branding, development and marketing.
• Particularly interesting if the refresh needs to improve lead generation, positioning, conversion paths and the actual website build, not just the visual layer.
• Chicago office downtown.
• Marcel Digital — best for a data/CRO-driven approach

• Their UX practice is explicitly tied to analytics, conversion optimization and measurable business outcomes. Marcel Digital
• I'd favor them if you have decent GA4/HubSpot data and want the audit to answer “where are users dropping off and what should we change?”
• Especially compelling for B2B/enterprise sites.
• Sandstorm Design — best if UX research matters

• A more established UX/digital-experience shop with a research-driven approach, including usability studies and testing.
• I'd consider them if your site serves a complicated audience or has significant information architecture/content problems.
• Probably more process than you'd need for a simple visual refresh.
• Clique Studios — best if you may turn the refresh into a bigger redesign

• Their offering spans strategy, UX/design, content, development and marketing.
• Good choice if you're thinking “audit now, potentially redesign/rebuild the whole site afterward.”
• I'd expect a more substantial engagement than a lightweight two-week audit/refresh.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for brand + visual polish

• Particularly worth talking to if the UX is basically sound but the site feels dated, inconsistent, or visually behind the brand.
• They combine brand strategy, visual design, UI/UX and web development.

The three I'd actually interview

If it were my project, I'd send the same brief to:

UX 4Sight → Solid Digital → Marcel Digital

And I'd frame it as:

Phase 1: 1–2 week UX/CRO audit
Phase 2: redesign 3–5 highest-impact pages in Figma
Phase 3: optional implementation

That structure makes it much easier to compare agencies and prevents the classic agency response of turning a relatively focused refresh into a $100k+ website redesign.

One other interesting option is IDE Interactive, Inc. if your marketing site has unusually complicated functionality/integrations; they're more of an experience-design + engineering shop.

If you give me your website URL, approximate budget, and whether you're B2B/B2C, I can do something more useful: review the actual site and rank 5 Chicago agencies specifically for your situation, including who I'd contact, likely project fit, and what I'd ask each one to quote.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid agencies whose strength is primarily big, from-scratch product builds. You want a team that can quickly diagnose conversion/UX issues, establish a visual direction, and get into Figma and implementation without turning it into a 6-month redesign.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — best fit for the actual UX audit

• Particularly compelling because they explicitly offer UX audits, usability testing, UX/UI design, responsive web design, and design validation.
• I’d talk to them if you want a rigorous audit first and then a targeted refresh rather than immediately jumping into a full redesign.
• Chicago Loop location. UX Planet
• Orbit Media Studios — best for marketing-site performance + UX

• Probably my first call if this is a B2B marketing site and the refresh needs to improve conversion, messaging, SEO, and UX together.
• They're unusually focused on websites as business/growth assets rather than just visual design. Current Clutch data lists web design, SEO, development and conversion optimization as core services, with a 5.0 rating across 36 reviews. Clutch Clutch
• They are likely more appropriate if the audit leads directly into implementation.
• Sandstorm Design — best for research-heavy UX

• Strong choice if your site has complicated audiences, lots of content, enterprise stakeholders, or meaningful usability problems.
• Their approach emphasizes research, usability testing, IA/navigation and then visual design. UX Planet
• I'd choose them over a conventional web agency if the UX problems are genuinely substantial.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the visual refresh matters as much as UX

• Nice middle ground between brand, UI/UX and website design/development.
• Particularly worth considering if your current site feels dated visually and you want the refresh to elevate the brand rather than simply optimize existing pages.
• Solid Digital — good B2B/full-site option

• Stronger choice if you expect the project to become a broader website redesign.
• Their Chicago offering spans strategy, IA/wireframes, UX/UI, design systems, web development and SEO, and they specifically position themselves around B2B marketing websites. Clutch
• Clique Studios — best if you want a larger strategic partner

• More substantial agency than I'd choose for a simple refresh, but interesting if the marketing site is tied closely to content strategy, brand, digital transformation or a larger web platform.
• They combine strategy, UX, content, design, engineering and marketing.

My ranking for your specific brief

There are also some smaller specialists worth investigating—Fuzzy Math in particular shows up repeatedly in current Chicago UX research, along with ArtVersion, UX 4Sight, Sandstorm and Codal. UX Planet

What I'd actually do

I'd send the same tightly scoped brief to 3 agencies:

• Orbit Media — ask for a conversion-oriented audit + refresh.
• UX 4Sight — ask for a research/heuristic-led audit + prioritized UI recommendations.
• ArtVersion — ask for an audit + strong visual/UI refresh concept.

And I'd ask each for a 2–3 week sprint, not a generic "website redesign."

The deliverable I'd want is roughly:

Week 1: heuristic UX audit + analytics review + competitive review
Week 2: prioritized recommendations + information architecture/interaction fixes + new visual direction
Week 3: Figma refresh of the highest-value pages/components + implementation plan

That gives you something concrete to compare—and prevents an agency from responding with a $100k+ proposal to "redesign the website."

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, ecommerce, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you need them to actually implement the changes, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd interview and what I'd ask each one.

That gives you something concrete to compare—and prevents an agency from responding with a $100k+ proposal to "redesign the website."

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, ecommerce, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you need them to actually implement the changes, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd interview and what I'd ask each one.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Design Henge - 2259 W Rosemont Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward a smaller, senior team that can diagnose conversion/UX issues quickly and then actually redesign the important pages—not a giant agency that turns a 2-week refresh into a 4-month transformation.

I’d shortlist these in Chicago:

My top 5

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strongest fit if the first question is “What is wrong with the experience, and what should we change?”
• They explicitly do UX audits, usability testing, research, responsive web design, UI, and design validation.
• Good choice if you want an evidence-based audit before touching the visual design. UX Planet
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best UX + visual refresh combination

• Probably the one I'd call first if your site needs to feel materially more modern, not merely be usability-tested.
• They combine brand strategy, UI/UX, visual design and web development under one roof. UX Planet
• Particularly compelling if the marketing site is B2B and the refresh needs to improve both perception and conversion.
• Marcel Digital — best if conversion/GTM matters

• I'd consider them if this isn't just a design exercise and you care about leads, funnel performance, analytics, SEO and CRO.
• Their UX work is explicitly tied to data and conversion, rather than treating UX as purely aesthetic. Marcel Digital
• Grand Studio — best high-end UX strategy

• Strong option if your site has a complicated product/story and you need someone to rethink the underlying information architecture and user journey.
• More of a strategic design consultancy than a conventional web-design shop. UX Planet
• I'd choose them over a conventional agency if the problem is “our site doesn't explain what we do and who it's for.”
• TXI — best if the marketing site touches a bigger product

• Excellent design/research pedigree, but probably more agency than you need for a straightforward marketing-site refresh.
• Worth talking to if the website needs to connect tightly to the actual product/customer experience. UX Planet

One wildcard: Orbit Media

orbitmedia.com would be high on my list if this is a B2B marketing site where SEO, content, conversion and the website all need to work together. They say they've designed 1,000+ websites and explicitly combine UX/content strategy, conversion optimization, design and development. Orbit Media Studios

That's a different proposition from a pure UX studio, but potentially a better one if your real goal is pipeline rather than prettier screens.

How I'd narrow it down

For a rapid engagement specifically, I'd actually ask each firm for a fixed-scope 1–2 week audit, followed by a 2–4 week design sprint rather than asking for a generic “website redesign proposal.”

The deliverable I'd want is something like:

• Heuristic + competitive audit
• Analytics/heatmap review, if you have the data
• Top 10–15 UX/conversion issues ranked by impact
• Recommended information architecture / page hierarchy
• Homepage + 1–2 key landing-page redesigns
• New visual/UI direction
• Reusable components/design system
• Figma designs + developer-ready specs
• Optional implementation estimate

That lets you see how good they actually are before committing to a full redesign.

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you want them to actually implement the refresh, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies I'd personally put into an RFP, including likely budget/engagement fit.

The deliverable I'd want is something like:

• Heuristic + competitive audit
• Analytics/heatmap review, if you have the data
• Top 10–15 UX/conversion issues ranked by impact
• Recommended information architecture / page hierarchy
• Homepage + 1–2 key landing-page redesigns
• New visual/UI direction
• Reusable components/design system
• Figma designs + developer-ready specs
• Optional implementation estimate

That lets you see how good they actually are before committing to a full redesign.

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you want them to actually implement the refresh, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies I'd personally put into an RFP, including likely budget/engagement fit.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Design Henge - 2259 W Rosemont Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a small, senior team that can diagnose the site quickly and then actually redesign the highest-impact pages—not a giant agency that wants to turn it into a six-month transformation.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — my first call for a true UX audit

• Strong fit if you want evidence-based UX work first, followed by UI improvements.
• They explicitly offer UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design and the end-to-end experience, along with research/testing. UX Planet
• Best for: “Tell us what's wrong, prioritize it, then fix the important stuff.”
• Watch-out: I'd make sure they can move quickly enough on the visual refresh rather than over-indexing on research.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — strongest UX + visual/design combination

• This is probably the best all-around match if your site needs to feel substantially more modern while retaining strategic UX thinking.
• They combine UX research, UI/UX, brand/design and web development rather than treating them as separate handoffs. UX Planet
• Best for: B2B/enterprise marketing sites where brand credibility and visual polish matter.
• My take: I'd put them near the top of the RFP.
• Marcel Digital — best if conversion/marketing performance is the priority

• Particularly interesting if by “UX audit” you really mean “figure out why the site isn't generating enough leads.”
• Their Chicago team combines UX/usability with CRO, analytics, SEO and web development, and says its UX work is data-driven. Marcel Digital
• Best for: B2B lead-gen sites where you care about conversion rate, qualified leads and measurable outcomes.
• Less of a pure design boutique than the first two.
• Grand Studio — best for deeper strategic UX

• Excellent option if the audit needs to uncover bigger problems with positioning, information architecture, customer journeys or product/service complexity.
• They're a Chicago strategic digital product/design consultancy with research, UX/UI, prototyping and product strategy capabilities.
• Best for: complicated offerings, enterprise audiences, or a site where you suspect the problem is deeper than aesthetics.
• Probably more agency than you need if this is literally a 2–4 week refresh.
• Intechnic Corporation — strong enterprise UX option

• Especially compelling for healthcare, pharma, life sciences and other complex/regulated businesses.
• They combine UX research, UX/UI, information architecture, web design and development.
• Best for: a sophisticated marketing site with lots of content, stakeholders or regulatory constraints.
• Highland — if this might become a larger digital transformation

• They do research → strategy → UX/UI → prototyping → development.
• Best for: situations where the marketing site is only the visible symptom and you may ultimately need to rethink the broader digital experience.
• Not my first choice for a narrowly scoped, rapid refresh.

