ChatGPT answers, unedited

• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• GoodFolk - 125 S Clark St 17th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• elbē interactive - 4410 N Ravenswood Ave Ste 203, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Bridgewater Studio - 1128 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Luci Creative - 6950 N Central Park Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712, United States
• Angle Park, Inc. - First Floor Storefront, 2440 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, United States
• Next/Now - 1200 W Lake St #2, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Museum Explorer Inc - 2300 Kenilworth Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402, United States
• Studio Blue - 800 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60622
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Midwest Immersive - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Futurehaus - 125 S Clark St Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a Chicago museum, I’d put museum-specific experience ahead of generic “great UX agency” credentials. Based on current portfolios and Chicago presence, these are the firms I’d shortlist:

My shortlist

1. Sandstorm Design — best Chicago-based UX/strategy candidate

• Chicago digital-experience agency with a strong UX/research orientation.
• Particularly worth considering if the project involves strategy, IA, stakeholder alignment, UX research, and a substantial CMS rebuild, rather than just a visual redesign.
• They also have a relevant cultural-institution precedent: their work with the Oriental Institute involved UX/UI, narrative digital experience, and goals around exhibitions, events, membership, donations, and visits. Ancient Cultures Institute
• GoodFolk — best boutique/mission-driven option

• Focuses on digital strategy, UX/UI, and development for mission-driven organizations, including cultural institutions and universities.
• I'd investigate them if you want a smaller team that will spend considerable time understanding your audiences and content rather than treating the museum as a conventional marketing site.
• Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — strongest directly relevant Chicago museum case study

• They redesigned the Field Museum's website, including a major information-architecture overhaul of 2,000+ pages.
• The published results are unusually compelling: 87% more clicks to ticketing from visit pages on desktop, 360% more on mobile, and substantially less reliance on search for navigation. Purple Rock Scissors Joshua Hurtado
• If visit planning, ticket conversion, content architecture, and usability are your priorities, I'd definitely put them in the RFP.
• AREA 17 — best if you want ambitious digital/collection UX

• Their work for the Art Institute of Chicago is highly relevant: they tackled collection discovery, audience-focused design, storytelling, accessibility, and open-source tools. AREA 17 Christophe da Silva
• This is the one I'd look at if your museum has a substantial collection/database/digital scholarship component and you want something more transformative than a conventional institutional website.
• Cuberis — best museum-specialist implementation partner

• Cuberis explicitly specializes in museum websites and has worked with museums including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum.
• Their museum work covers UX/usability, collections integration, memberships, donations, ticketing and WordPress. Cuberis
• Less of a “big creative transformation” choice than AREA 17, but potentially an excellent practical partner for a complex museum site.
• Landslide Creative — strong museum-focused alternative

• They explicitly work with museums, galleries and historic sites and emphasize audience prioritization, UX, accessibility, mobile-first design and integrations such as Tessitura. Landslide Creative
• Worth including if accessibility + museum CMS/integration expertise + pragmatic execution matter more than a highly experimental design.
• Oomph — excellent national contender

• Their recent work for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is particularly impressive from a UX perspective: audience research, journey mapping, information architecture, accessibility, design systems and content infrastructure. Oomph, Inc
• I'd seriously consider them even though they're not Chicago-based.

A Chicago wildcard

elbē interactive is worth knowing about if your project extends beyond the website into interactive museum experiences, installations, or physical/digital integration. They're Chicago-based and specifically oriented toward museum and interactive experiences.

If it were my RFP

I'd probably invite 5 firms:

• Purple Rock Scissors — proven Chicago museum website transformation
• Sandstorm — Chicago UX/strategy depth
• AREA 17 — ambitious digital/collection experience
• Cuberis — museum-specific technical expertise
• Oomph — strong contemporary cultural-institution UX/accessibility

Then I'd ask each to show one museum project where they personally solved the same problems you're facing, rather than letting them present their three prettiest websites.

The RFP should specifically test them on information architecture, visitor journey/visit planning, collections and exhibition content, accessibility, ticketing/membership/donations, search, CMS governance, analytics, and how they handle competing internal stakeholders. Those are much better predictors of success for a museum than visual design alone.

If you tell me which Chicago museum you are (or just its size/type—art, history, science, university, etc.) and roughly your budget and CMS, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their relevant museum work, likely strengths/weaknesses, and what I'd ask each during interviews.

• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Studio Blue - 800 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60622
• Studio Blue - 20 W Hubbard St #3W, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Next/Now - 1200 W Lake St #2, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Envoy Group, LLC (formerly Leviathan) - 211 N Clinton St #2S, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Bluestone & Associates - 5225 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Luci Creative - 6950 N Central Park Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712, United States
• Crux Creative - 1433 N Water St #400, Milwaukee, WI 53202, United States
• elbē interactive - 4410 N Ravenswood Ave Ste 203, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Interactive Design - 900 N Franklin St #304, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Futurehaus - 125 S Clark St Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Span - 650 W Lake St Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Bark Design - 4330 N California Ave Store Front, Chicago, IL 60618, United States

Yes. For a Chicago museum, I’d prioritize agencies that understand visitor journeys, collections/content, ticketing, accessibility, institutional stakeholders, and the realities of museum CMSes—not just firms that make attractive marketing sites.