If it were my project

I'd actually talk to three:

That gives you three genuinely different approaches rather than getting five proposals that all sound identical.

There are also some smaller/faster Chicago options worth considering. CueCamp, for example, explicitly offers a research-driven website UX audit and combines UX with branding, web design and marketing. CueCamp Legible Studio is another interesting small-studio option: they currently advertise a written website audit within 48 hours and focus heavily on conversion-oriented website design. Legible Studio Those could be attractive if “rapid” really means days/weeks rather than months.

What I'd ask them to quote

I wouldn't ask for a generic “website redesign.” I'd give them a tightly defined first phase:

Phase 1 — 1–2 week UX audit

• Heuristic review
• Analytics/session-recording review, if available
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Mobile UX
• Conversion/CTA analysis
• Messaging/content hierarchy
• Competitive review
• Accessibility basics
• 10–20 prioritized findings, ranked by impact/effort

Phase 2 — 2–4 week UI refresh

• New visual direction
• Homepage redesign
• One representative interior page
• Core components/design system
• Mobile designs
• Updated typography/color/spacing/button/form system
• Developer-ready Figma

Then, optionally, Phase 3: implementation.

That structure makes it much easier to compare agencies and prevents someone from charging you $100k+ to “discover” that your hero section needs a better CTA.

One important distinction: if you send me your website URL, I can do a preliminary UX/UI teardown myself and tell you what I think actually needs fixing, what kind of agency you need, and which of these Chicago firms I'd approach first. That would also let me narrow this from a generic Chicago shortlist to 2–3 agencies that fit your specific site.

• Heuristic review
• Analytics/session-recording review, if available
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Mobile UX
• Conversion/CTA analysis
• Messaging/content hierarchy
• Competitive review
• Accessibility basics
• 10–20 prioritized findings, ranked by impact/effort

Phase 2 — 2–4 week UI refresh

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• 11hundred - 1210 W Granville Ave, Chicago, IL 60660, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Beyond Design, Inc. - 3759 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d favor a studio that can move from diagnosis → prioritized recommendations → high-fidelity redesign quickly, rather than a large agency that wants to turn it into a six-month website transformation.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — my first call for a true UX audit

• Very UX/UI-focused rather than primarily a marketing agency.
• Offers UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design and the end-to-end experience, plus research/testing.
• Best if: you want an expert to tell you what's wrong and why, then refresh the interface without unnecessarily rebuilding everything.
• Orbit Media Studios — best for a marketing/conversion site

• Chicago-based and very focused on websites as revenue/lead-generation tools.
• Their process combines UX, content, conversion optimization, SEO, analytics and visual design; they say they've designed 1,000+ websites. Orbit Media Studios
• Best if: the audit needs to answer "why aren't we converting?" rather than simply "does this look modern?"
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for a stronger visual/brand refresh

• Combines brand, UI/UX, web design and development, with UX research and usability testing.
• Best if: your current site is functional but visually dated and you want a noticeably more sophisticated brand expression.
• Clique Studios — best if the refresh could turn into a larger site project

• Strong combination of UX research, content strategy, information architecture, usability testing, accessibility and web/UI design.
• Best if: you want the option to go from a quick audit into a broader redesign with the same team.
• Sandstorm Design — best research-heavy option

• Chicago UX/digital-experience shop with a strong research and usability-testing orientation, paired with visual design and engineering.
• Best if: you have a complex B2B/enterprise audience and want more evidence behind the redesign decisions.
• Grand Studio — excellent, but probably more than you need

• Strong strategic UX research, product strategy, UX/UI and design systems.
• Best if: this marketing site is actually part of a more complicated digital product/customer journey.

One wildcard I'd seriously consider

VA Designs looks unusually aligned with the specific brief you gave: they explicitly offer UX audits, competitor analysis, user-journey analysis, analytics/heatmap insights, wireframes/prototypes and conversion-focused UI/web design. They also describe themselves as Chicago-based and emphasize Webflow. VA Designs

If you want "audit us next week, redesign the important screens, and let's get this shipped", I'd put them on the shortlist.

How I'd rank them for your project

My move: I'd talk to UX 4Sight, Orbit, and VA Designs first. Give all three the exact same brief: "We don't want a wholesale rebuild yet. We want a 1–2 week UX audit, prioritized recommendations, and a focused UI refresh of the highest-impact pages, with implementation-ready Figma." That should make their proposals much easier to compare.

One other interesting Chicago option is Chicago Brand Studio if you're looking for something genuinely lightweight: they currently advertise a Website Refresh specifically for an existing site, starting at $2,000+ with a 1–2 week timeline. Chicago Brand Studio

If you tell me what kind of company/site you have (B2B SaaS, services, startup, ecommerce, etc.), your approximate budget, and whether you're on Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/etc., I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually interview and what I'd expect each to charge.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Design Henge - 2259 W Rosemont Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a team that can diagnose quickly, make strong visual decisions, and ship—not a giant agency that wants to turn this into a 4-month transformation.

Based on the current Chicago landscape, these would be my shortlist:

My top 5

• UX 4Sight — Best pure UX choice. They explicitly do UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design, and the end-to-end experience, plus UX research/testing. Clutch currently lists them as 100% UX/UI-focused. Clutch

I'd call them if: you suspect the site has fundamental UX/conversion problems, not just dated visuals.

• Marcel Digital — Best for a marketing/growth-oriented site. They combine UX, information architecture, design, development, CRO, SEO, analytics, and digital marketing. That's attractive if the refresh needs to translate into more leads rather than simply looking nicer. Clutch

I'd call them if: your site is B2B and you care heavily about conversion, pipeline, SEO, and measurement.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — Best blend of brand + UX/UI. They're a Chicago creative/design consultancy with UX research, usability testing, UI/UX, web design and development. Expertise

I'd call them if: the site feels visually stale and you want the refresh to feel like a meaningful brand upgrade.

• Grand Studio — Best high-end strategic UX option. They're particularly strong when you need research, synthesis, UX strategy and high-fidelity UI rather than someone simply redesigning screens.

I'd call them if: there's significant ambiguity about positioning, audience, information architecture, or the story the site needs to tell.

• Intechnic Corporation — Best for a more rigorous UX audit. Clutch currently ranks Intechnic #1 among its Chicago UX agencies, with a 100% UX/UI service focus. Clutch

I'd call them if: this is a substantial B2B/enterprise site and you want research-backed recommendations rather than a primarily aesthetic refresh.

One wildcard: Orbit Media

Highland isn't actually the one I'd pick for this particular brief. Instead, I'd seriously consider Orbit Media Studios. Their specialty is much closer to what you've described: website UX audits explicitly focused on identifying where users get stuck or drop off and prioritizing fixes for conversion. They're also highly rated for Chicago web design. Orbit Media Studios Clutch

If your brief is literally:

"Spend 1–2 weeks auditing our current marketing site, give us a prioritized UX/CRO teardown, then refresh the highest-impact pages in Figma and help us implement them."

Orbit + UX 4Sight + Marcel would be the three I'd interview first.

How I'd choose between them

One thing I'd not do is ask for a generic "website redesign." I'd ask each agency for a fixed-scope UX audit sprint followed by a UI refresh sprint. That makes it much easier to compare agencies and prevents them from immediately expanding the engagement into strategy, branding, content, development, etc.

A reasonable first phase in Chicago appears to be roughly $7k–$15k for a 2–3 week discovery/audit sprint, according to current Clutch pricing data; full redesigns are considerably more. Clutch

If you tell me what your company/site does, approximate company size, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/etc.), and whether the main goal is leads, brand perception, or conversion, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to, including what I'd ask each one to quote.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Design Henge - 2259 W Rosemont Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid a giant “full website transformation” agency unless you actually need strategy, content, development, etc. You want a team that can get into the existing site quickly, identify conversion/usability problems, and turn the findings into polished screens.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

My top picks

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Very directly aligned with what you described: UX/UI, audits, usability, accessibility, research and design validation.
• I’d talk to them if the primary question is “What is wrong with this experience, and how should we fix it?”
• Their positioning is much more UX-led than a conventional web-design shop. UX Planet
• Sandstorm Design — best research + redesign combination

• Chicago-based and particularly strong in research-driven digital experience work.
• Good choice if you want the audit to have some rigor behind it rather than simply getting a designer's subjective critique.
• They combine UX research, strategy, visual design and implementation. UX Planet
• Orbit Media Studios — best marketing-site specialist

• This is probably the one I'd put highest on the list if the site is primarily there to generate leads/demos/pipeline.
• Their approach combines UX, information architecture, conversion-oriented design, content and web development rather than treating UI as an isolated exercise.
• They explicitly focus on websites producing measurable business outcomes.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if visual polish/brand matters

• Stronger option if “UI refresh” means you want the site to feel substantially more modern and premium, not merely more usable.
• They combine branding, UX/UI, research and in-house development, so they can bridge the gap between brand and experience.
• Marcel Digital — best for B2B + conversion/data

• I'd shortlist them for a B2B marketing site where analytics, CRO, SEO and measurable conversion improvement matter as much as the visual redesign.
• Their Chicago team explicitly combines UX/usability with development and data-driven marketing. Marcel Digital
• Grand Studio — best for a more sophisticated UX problem

• Excellent-looking fit if the marketing site is attached to a complicated product, enterprise offering, or technically complex business.
• They're more of a strategic UX/product-design consultancy than a conventional marketing-web agency, so I'd use them if the underlying information architecture or positioning is genuinely difficult.

If speed is the priority

I'd actually approach three different types rather than six agencies:

There's also Toimi, which is unusually explicit about a 1–2 week UX audit and rapid UI work, so I'd consider them if “rapid” really means we need findings next week, not next month. Toimi

What I'd ask for

I wouldn't send these agencies a generic “we need a website redesign” brief.

I'd say something more like:

Phase 1 — 1–2 week UX audit: heuristic review, analytics review, key user journeys, mobile/desktop assessment, IA/navigation, messaging hierarchy, accessibility and conversion friction. Deliver a prioritized list of issues and recommended changes.

Phase 2 — UI refresh: redesign homepage + 2–4 highest-value templates/pages, establish updated visual system/components, responsive designs and developer-ready specs.

Optional Phase 3 — implementation: work with our existing development team or provide development support.

That structure makes it much easier to compare proposals and prevents the agency from turning a relatively contained refresh into a six-month redesign project.

If it were my site, I'd interview Orbit, UX 4Sight, and ArtVersion first. I'd pick Orbit if growth/conversion is the primary objective, UX 4Sight if the UX itself is the problem, and ArtVersion if the site is fundamentally functional but looks/feels behind the brand.

If you tell me what your company does, roughly how big the site is, your CMS (Webflow/WordPress/etc.), and your target budget, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd expect each to charge/take time-wise.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Beyond Design, Inc. - 3759 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a small, senior UX/web team rather than a giant digital transformation consultancy. You probably want someone who can diagnose the site quickly, prioritize the highest-impact issues, then turn those findings into a refreshed visual system and actual page designs.

Based on the Chicago firms I found, I’d shortlist these:

My top 5

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

This is probably where I’d start if the audit is the important part. They specifically offer UX/UI design, UX audits, usability/accessibility evaluation, research, and testing. Their positioning is much closer to “figure out what is wrong and fix the experience” than generic web development. UX Planet

Best for: B2B/SaaS or complex marketing sites where navigation, information architecture, conversion paths, and usability need attention.

2. Sandstorm Design — best research + design combination

Sandstorm is a long-established Chicago UX/digital experience shop with a research-driven approach. They combine UX research, usability testing, information architecture, messaging, visual design, and engineering. UX Planet

Best for: A more rigorous engagement where you want the redesign grounded in actual user evidence rather than someone's subjective design taste.

3. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the UI/brand refresh matters equally

ArtVersion is particularly interesting if the site feels dated visually as well as being UX-problematic. They combine branding, web design, UX/UI, research, and development, so you can potentially get the audit and refreshed design from the same team. UX Planet

Best for: “Our website works, but it doesn't look or feel like the company we are today.”

4. Grand Studio — best high-end UX/product thinking

Grand Studio is more of a strategic digital-product consultancy. They do qualitative research, UX/UI, prototyping, design systems, and product strategy.

Best for: A sophisticated company/site where the underlying positioning, customer journeys, or information architecture need serious thought—not just a cosmetic refresh.

5. IDE Interactive, Inc. — best design + implementation option

IDE combines experience design with development, including websites and digital products. That makes them attractive if you don't just want Figma files—you want someone capable of actually implementing the refresh.

Best for: “Audit it, redesign the important pages, and help us ship it.”

If you want this done fast

I'd actually structure the engagement as a 2–3 week UX/UI sprint, rather than asking an agency for a traditional “website redesign.”

Something like:

• Days 1–3: heuristic UX audit, analytics review, competitor/peer review
• Days 4–5: prioritized findings + recommendations
• Week 2: redesign homepage + 1–2 highest-value templates
• Week 3: visual system, responsive states, design handoff, implementation recommendations

The deliverable I'd want is not a 60-page audit deck. I'd ask for:

“Identify the 10–15 highest-impact UX/conversion problems, show us exactly how you'd fix them, and produce a refreshed homepage and key-page UI that establishes the new design direction.”

That will tell you very quickly which agency actually has taste and strategic judgment.

One more option for a very lean engagement

Flamingo Agency is worth considering if you're a smaller company and don't need a heavyweight UX consultancy. They're a Chicago web/design/marketing shop with a more hands-on orientation toward websites, positioning, content, and implementation.

There are also some smaller specialists explicitly offering rapid audits. VA Designs, for example, is Chicago-based and specifically advertises UX audits, competitor analysis, user journeys, wireframes/prototypes, UI/UX design, CRO, accessibility, and mobile optimization. VA Designs Toimi advertises UX audits/recommendations in 1–2 weeks, followed by UI redesign and testing. Toimi

Who I'd contact first

If it were my project, I'd send the same brief to:

UX 4Sight → Sandstorm → ArtVersion → Grand Studio

Then compare their responses.

The key question I'd ask all four is:

“Can you do a fixed-scope UX audit and UI refresh sprint in 2–3 weeks, with the audit directly informing redesigned Figma screens rather than producing a standalone research report?”

That should separate the agencies that are genuinely set up for a rapid refresh from the ones that will try to turn this into a 3–6 month website redesign.

If you tell me your company/site URL, approximate company size, and whether you're B2B SaaS / services / ecommerce / etc., I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually invite to pitch, including rough budget expectations and what I'd ask each one to quote.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid agencies that primarily do giant digital transformations. You want a team that can diagnose quickly, make high-confidence design changes, and ideally hand off production-ready work.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strongest fit if the first priority is figuring out what’s wrong with the current experience rather than immediately redesigning everything.
• They specifically offer UX audits, usability/accessibility evaluation, research and usability testing, alongside UI design. UX Planet
• I'd ask them for a 1–2 week audit → prioritized recommendations → key-page UI refresh rather than a full redesign.
• Sandstorm Design — best research + design combination

• Particularly compelling if your marketing site has a meaningful conversion funnel and you want the refresh grounded in actual user behavior.
• Their approach combines UX research, usability testing, information architecture, messaging and visual design. Clutch
• Probably my pick for a more substantial B2B/enterprise marketing site.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the visual refresh matters a lot

• Good middle ground between brand/visual design and UX.
• They combine UX research, UI/UX, web design and development, so there's less risk of getting a beautiful Figma file that doesn't translate well into the actual site. UX Planet
• I'd consider them if the site feels dated visually as much as it feels confusing.
• Orbit Media Studios — best marketing/conversion orientation

• Worth talking to if the underlying goal is more leads/pipeline, not merely making the site prettier.
• They emphasize conversion-focused UX, information architecture, messaging, content and measurable business outcomes. Clutch
• Highland — best for a more complex organization

• I'd bring them in if this is a large B2B/enterprise site with complicated audiences, integrations or a broader digital-product roadmap.
• They're more of a digital product/innovation consultancy than a quick website-refresh shop, so they may be more agency than you need for a simple refresh. Clutch

My ranking for your exact brief

There are also smaller/faster Chicago options. For example, VA Designs explicitly packages UX research/audits, competitor analysis, analytics/heatmaps, wireframes, UI/UX and CRO, while Toimi advertises a "quick start" format with a UX audit and recommendations in 1–2 weeks followed by fast screen/logic improvements. VA Designs Toimi

If I were buying this myself, I'd ask 3 firms for the same proposal: UX 4Sight, Sandstorm, and ArtVersion. Give them the URL and ask for a fixed-scope 10-business-day audit, followed by a refresh of the homepage + 1–2 highest-value conversion pages. That will tell you very quickly which team actually understands the problem versus which one just wants to sell you a redesign.

If you tell me what your company/site does and roughly how big the site is (B2B SaaS, services, ecommerce, etc.), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and give you a rough budget/timeline for each.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Fuzzy Math - 811 W Evergreen Ave #305, Chicago, IL 60642, United States
• Glantz Design - 808 Roslyn Terrace, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Bounteous - 4115 N Ravenswood Ave #101, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Mekanism Chicago - 950 W Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d actually avoid the biggest “digital transformation” firms unless you need a full rebuild. You want a team that can quickly diagnose conversion/UX problems, establish a sharper visual direction, and turn that into production-ready pages.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — my first call for a true UX audit

• Strong fit if you want the engagement to start with evidence rather than aesthetics.
• They specifically offer UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design and the end-to-end experience, plus research/testing. UX Planet
• I'd ask them for a 1–2 week audit sprint followed by a small number of redesigned key pages.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — probably the best fit if “refresh” is as important as “audit”

• This is the one I'd look at if your marketing site needs to feel more premium, modern, credible, and on-brand, not merely more usable.
• They combine branding, UI/UX, web design and development, so there's less risk of getting a beautiful Figma file that nobody implements. UX Planet
• Particularly attractive for a B2B/corporate marketing site.
• Fuzzy Math — best if the site has genuinely complex UX problems

• Probably the strongest pure UX/design shop on this list.
• They're research-heavy and particularly good with complex B2B/enterprise experiences, design systems and information architecture. Their own Chicago practice emphasizes UX research, product strategy and UI/UX design. Fuzzy Math Clutch
• Caveat: for a relatively straightforward marketing site, they may be more process and investment than you need. One recent Chicago agency comparison similarly characterizes them as a better fit for complex enterprise UX than a lightweight visual refresh. UX Planet
• Glantz Design — interesting smaller-agency option

• Worth talking to if you want something more boutique and brand + UX + web oriented.
• They're in Evanston rather than the city, but very much a Chicago-area option.
• I'd put them on the shortlist if the site's positioning/messaging and visual identity need attention alongside the UX.
• Bounteous — only if this is a large-scale marketing transformation

• They can cover UX, web, analytics, marketing technology and implementation under one roof.
• But for a rapid audit/UI refresh, I'd probably consider them too large unless you're dealing with a complicated enterprise web ecosystem.

One other agency I'd seriously consider: Orbit Media

orbitmedia.com is unusually well matched to a marketing-site problem rather than a product-design problem.

They explicitly offer UX audits that combine analytics, heatmaps/session data, UX review, conversion analysis, accessibility, mobile, forms, CTAs, etc. Orbit Media Studios Their broader practice also combines UX, content, SEO, CRO, design and development. Orbit Media Studios

So if your real objective is:

“Make our marketing site easier to understand, look significantly better, and generate more qualified leads.”

I'd put Orbit very high on the list.

How I'd rank them for your specific brief

There are also a number of other Chicago firms worth considering; recent 2026 comparisons consistently put Fuzzy Math, UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, Codal and Sandstorm among the stronger local UX options. UX Planet Eleken

What I'd actually buy

Rather than asking agencies for a generic “website redesign,” I'd send a very constrained brief:

Phase 1 — 5–10 business days

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/CRO review
• Mobile review
• Competitive teardown
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Messaging/content hierarchy review
• 5–10 highest-impact issues
• Prioritized recommendations
• Annotated screenshots

Phase 2 — 2–4 weeks

• New visual direction
• Homepage redesign
• 1–2 high-value interior templates
• Mobile states
• Component/style direction
• Developer-ready specs
• Optional implementation

That structure should make it much easier to compare agencies on actual output and speed, rather than who gives you the best agency pitch.

If you tell me your company/site URL, rough budget (e.g. <$15k, $15–30k, $30–75k, $75k+), and whether you're B2B or B2C, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact and tell you exactly why.

There are also a number of other Chicago firms worth considering; recent 2026 comparisons consistently put Fuzzy Math, UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, Codal and Sandstorm among the stronger local UX options. UX Planet Eleken

What I'd actually buy

Rather than asking agencies for a generic “website redesign,” I'd send a very constrained brief:

Phase 1 — 5–10 business days

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/CRO review
• Mobile review
• Competitive teardown
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Messaging/content hierarchy review
• 5–10 highest-impact issues
• Prioritized recommendations
• Annotated screenshots

Phase 2 — 2–4 weeks

• New visual direction
• Homepage redesign
• 1–2 high-value interior templates
• Mobile states
• Component/style direction
• Developer-ready specs
• Optional implementation

That structure should make it much easier to compare agencies on actual output and speed, rather than who gives you the best agency pitch.

If you tell me your company/site URL, rough budget (e.g. <$15k, $15–30k, $30–75k, $75k+), and whether you're B2B or B2C, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact and tell you exactly why.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Digital Marketing - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can move quickly from audit → prioritized recommendations → redesigned key pages, rather than a big “digital transformation” engagement.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strong fit if you want the audit to be genuinely UX-driven rather than “here’s a prettier homepage.”
• They explicitly offer UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design and the end-to-end experience, plus website redesign and conversion-oriented work. UX Planet
• I'd call them if: you suspect the site's information architecture, messaging hierarchy, navigation or conversion flow needs work.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best UX + visual refresh

• Probably my favorite if the ask is “make the site substantially better, but don't turn this into a six-month redesign.”
• They're particularly strong where brand, visual design and UX need to move together; their work spans UX research/UI, web design and development. UX Planet
• I'd call them if: your existing brand is basically right but the website feels dated, generic, cluttered or inconsistent.
• Orbit Media Studios — best if conversion/marketing performance matters

• Strong option for a marketing site because they're not just a design shop: website redesign, UX/UI, conversion optimization, SEO and development are all part of the offering. Clutch
• I'd call them if: the real objective is “more qualified leads / demos / pipeline,” rather than simply improving aesthetics.
• Sandstorm Design — best research-heavy option

• They combine UX research, usability testing, IA/navigation and visual design, with a particularly research-driven approach. UX Planet
• I'd call them if: you have meaningful traffic/users and want the refresh grounded in actual evidence rather than stakeholder opinions.
• Solid Digital — best if you also want the site rebuilt

• Good choice if “UI refresh” is likely to turn into UX → design system → Webflow/WordPress/etc. implementation.
• Their Chicago team positions around website redesign, UI, design systems, branding and development.
• I'd call them if: you want one team to take the recommendations all the way through launch.
• Marcel Digital — best for data/CRO-oriented marketing sites

• Their UX practice is explicitly tied to usability, conversion and digital marketing performance, with UX and development working together. Marcel Digital
• I'd call them if: you have analytics/CRM data and want the audit to identify measurable conversion opportunities.

If it were my project

I'd probably send the same tightly scoped brief to 3 agencies:

• UX 4Sight — establish what is actually wrong.
• ArtVersion — see what a strong UX + visual refresh could look like.
• Orbit Media — see how the work translates into conversion/business outcomes.

That's a useful three-way comparison because you'll get three different philosophies, rather than three agencies all proposing essentially the same redesign.

I'd specifically ask for a 1–2 week audit/design sprint, not a conventional website redesign proposal. The deliverable I'd want is:

• heuristic UX audit
• analytics/behavior review if data is available
• competitor/reference review
• prioritized list of UX problems
• recommended information architecture/navigation changes
• redesigned homepage
• redesign of 1–2 high-value interior/landing pages
• lightweight visual/UI system
• mobile treatment
• implementation recommendations
• a clear distinction between “fix now” vs. “future redesign”

That scope should make it much easier to compare agencies on thinking and taste, rather than getting buried in 40-page proposals.

One interesting wildcard: Clique Studios. They specifically combine UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility, design sprints, web design and development, so they're worth adding if you think this “rapid refresh” could evolve into a larger site redesign. ParallelHQ

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you want just design files or actual implementation, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually interview and what I'd expect each to cost.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Mabbly - 640 N La Salle Dr #540, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Ceramic Supply Chicago - 2480 Delta Ln, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, United States
• C E Anderson & Associates - 175 N Franklin St Unit 410, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Ventures - 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid the giant “digital transformation” firms unless you’re planning a full rebuild. You want a team that can diagnose quickly, make strong design decisions, and actually ship.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — my first call for the UX side

• Chicago-based and specifically focused on UX/UI, usability audits, research, and conversion-oriented web experiences.
• They have case studies showing measurable results from website redesigns, including conversion lifts. Ux4Sight
• Best for: “Tell us what's wrong with the experience, prioritize it, then redesign the important parts.”
• Watch-out: They may be more UX/research-heavy than you need if this is primarily a visual refresh.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — strongest blend of UI + brand + UX

• Chicago agency with a long history in web, branding, UI/UX, and development.
• Particularly interesting if the site needs to feel more premium/modern, not merely more usable.
• Best for: A marketing-site refresh where brand expression and visual polish matter as much as UX. Expertise
• Mabbly — if the site is really a GTM/positioning problem

• They combine positioning, brand, web, UX research, content, and marketing rather than treating the website as an isolated design artifact.
• Best for: B2B companies where the audit needs to answer “Why aren't prospects understanding this and converting?” rather than simply “How should these screens look?”
• They’re also Chicago-based.
• IDE Interactive, Inc. — good lean design + implementation option

• Chicago experience-design/development studio spanning websites, ecommerce, software and interactive experiences.
• Best for: If you want the same team to audit, redesign, and implement rather than throwing designs over the wall to your engineering team.
• VA Designs — interesting if you want a genuinely quick engagement

• They explicitly offer UX audits, competitor analysis, user journeys, analytics/heatmaps, wireframes, prototypes, A/B testing, and UI design.
• Their Chicago positioning is particularly relevant to SaaS/B2B marketing sites. VA Designs
• They also explicitly advertise a fast audit → design workflow, which is closer to what you're describing than a six-month redesign.

One I'd seriously consider: UX 4Sight + your existing dev team

If you already have developers/designers internally, I'd probably not hire an agency to own the whole website.

I'd scope this as a 2–3 week sprint:

• Week 1: heuristic UX audit + analytics review + competitor teardown
• Week 1–2: prioritize 5–10 biggest UX/conversion problems
• Week 2: redesign homepage + 1–2 highest-value templates
• Week 3: responsive UI + design-system updates + developer handoff
• Deliverable: prioritized audit, redesigned screens, component guidance, and a concrete implementation backlog

That gets you much closer to a “make our site materially better now” engagement rather than a traditional agency redesign.

For comparison, Orbit Media is a strong Chicago website strategy/redesign shop, but its published Clutch profile puts typical engagements at $50k+, so I'd consider it if you want a more substantial strategic website project rather than a rapid refresh. Clutch

My top three to talk to: UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and VA Designs. I'd add Mabbly if positioning/messaging/conversion strategy is part of the problem.

If you tell me what kind of company/site you have (e.g. B2B SaaS, fintech, professional services), approximate traffic, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/etc.), and your rough budget, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually interview and tell you what I'd ask each one to quote.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d look for a smaller, senior team that can diagnose conversion/UX issues quickly and then move directly into redesigned key pages—not a giant agency that wants to turn it into a six-month website transformation.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

• Strong fit if you want an actual UX/usability audit first, rather than just a visual redesign.
• They cover usability, accessibility, visual design, UX research/testing, and conversion-oriented UX. UX Planet
• I'd ask them for a 1–2 week audit followed by a focused redesign of the homepage + 1–3 highest-value templates.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the UI/brand refresh matters as much as UX

• Chicago-based and particularly interesting if your site needs to feel more polished, contemporary, and brand-forward.
• They combine UX research, UI/UX, branding, web design, content strategy, and development rather than treating UX and visual design as separate phases. UX Planet
• I'd shortlist them if you're saying, "The site works, but it doesn't look or communicate like the company we are today."
• Sandstorm Design — best research-driven option

• A more established Chicago UX/digital-experience shop.
• Their approach emphasizes research, usability testing, information architecture, navigation, messaging, and then creative/design. UX Planet
• Particularly compelling if your site has a complicated audience, multiple buyer journeys, or significant content/IA problems.
• Grand Studio — best for a more strategic/complex engagement

• Strong UX research + product strategy + UI capabilities.
• I'd consider them if the marketing site is actually exposing a deeper positioning, information-architecture, or customer-journey problem.
• Probably more agency than you need if this is simply "audit it and make the site look/perform better."
• VA Designs — interesting fast-moving alternative

• Their Chicago practice explicitly offers UX audits, competitor analysis, user journeys, analytics/heatmap analysis, wireframes, prototypes, A/B testing, and UI/UX redesign. VA Designs
• Their positioning is specifically conversion-focused web design, which makes them worth talking to for a marketing-site refresh.
• Marcel Digital — best if conversion rate/analytics is the primary objective

• Their Chicago UX team combines UX/usability with development and explicitly uses data to drive implementation and improve digital marketing ROI. Marcel Digital
• I'd put them ahead of a pure design studio if you have meaningful traffic and analytics data and want the audit tied tightly to lead/demo/conversion performance.

Who I'd contact first

If it were my project, I'd probably send the brief to UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and VA Designs.

I'd position the engagement something like:

Phase 1 — Rapid UX audit: 5–10 business days
Heuristic review, analytics review, competitive benchmark, mobile review, messaging/IA review, and prioritized list of conversion/UX issues.

Phase 2 — UI refresh: 2–4 weeks
Redesign homepage + highest-value landing/page templates, establish refreshed visual system, responsive designs, and developer-ready specs.

Optional Phase 3: implementation + measurement.

That structure is important because it prevents the agency from responding with a generic "website redesign" proposal.

One wildcard

If you genuinely want something very fast and lightweight, Legible Studio is worth looking at. They're Chicago-based, explicitly offer a written website audit within 48 hours, and position their work around conversion-focused custom websites. Legible Studio It's a much smaller proposition than Sandstorm/Grand Studio, which could actually be an advantage for a rapid refresh.

For context, current Chicago agency rankings also put Fuzzy Math, ArtVersion, UX 4Sight, Sandstorm, and Codal among the city's notable UX firms. UX Planet

My ranking specifically for your stated job:

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, etc.), approximate site size, and your rough budget ($10–25k / $25–50k / $50k+), I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually interview and explain exactly what I'd ask each one in the first call.

• Fuzzy Math - 811 W Evergreen Ave #305, Chicago, IL 60642, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• EVE - User Experience Design Agency - 7135 N Merrimac Ave, Chicago, IL 60646, United States

For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can diagnose conversion issues quickly and ship polished design—not a giant brand consultancy that will spend months in discovery.

A good Chicago shortlist:

Best fits for a fast marketing-site refresh

Fuzzy Math

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 866-563-4650)

Best for: UX rigor + conversion improvements
They’re one of the stronger Chicago UX specialists: usability reviews, UX strategy, wireframes, prototypes, and UI work. Good choice if your site has deeper IA/navigation/conversion problems rather than just looking dated. Expertise

I’d ask them for:

• 1–2 week heuristic audit
• analytics review (GA4/Hotjar/FullStory if available)
• homepage + key landing page redesign concepts
• prioritized backlog

Orbit Media Studios

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4581)

Best for: B2B marketing sites, SEO + conversion alignment
Orbit is a strong fit if the website is a lead-generation engine. They tend to think about content structure, user journeys, calls-to-action, and measurable outcomes—not just visuals.

Great fit if:

• your site gets traffic but conversions are weak
• messaging/content needs cleanup
• you’re on WordPress

ArtVersion® Creative Agency

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-837-7466)

Best for: visual refresh + UX + brand polish
A good option when the site feels visually behind competitors and you need a more premium marketing presence. They combine branding, web design, and UX work.

Bright Bright Great

Best for: modern redesigns with strong creative direction
Worth considering if you want a sharper visual identity and a refreshed digital experience. Their work is often a blend of UX/UI, web design, and development. Clutch

Sandstorm Design

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4200)

Best for: enterprise, accessibility, complex organizations
Good if your site has multiple audiences, compliance requirements, or stakeholder complexity. They emphasize UX strategy, inclusive design, and enterprise web work.

If you want a very quick “audit first” engagement

UX 4Sight

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-224-0095)

Best for: a pure UX diagnostic
They focus heavily on UX/UI consulting, audits, usability testing, and experience evaluation.

Marcel Digital

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-255-8044)

Best for: UX tied to marketing performance
They combine UX/usability work with digital marketing and conversion optimization. Marcel Digital

My recommended shortlist by scenario

For a rapid engagement, I’d probably get 3 proposals:

1. Fuzzy Math — UX depth
2. Orbit Media — marketing conversion lens
3. ArtVersion — visual/UI refresh capability

Ask each for a fixed-fee “UX audit + refresh roadmap” first rather than jumping straight into a redesign. A good audit should tell you what to change before anyone starts pushing pixels. UX Planet Clutch

If you tell me your industry (B2B SaaS, healthcare, fintech, ecommerce, etc.), CMS (Webflow/WordPress/custom), and budget range, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are the best match.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d favor a studio that can diagnose the site quickly and then actually redesign the highest-impact pages—not a giant agency that turns it into a six-month “digital transformation.”

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call
   • Strongest fit if the site is primarily a B2B / lead-gen marketing site.
   • They combine UX, conversion optimization, content, SEO, analytics, and web design rather than treating UI as purely visual. They say they've designed 1,000+ websites and have 20+ years in digital marketing. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Particularly good if you want the audit to answer “what is hurting conversion?”, not merely “what looks dated?”
   • Best for: UX + conversion + messaging + redesign.

2. UX 4Sight — best if the audit itself is the priority
   • More UX-specialist positioning than a traditional marketing agency.
   • They specifically do UX/UI, website redesigns, competitive analysis, wireframes and conversion-oriented work.
   • I'd talk to them if you want a rigorous outside critique before deciding how much to redesign.

3. Solid Digital — strong B2B option
   • Good middle ground between strategy, UX/UI, branding and actually rebuilding the site.
   • Their Chicago practice specifically targets B2B marketing teams and full website redesigns, including UX/UI, SEO and conversion considerations.
   • Best for: a serious refresh where you may also need implementation.

4. Clique Studios — if you want a more substantial design engagement
   • Stronger choice if this isn't merely a facelift and you want strategy → UX → visual design → development.
   • They cover usability testing, accessibility, UX/UI, responsive design and design sprints.
   • I'd expect them to be more involved/expensive than a small rapid-refresh studio.

5. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if brand aesthetics matter heavily
   • Chicago design consultancy with a long history, combining branding, web design and UI/UX/research.
   • I'd shortlist them if your problem is partly “our site doesn't look like the quality of company we've become.”

6. Brand Vision Marketing — potentially good for a smaller/faster engagement
   • Their offering explicitly includes UI/UX consultation and audits, web design, branding and conversion-oriented work. Brand Vision Marketing
   • Worth talking to if you want something leaner and faster than a major digital agency.

One interesting wildcard

VA Designs is unusually aligned with exactly what you described: they explicitly offer UX research/audits + UI/UX redesign + Webflow, including competitor benchmarking, analytics/heatmap insights, wireframes and A/B testing. They're based in Chicago. www.vadesigns.net

For a 2–6 week “audit → prioritized recommendations → refreshed key pages” engagement, I'd actually put them in the conversation.

Who I'd contact first

If this were my project, I'd send the same brief to:

Orbit Media + UX 4Sight + VA Designs + Solid Digital

That gives you four meaningfully different approaches:

I'd not start by asking for a “website redesign.” I'd ask for a fixed-scope rapid UX audit followed by a UI refresh of the 2–4 highest-value templates. That makes it much easier to compare agencies and keeps them from immediately proposing a giant rebuild.

A good initial deliverable would be: heuristic UX audit + analytics/heatmap review + competitor review + prioritized issues + redesigned homepage + one core conversion page + design direction/component refresh.

If you tell me your company's size/industry, current site URL, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/etc.), and roughly what you want to spend ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually interview, including who has the most relevant recent work.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d favor agencies that can diagnose conversion/usability issues quickly and then actually redesign the key pages—not firms that want to turn it into a 6-month “digital transformation” project.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call
   • Particularly strong fit for a marketing website, rather than a SaaS/product UX engagement.
   • They explicitly offer UX audits focused on finding where users get stuck or drop off, followed by prioritized recommendations. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Their approach combines UX, information architecture, content, conversion optimization and visual design, which is exactly the combination I'd want for a marketing site.
   • Best for: “Tell us what's wrong, redesign the important parts, and make the site convert better.”
   • Orbit Media

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the visual refresh matters a lot
   • Strong combination of brand + UX/UI + web design/development.
   • They work on corporate/marketing websites and bring UX research, visual systems and development together. agency.uxplanet.org
   • I'd pick them if the current site feels dated, inconsistent with the brand, or visually underwhelming, in addition to having UX problems.
   • Best for: “Make this feel substantially more premium while fixing the experience.”
   • ArtVersion

3. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice
   • Their core offering is UX/UI consulting, including UX audits, usability, accessibility, visual design, user research and usability testing. agency.uxplanet.org
   • I'd use them if you're worried there are deeper problems than just “the site looks old.”
   • Best for: “Give us an evidence-based UX diagnosis before we touch the design.”
   • The tradeoff is that they may be more process/research-heavy than you need for a quick marketing-site refresh.

4. Alpha Efficiency — good fast-moving option
   • More performance/growth-oriented than a traditional UX consultancy, with web design, analytics, SEO and conversion work.
   • Their positioning is explicitly around making websites revenue-generating assets, and current reviews emphasize design quality and fast iteration.
   • Best for: a relatively pragmatic UX + UI + conversion refresh rather than a deep research project.

5. IDE Interactive, Inc. — good if implementation matters
   • Chicago experience-design/development shop combining strategy, UX, design and engineering.
   • I'd consider them if you want the same partner to audit → redesign → implement, especially if the current site has technical baggage.

One I'd put on the “maybe” list

Highland is excellent if this is actually becoming a broader digital-product/customer-experience project. They combine research, strategy, UX/UI and engineering. But for a rapid marketing-site audit + refresh, they may be more agency than you need.

If it were my project

I'd send the same brief to Orbit, ArtVersion, and UX 4Sight and ask each for a fixed-fee 1–2 week audit sprint, rather than asking for a full redesign proposal.

I'd specifically ask them to deliver:

• Heuristic UX audit
• Analytics/user-behavior review
• Mobile + desktop review
• Navigation/information architecture assessment
• Conversion-funnel/CTA analysis
• 5–10 highest-impact issues, ranked by impact
• Competitive teardown of 3–5 comparable sites
• Refreshed design direction
• High-fidelity redesign of the homepage + 1–2 critical templates
• Clear recommendations for what not to redesign

That lets you evaluate the agency based on how they think, rather than whoever produces the prettiest pitch deck.

My ranking for your specific description:
Orbit → ArtVersion → UX 4Sight → Alpha Efficiency → IDE Interactive.

If you tell me what your company does, roughly how big the site is, what CMS it runs on (Webflow/WordPress/Next/etc.), and whether the primary goal is brand perception, lead gen, or conversion, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually contact and give you a suggested scope/budget for the sprint.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that understand conversion, messaging, information architecture, and visual design—not heavyweight product-consulting firms that will turn a 3-week engagement into a 4-month discovery project.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call
   • Probably the strongest fit if the site is a marketing/growth asset.
   • They explicitly offer UX audits using analytics, heatmaps, session data, plus review of navigation, copy, forms, CTAs, mobile, accessibility and performance. www.orbitmedia.com
   • They also do the actual redesign, CRO, SEO and implementation, so the audit can translate directly into changes rather than becoming a slide deck.
   • Best for: B2B, lead-gen, professional services, SaaS, content-heavy sites.
   • My take: Ask them for a 2–3 week audit → prioritized recommendations → homepage/key-template UI refresh rather than a full redesign.

2. UX 4Sight — best if UX rigor is the priority
   • More UX-specialist than traditional web agency.
   • They do UX/UI, website redesign, wireframing and conversion-oriented work, and have experience analyzing sites against competitors, SEO and advertising considerations. agency.uxplanet.org
   • Best for: “We know the site isn't working, but we're not sure exactly why.”
   • My take: I'd put them on the shortlist if you want the audit to be genuinely diagnostic rather than primarily aesthetic.

3. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for a more substantial visual refresh
   • Particularly interesting if the problem is partly “our brand/site feels dated”.
   • They combine UX research, usability testing, UI, branding and web development, so they're well positioned to bridge UX recommendations into a more polished visual system. agency.uxplanet.org
   • Best for: corporate/B2B brands where credibility and visual polish matter.
   • My take: Strong candidate if “UI refresh” means more than tweaking buttons and spacing.

4. Solid Digital — good all-around B2B option
   • Their process explicitly covers sitemap/IA, wireframes, UX, SEO considerations and visual direction, followed by implementation.
   • Best for: B2B companies wanting strategy → UX/UI → redesigned website.
   • I'd consider them if you want the audit to lead fairly quickly into a broader site refresh.

5. Clique Studios — good if content/messaging is part of the problem
   • Their offering spans competitive analysis, content audits, UX research, IA, messaging workshops, copywriting, UX/UI, usability testing and accessibility.
   • Best for: marketing sites where you're thinking, “The design isn't the only problem—the story and structure aren't working either.”
   • Potentially more agency/process than you need for a tiny refresh, though.

If it were my project

I'd actually talk to three, in this order:

There's also an interesting smaller/leaner option: Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding, which specifically advertises UX/UI consultation and audits alongside web design and branding. That could be worth considering if you want something less heavyweight. agency.uxplanet.org

What I'd ask them to quote

Don't ask for a generic “website redesign.” I'd frame it as a rapid UX/UI sprint:

Week 1 — Diagnose

• Analytics + heatmap/session review
• Heuristic UX audit
• 5–8 competitor/reference sites
• Mobile + desktop review
• IA/navigation
• Messaging hierarchy
• CTA/conversion paths
• Accessibility/performance red flags

Week 2 — Design

• Prioritized UX findings
• New homepage direction
• 1–2 critical page/template refreshes
• Updated typography/color/component direction
• Mobile designs
• Before/after rationale

Week 3 — Validate + handoff

• Quick user testing
• Iterate
• Prioritized backlog for remaining site
• Figma/design system guidance
• Implementation recommendations

That gives you something much more useful than “here are 47 UX observations.”

One thing I'd specifically watch for: agencies that respond to “rapid audit” by proposing a huge discovery engagement. Current Chicago agency pricing spans roughly $5k+ for smaller UX projects to six figures for substantial redesigns, so I'd insist that the first phase have a fixed scope, fixed deliverables and a short timeline. agency.uxplanet.org

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is, approximate site size, and whether you want them to actually implement the refresh, I can narrow this to the 2–3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd expect each to cost.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d favor a team that can move quickly from audit → prioritized recommendations → refreshed key pages/components, rather than a big agency that wants to turn it into a 6-month redesign.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX fit

This is probably my first call if the primary question is “what's wrong with the experience, and what should we change?” They specifically offer UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design and the end-to-end experience, plus responsive web design and conversion-oriented work. agency.uxplanet.org
Best for: rigorous UX audit followed by a targeted redesign.

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best UX + visual refresh combination

Strong choice if you want the site to feel materially better, not just receive a list of UX recommendations. They combine UI/UX, research, web design/development and brand/design systems. agency.uxplanet.org
Best for: modernizing the visual language while fixing UX.

3. Sandstorm Design — best strategic/enterprise option

I'd consider them if this is a larger B2B, enterprise, nonprofit or mission-driven organization and the site has complicated audiences/content. They emphasize UX strategy, inclusive design, research and enterprise web work.
Best for: a more substantial UX/experience problem rather than simply “make the website prettier.”

4. Orbit Media — best if conversion/marketing performance matters

This is a particularly good fit if the marketing site is supposed to generate leads. Orbit combines UX analysis with analytics, SEO, conversion optimization, content and web design, and says it has designed 1,000+ websites. www.orbitmedia.com
Best for: UX + conversion rate + SEO + messaging.

5. Solid Digital — best for B2B website refresh + implementation

They look well suited to a B2B marketing team that wants someone to go from strategy through UX/UI and ultimately implement the changes. Their Chicago offering includes website redesign, visual/UI design, design systems, UX/UI and development.
Best for: “audit it, redesign the important stuff, and actually ship it.”

6. Clique Studios — best larger-agency option

More comprehensive than you may need, but worth considering if the project could grow into a broader digital transformation. Their capabilities span UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility, design sprints, strategy, engineering and marketing.
Best for: larger organizations or sites with complicated technical/content ecosystems.

If it were my project

I'd actually talk to three:

For a rapid engagement, I'd ask each for a 2–3 week “UX + UI sprint” rather than asking for a website redesign proposal.

I'd structure the scope roughly as:

Week 1: heuristic audit + analytics review + competitor teardown + stakeholder interviews
Week 2: prioritized UX recommendations + redesigned homepage/key templates + visual/UI direction
Week 3: responsive designs + component/design-system updates + implementation-ready specs

That gives you something much more useful than a 60-page audit: “Here are the 8 things hurting the site, here's what we'd change, and here's what the new experience looks like.”

One other agency I'd put on the radar is The Office of Experience, LLC if you want UX recommendations tied closely to broader marketing, brand, lifecycle and digital strategy.

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, ecommerce, etc.), approximate budget, and whether you want them to actually implement the UI refresh, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd contact first and what I'd expect each to cost.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward firms that can diagnose the experience quickly and then actually redesign the important screens—not agencies that want to start with a six-month brand/discovery engagement.

My Chicago shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice
This is probably my first call if the priority is “tell us what’s wrong, why, and what to change.” They specifically focus on UX/UI, UX audits, usability, accessibility, research and design validation.
Best for: rigorous audit → prioritized recommendations → UI redesign.
Watch-out: I'd confirm they have strong marketing-site visual design work, rather than primarily product/app UX.

2. Solid Digital — best overall for a marketing website refresh
A particularly good fit if you want UX + visual redesign + implementation rather than an audit that ends in a PDF. Their offering includes website redesign, UI, design systems, UX/IA, wireframes and development.
Best for: B2B/tech/professional-services marketing sites where conversion matters.

3. Clique Studios — best if you want a more sophisticated strategic engagement
They cover UX research, content audits, information architecture, messaging, UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility and design sprints.
Best for: a site where the problem isn't just aesthetics—you suspect positioning, navigation, content and conversion are intertwined.

4. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best design/brand-forward option
Chicago-based and unusually broad across brand, UX/UI, web design and development.
I'd consider them if the current site feels dated visually and you want the refresh to feel like a meaningful brand elevation, not merely UX cleanup.

5. Sandstorm Design — strong for mission-driven/enterprise organizations
They combine UX strategy, brand/messaging, web development and accessibility, with a particular emphasis on inclusive design.
Best for: organizations where accessibility, content, stakeholder alignment and institutional complexity matter.

6. IDE Interactive — good boutique design + development option
They combine experience design and engineering and work across websites, ecommerce and digital products.
Best for: wanting a relatively hands-on partner who can move from UX into implementation.

Two smaller/faster options I'd investigate

Legible Studio is interesting if you want something very fast and hands-on. They explicitly offer a written website audit within 48 hours and position themselves around conversion-focused Chicago websites, with projects shipping in 1–8 weeks. legible.studio

Groto is another good fit for a design-led refresh: they describe themselves as a full-stack studio specializing in UX, UI, branding and marketing, and specifically cite moving quickly on a 30-page website redesign. www.letsgroto.com

If it were my project

I'd send the same brief to UX 4Sight, Solid Digital, Clique Studios, and ArtVersion and make them respond to the same exercise:

Phase 1 — Rapid audit: 1–2 weeks, reviewing analytics/heatmaps if available, UX, information architecture, messaging, mobile, accessibility and conversion paths.
Deliverable: prioritized findings, annotated screenshots, competitive observations, and a list of quick wins vs. structural changes.

Phase 2 — UI refresh: redesign the homepage plus 1–3 highest-value templates in Figma, including responsive states and a lightweight design system.

Phase 3 — optional implementation: quote separately so you're not locked into development before seeing the design direction.

That structure will tell you very quickly who actually understands your problem versus who is just selling a website redesign.

One other agency I'd keep on the radar is Intechnic Corporation. They're much more UX/enterprise-oriented and have deep UX research, UI and web-experience capabilities, so I'd consider them if your site is complex or has a lot of stakeholders.

My ranking for your specific description:
UX 4Sight → Solid Digital → Clique → ArtVersion → Groto/Legible

If you give me your website URL, what you sell, roughly how much traffic you get, and whether you're B2B/B2C, I can narrow this to the 3 I'd actually contact, including who seems best suited to your site's particular problems.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d favor a boutique UX/web shop over a giant digital transformation agency. You want people who can quickly identify the 10–20 highest-impact issues and then actually redesign the pages—not a six-week discovery process that ends in a 150-page strategy deck.

My Chicago shortlist

If it were my project

I'd talk to three:

1. Orbit Media — if the goal is "make the marketing site perform better."
2. UX 4Sight — if the goal is "tell us what's wrong with the experience and give us a really good UX/UI solution."
3. ArtVersion — if the goal is "make it materially better and more contemporary visually, too."

That's a nice spread: CRO/marketing → UX rigor → design/brand polish.

One reason I wouldn't automatically go with the highest-rated generic web agency: your project sounds like it should start with diagnosis before redesign. Orbit, for example, explicitly describes using analytics, heatmaps/session data, UX review, and prioritized findings rather than jumping straight into a visual makeover. www.orbitmedia.com

What I'd ask them to quote

Rather than asking for a "website redesign," I'd frame the engagement as a 2–3 week UX/UI sprint:

• Heuristic UX audit of the existing site
• Analytics + heatmap/session-review if you have the data
• Competitor/reference-site teardown
• Mobile + desktop review
• Information architecture/navigation assessment
• Messaging/content hierarchy review
• Conversion/CTA analysis
• Accessibility quick pass
• Prioritized P0/P1/P2 recommendations
• Redesign of the homepage + 1–3 highest-value templates
• Figma design system/components for the refresh
• Optional developer-ready specs
• 30–60 minute executive readout

That gives you something tangible quickly and prevents the agency from turning a relatively focused refresh into a six-month redesign.

Budget-wise, I'd expect a focused audit/design sprint to be substantially less than a full site rebuild. One current Chicago UX market guide puts discovery sprints around $7K+, while full redesign engagements can run into six figures; Clutch's current Chicago listings also show many established UX firms starting around $10K–$25K minimums. clutch.cowww.925studios.co

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, etc.), approximate site size, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/etc.), and rough budget, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd expect each one to cost/take.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward a shop that can move from audit → prioritized recommendations → high-fidelity redesign quickly, rather than a big product-development consultancy.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX fit

They’re specifically focused on UX/UI and offer UX audits covering usability, accessibility, visual design, and the end-to-end experience. That makes them a particularly good fit if the audit itself is the important first step. agency.uxplanet.org

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best UX + visual refresh combination

I'd seriously consider them if you're looking for the site to feel substantially more polished, not merely fix usability issues. They combine UX research/UI with branding, web design and in-house development. clutch.co

3. Marcel Digital — best if conversion is the KPI

Stronger choice if this is a B2B/lead-gen site and you care about conversion rate, analytics, funnels and UX together. Their UX process incorporates analytics, heatmaps, user research, usability testing and A/B testing. www.marceldigital.com

4. Intechnic Corporation — best for rigorous UX

They're much more UX-specialist than conventional marketing agency. Clutch lists them as 100% UX/UI, while their Chicago practice covers research, information architecture, interaction design and visual/UI design. clutch.co

5. Alpha Efficiency — best for a fast, pragmatic website refresh

More marketing/web-oriented than the pure UX firms. They emphasize conversion-oriented websites, design, development, SEO and analytics, and their reviews specifically mention fast iteration and design quality.

If it were my project

I'd probably get proposals from UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and Marcel Digital.

There's also an interesting smaller option: Legible Studio. They explicitly offer a written website audit within 48 hours and position themselves around conversion-focused Chicago websites, so they could be worth considering if you want something small, fast and hands-on rather than an agency engagement. legible.studio

One thing I'd change about the RFP: don't ask for a generic "website redesign." Ask for a 1–2 week UX teardown followed by a focused UI refresh of the highest-impact pages. Require deliverables like:

• heuristic + usability audit
• analytics/heatmap review if available
• competitor teardown
• prioritized list of UX issues
• revised IA/navigation recommendations
• redesigned homepage + 1–3 key conversion pages
• responsive/mobile treatment
• design system/component direction
• annotated Figma prototypes
• implementation recommendations

That will make the proposals much easier to compare—and prevent an agency from turning a relatively focused refresh into a six-month redesign.

If you tell me what your company/site does, roughly how many pages, your CMS (Webflow/WordPress/etc.), and your rough budget, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact and what I’d expect each to charge/take time-wise.

For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can move quickly, diagnose conversion issues, and actually redesign—not just produce a critique deck. In Chicago, these would be my shortlist:

My practical ranking for your exact ask:

1. UX 4Sight — if you want a fast expert audit and prioritized fixes.
2. Fuzzy Math — if UX quality and customer behavior matter more than speed alone.
3. ArtVersion — if the site needs to look materially better while improving usability.
4. Clique Studios — if you want audit → redesign → build with one partner.

For a rapid engagement, I’d ask agencies for a 2–4 week sprint with these deliverables:

• heuristic UX audit
• analytics review (GA4/Hotjar/Clarity if available)
• competitor teardown
• homepage + key landing page redesign concepts
• component/style refresh
• prioritized backlog with estimated impact

Budget-wise, a serious Chicago agency will often land somewhere around:

• $5k–15k: audit + recommendations
• $15k–40k: audit + UI refresh of key templates/pages
• $40k+: broader redesign, CMS work, content, development

If you share your industry, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/custom), traffic level, and whether the goal is leads vs. brand perception, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I’d actually contact first.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d avoid agencies that primarily do huge “digital transformation” engagements. You want a team that can diagnose quickly, make strong design decisions, and actually ship the refresh.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — best pure UX choice

They’re specifically focused on UX/UI, including UX audits, usability, accessibility, research, and conversion-oriented improvements. If the first question is “What is wrong with this experience and what should we change?”, this is probably my first call.

2. Clique Studios — best overall agency option

Stronger choice if you want audit → UX strategy → visual refresh → implementation under one roof. They explicitly cover UX research, content audits, IA, messaging, web/UI design, usability testing, accessibility and design sprints.

3. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for a substantial visual modernization

I'd consider them if the site isn't fundamentally broken but feels dated, inconsistent, or insufficiently premium. They combine brand, UX/UI, web design and development, so they're well suited to making the site look and feel significantly better rather than just fixing usability.

4. Sandstorm Design — best for strategy + UX + accessibility

Interesting option if you're a larger organization or have multiple stakeholders. Their work emphasizes UX strategy, inclusive design, accessibility, research, stakeholder interviews and enterprise web development.

5. Dialogue Theory — best boutique option

A good fit if you want a smaller, hands-on team rather than a traditional agency machine. They combine discovery/research, UX/UI, visual design, content/messaging and development.

Two I'd also look at

Orbit Media is particularly compelling if the marketing site is a major demand-gen channel. They've designed 1,000+ sites and combine UX with SEO, CRO, analytics, content and conversion optimization. Their approach is more comprehensive than a quick UI facelift, though. www.orbitmedia.com

VA Designs is worth considering if you want something relatively focused and potentially faster/smaller-scale. They explicitly offer UX audits, competitor analysis, user journeys, analytics/heatmaps, wireframes, prototypes, A/B testing, accessibility and UI/web design. www.vadesigns.net

What I'd do

If this were my project, I'd send the same tight brief to UX 4Sight, Clique, ArtVersion, and VA Designs and ask each for a 1–2 week audit + 2–4 week UI refresh proposal.

I'd ask them to quote specifically for:

• heuristic + UX audit
• analytics/heatmap review if available
• top user journeys / conversion paths
• competitive teardown
• prioritized list of UX problems
• redesigned homepage + 1–2 key templates
• responsive/mobile treatment
• lightweight design system / component guidance
• implementation or developer-ready Figma
• no giant discovery phase

One thing I particularly like right now: Legible Studio in Chicago actually offers a written website audit within 48 hours and positions itself around conversion-focused marketing sites, so it could be useful as a fast, low-commitment benchmark even if you ultimately hire someone else. legible.studio

My ranking for your exact brief:
UX 4Sight → Clique Studios → ArtVersion → VA Designs → Sandstorm

If you tell me what kind of company/site you have (B2B SaaS, consumer, professional services, etc.), approximate site size, and whether you need them to actually implement the refresh, I can narrow this to the 3 I'd interview and what I'd expect each to cost/take.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of a marketing site, I’d bias toward agencies that can diagnose conversion/usability problems quickly and then move directly into design—not a big six-month “digital transformation” engagement.

My Chicago shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — probably my first call
   • Very directly aligned with what you described: UX/UI, website redesign, conversion-oriented design, and outside UX audits.
   • Their positioning is particularly strong around dissecting an existing site and identifying friction rather than immediately rebuilding everything. agency.uxplanet.org
   • Best for: “Tell us what's wrong, prioritize it, then make the site substantially better.”

2. Solid Digital — best if this is a B2B marketing site
   • Strong combination of strategy → UX/UI → website redesign → development.
   • Particularly interesting if you ultimately want the same team to implement the refresh, rather than handing designs to another developer.
   • Their Chicago practice explicitly targets B2B teams needing website redesign with UX/UI, SEO and conversion considerations.

3. Sandstorm Design — best for deeper UX/research
   • More UX-strategy-heavy than a typical web design shop, with usability testing, accessibility and research baked into its approach.
   • I'd consider them if your site has a complicated audience, lots of stakeholders, or meaningful accessibility requirements. www.expertise.com

4. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best for a visual/brand refresh
   • Good fit if “UI refresh” really means the site feels dated and needs to look significantly more premium, while still improving UX.
   • They combine brand, UI/UX, digital strategy and development, so there's less risk of ending up with a pretty design disconnected from the brand. agency.uxplanet.org

5. Marcel Digital — best if conversion/analytics is the priority
   • Their UX work explicitly incorporates analytics, heatmaps, user research and usability data rather than relying solely on designer judgment. www.marceldigital.com
   • Best for: “We have traffic, but we're not getting enough leads/demo requests/conversions.”

6. Clique Studios — good larger-agency option
   • They cover strategy, UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility, design systems and development.
   • I'd shortlist them if the marketing site is relatively large or important enough to warrant a multidisciplinary team.

One I would not automatically choose

TXI is excellent, but I'd probably consider them overkill for a straightforward marketing-site refresh. They're much more oriented toward complex digital products, product strategy and custom software.

If it were my project

I'd send the same very tight brief to UX 4Sight, Solid Digital, and Marcel Digital and ask each for a 1–2 week audit sprint followed immediately by a UI refresh.

The brief I'd give them is roughly:

“We don't want a full website reinvention. We want an expert outside perspective on what's hurting clarity, credibility and conversion, followed by a focused redesign of the highest-impact pages. We want concrete recommendations, annotated findings, and redesigned screens—not a 100-page strategy deck.”

I'd specifically ask them to audit:

• Homepage + primary landing pages
• Navigation / information architecture
• Messaging hierarchy
• CTA strategy
• Forms / lead capture
• Mobile experience
• Visual hierarchy and typography
• Accessibility
• Page speed/performance
• Analytics/heatmaps if available
• Competitor positioning
• 3–5 highest-impact UI changes

Orbit Media is also worth putting on the list if conversion optimization is especially important—they explicitly offer UX audits using analytics, heatmaps/session data and a subsequent prioritized improvement plan. www.orbitmedia.com

If you tell me what your company sells, roughly how big the site is, and whether you're B2B/B2C/SaaS, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact, including what I think each would be best at and the likely engagement shape.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a firm that can diagnose the funnel quickly and then actually redesign the highest-impact pages—not a giant agency that wants to turn this into a 6-month website transformation.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. UX 4Sight — my first call for a pure UX engagement
   • Very aligned with what you're describing: UX/UI, website redesign, conversion-oriented design, wireframing and UX consulting.
   • Their positioning is more “let's dissect what's wrong and improve the experience” than “let's sell you a giant rebrand.”
   • Particularly attractive if you already have a functioning site and want an expert outside perspective before touching the visual system. agency.uxplanet.org

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if you want UX + a noticeably better visual brand
   • Strong combination of UX research, UI/visual design, branding and web development.
   • They also have usability/research capabilities, so I'd consider them if “UI refresh” means more than just polishing components—you want the site to feel substantially more sophisticated. agency.uxplanet.org

3. Solid Digital — best for B2B / lead-gen marketing sites
   • Particularly compelling if your site exists primarily to generate leads.
   • Their process covers sitemap/IA, wireframes, UX/UI, visual design and implementation, with conversion and SEO considerations baked in. clutch.co
   • I'd put them high on the list if you're ultimately going to want the same team to execute the changes.

4. Sandstorm Design — best for rigorous UX/research
   • More research-heavy than a typical web-design shop, with usability testing, journey mapping, personas and metrics.
   • They also have an unusually strong accessibility/inclusive-design orientation. www.expertise.com
   • I'd choose them if the audit needs to produce evidence, not just a designer's opinion.

5. Clique Studios — best if this could grow into a larger redesign
   • They cover UX research, content strategy, IA, usability testing, design sprints and UI, plus development.
   • More of a strategic digital partner than a small “come fix our homepage” studio. www.officeofexperience.com
   • Good choice if you suspect the audit will uncover deeper messaging, architecture or content problems.

One wildcard: Orbit

Orbit Media Studios is worth talking to if conversion rate / pipeline matters as much as visual quality. They've designed 1,000+ sites and explicitly combine UX analysis, conversion optimization, SEO, content and web design. www.orbitmedia.com

For a marketing site, I actually like this orientation a lot: don't just make the site prettier; identify where visitors are getting stuck and redesign around the business outcome.

How I'd narrow it

For what you described, I'd probably send the brief to UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and Solid Digital and make them compete for a 2–4 week engagement. There's enough overlap that you'll get a useful comparison without running an enormous agency bake-off.

I'd specifically ask each one to price a fixed-scope “UX audit + prioritized redesign” sprint, with deliverables like:

• heuristic + analytics review
• competitor / category review
• mobile + desktop UX audit
• 5–10 highest-impact page recommendations
• annotated before/after designs
• refreshed visual/UI system
• redesigned homepage + 2–4 key templates
• prioritized implementation backlog
• optionally, usability testing with 5–8 target users

That structure keeps “rapid audit + refresh” from quietly turning into a $150k website rebuild.

If you tell me what kind of company/site this is (B2B SaaS, professional services, consumer, healthcare, etc.), your approximate budget, and whether you want them to actually implement the UI, I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd contact first, including the kind of engagement I'd ask each for.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a smaller UX/web specialist rather than a big digital-transformation agency. You want someone who can diagnose the site quickly, identify the highest-impact issues, and turn those findings into a refreshed visual system—not spend six weeks in discovery.

My Chicago shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — probably my first call
They’re unusually aligned with what you described: Chicago-based UX/UI specialists, with explicit experience doing website audits, competitor analysis, redesigns and conversion-oriented UX. Their positioning is much more “find what's wrong and fix it” than generic branding agency. agency.uxplanet.orgclutch.co

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if the UI/brand refresh matters a lot
Good combination of UX, UI, web design and brand/visual systems. They'd be a particularly good fit if the current site is functional but looks dated, and you want the refresh to feel like a meaningful evolution of the brand. Clutch currently lists them at 20% UX/UI, 20% web design, 20% branding and 10% digital strategy. agency.uxplanet.orgclutch.co

3. Solid Digital — best for B2B marketing sites
I'd put them high on the list if this is a B2B SaaS/tech/company marketing site and you ultimately want the audit to flow into a broader redesign. Their Chicago team covers website redesign, UX/UI, design systems and branding, with a particular fit for B2B marketing teams.

4. Orbit Media Studios — best if conversion/SEO is part of the objective
Orbit is more of a marketing + web agency than a pure UX studio. That's actually useful if “UX refresh” really means more qualified leads, better conversion, clearer messaging and better-performing pages. Their work emphasizes conversion-focused journeys alongside design, development, SEO and analytics. agency.uxplanet.orgclutch.co

5. Sandstorm Design — best for a deeper UX/research engagement
I'd consider them if your site has complicated audiences, accessibility requirements, or a lot of stakeholder complexity. They combine UX research, strategy, design and development and have a strong accessibility/inclusive-design orientation. www.expertise.com

One wildcard

Intechnic Corporation is worth talking to if this is a high-value/complex B2B or enterprise site. They're much more UX-specialist than a conventional web agency; Clutch currently lists them as 100% UX/UI design. agency.uxplanet.orgclutch.co

If speed is the #1 criterion

I'd contact UX 4Sight, ArtVersion, and Solid Digital first and explicitly ask for a 2–3 week “UX audit → prioritized recommendations → UI refresh” sprint, rather than asking for a website redesign proposal.

I'd want the engagement to produce:

1. Heuristic + UX audit of the existing site
2. Analytics/heatmap review if you have the data
3. 5–10 highest-impact UX problems, prioritized by business impact
4. Competitive teardown
5. Revised IA/navigation recommendations
6. Homepage + 1–3 key page UI refreshes in Figma
7. Updated typography, color, components and interaction patterns
8. A concise “ship now / next / later” roadmap

That keeps an agency from turning a relatively surgical problem into a $100k+ redesign project.

If you tell me your company/site URL, rough budget (e.g. <$15k, $15–30k, $30–75k), and whether you're B2B SaaS, consumer, professional services, etc., I can narrow this to 3 agencies and tell you exactly why I'd pick each one.

Yes. For a rapid UX audit + UI refresh of an existing marketing site, I’d bias toward a team that can move from audit → prioritized recommendations → high-fidelity redesign without turning it into a six-month “digital transformation” engagement.

My Chicago shortlist would be:

If it were my project

I'd actually run a 3-agency mini-RFP with:

1. UX 4Sight — strongest candidate for the audit/UX rigor.
2. ArtVersion — strongest candidate for UX + visual/UI transformation.
3. Clique Studios — strongest candidate if messaging, content, IA and conversion are part of the problem.

That gives you three meaningfully different approaches rather than three agencies pitching essentially the same thing. Chicago's current UX market also puts Fuzzy Math, ArtVersion, UX 4Sight, Sandstorm and Codal among the prominent local UX firms. agency.uxplanet.org

One thing I'd change about the brief

Don't ask for a generic "UX audit." Ask for a 2–3 week conversion-focused UX/UI sprint with concrete deliverables:

• heuristic + usability audit
• analytics/behavior review
• competitive teardown
• top 10–20 UX issues prioritized by business impact
• revised sitemap/IA where necessary
• homepage + 1–3 key templates redesigned in Figma
• responsive/mobile direction
• design-system/UI recommendations
• implementation-ready specs
• optionally, a lightweight usability test of the new concepts

That will get you much closer to an actionable refresh than a 40-page audit deck.

Budget-wise, I'd expect a serious Chicago specialist to be substantially more than a freelancer but you don't necessarily need a $75k+ enterprise engagement. Current Chicago agency listings show everything from roughly $10k engagements at firms such as Intechnic/ArtVersion to $25k+ and $50k+ engagements at larger UX/product firms. clutch.co

If you tell me (1) what your company does, (2) roughly how many pages the site has, (3) what it's built in (Webflow/WordPress/HubSpot/etc.), and (4) your rough budget, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact, including which one I'd pick first.