My shortlist would be:

1. Sandstorm Design — Probably one of the first Chicago firms I’d talk to. They emphasize UX research, usability testing, journey mapping, inclusive design, and complex web platforms. They also have direct cultural-institution experience; their work with the Oriental Institute involved a substantial UX/UI process and goals around exhibitions, events, membership, donations, and visits. Ancient Cultures Institute

sandstormdesign.com

2. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — A particularly compelling choice if visitor usability and measurable outcomes are priorities. They redesigned the Field Museum's site, reporting an 87% increase in clicks from visit-related pages to ticketing on desktop and a 360% increase on mobile, among other improvements. Purple Rock Scissors

purplerockscissors.com

3. Studio Blue — Worth considering if you want a more design-led Chicago studio with deep experience in cultural and academic institutions. Their work spans museums and cultural organizations, with web experience, information architecture, and storytelling as part of the offering.

studiobluechicago.com

4. AREA 17 — A strong candidate if your museum has a large collection, complicated content architecture, or ambitious digital storytelling. They worked with the Art Institute of Chicago on its digital transformation, including collection discovery, audience-focused UX, visit planning, ticketing, and membership. AREA 17 Christophe da Silva

area17.com

5. Studio Blue — I'd put them on the RFP list particularly if the project needs to balance institutional brand, editorial content, and UX rather than being primarily a technical rebuild.
6. Cuberis — Not Chicago-local, but potentially a very good museum-specific contender. They explicitly specialize in museum websites and have worked with institutions including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum. Their case studies emphasize usability studies, audience research, collection databases, membership, ticketing, and CMS usability. Cuberis

cuberis.com

One I'd investigate especially closely

Purple Rock Scissors vs. Sandstorm would be my first comparison. PRPL has unusually concrete evidence from a Chicago museum website redesign, while Sandstorm looks particularly strong if you want the agency to help with research, organizational alignment, accessibility, and UX strategy, not simply redesign the interface. Purple Rock Scissors

I'd also consider Fuzzy Math as a UX-strategy specialist if you're not yet sure what the website should become. They worked with the Field Museum on digital strategy and UX research, creating a framework for prioritizing digital initiatives across a complicated museum organization. Fuzzy Math

What I'd ask in the RFP

Don't just ask agencies to show "museum websites." Ask them to demonstrate:

• How they conduct visitor research and usability testing before designing.
• How they handle the tension between trip planning and deep scholarly/collection content.
• How they've redesigned information architecture for thousands of pages.
• Their approach to accessibility/WCAG 2.2 AA.
• Experience integrating ticketing, CRM, membership, events, collections databases, and calendars.
• How they work with curatorial, education, visitor services, development, marketing, and IT stakeholders.
• What they do to make the CMS genuinely manageable for museum staff.
• How they measure success after launch—not just whether the new site looks better.

For context, the Field Museum's redesign is a particularly good benchmark: its project involved restructuring more than 2,000 pages around visitor needs while also supporting education, events, science content, and accessibility. Joshua Hurtado

If you tell me what kind of museum you run, approximate website budget, CMS (Drupal/WordPress/etc.), and whether you need strategy + UX + development or UX only, I can narrow this to a 3–5 agency shortlist and compare them on museum experience, UX depth, Chicago presence, likely fit, and red flags.

For a Chicago museum, I’d prioritize agencies that understand museum-specific audience journeys, complex stakeholder environments, accessibility, collections/content, ticketing, membership, and mission—not just conventional corporate web design.

My shortlist

1. Purple Rock Scissors — especially strong Chicago/museum fit
   • They redesigned the Field Museum website and report substantial UX improvements: 87% more clicks from visit pages to ticketing on desktop, 360% more on mobile, and a 47% reduction in reliance on homepage search. www.purplerockscissors.comwww.studioblue.usarea17.comwww.fastspot.com
   • I'd put them near the top if your project is a full website redesign with measurable visitor/ticketing goals.

2. Fuzzy Math — strongest for UX research/strategy
   • Another particularly relevant Chicago option: Fuzzy Math has worked with the Field Museum on digital strategy, UX research, and a framework for prioritizing digital initiatives across siloed museum departments. fuzzymath.com
   • I'd consider them if the hard part is figuring out what the website should do before designing it, rather than simply executing a visual redesign.

3. Studio Blue — excellent cultural-institution DNA
   • Chicago-based and explicitly focused on museums, universities and public-serving organizations. Their interactive work includes the Art Institute of Chicago, with website strategy, information architecture and mobile-oriented experiences. www.studioblue.us
   • A good candidate if you want a smaller, design-led Chicago studio with deep cultural-sector familiarity.

4. Landslide Creative — museum-specialist
   • Their practice is specifically centered on museum/cultural websites, including audience prioritization, UX, accessibility, mobile-first design and integrations such as Tessitura. landslidecreative.com
   • Particularly worth considering if ticketing, membership, donations and CMS operations are major parts of the redesign.

5. Urban Insight — strong large-project option
   • They specialize in arts & culture websites and cover UX research, analytics, accessibility, collections/IIIF, ticketing, donations, DAMs and complex CMS implementations. Their portfolio includes The Broad. www.urbaninsight.com
   • I'd put them on the RFP list if you're dealing with a large institution and complicated technical ecosystem.

6. AREA 17 — ambitious digital/collections experience
   • They worked with the Art Institute of Chicago on a major digital transformation and rethinking its online collection as an exploratory experience. area17.com
   • More of a high-end digital experience/design choice if you're envisioning something substantially more ambitious than a conventional museum CMS redesign.

Two more I'd investigate

• Orbit Media Studios — Chicago-based, with cultural-sector work including Goodman Theatre and Chicago Museum Tours; particularly strong around content, SEO, accessibility and conversion-oriented UX. www.orbitmedia.com
• Fastspot — not Chicago-based, but they've spent 25+ years building websites for cultural institutions and explicitly understand museums' multiple audiences, governance and accessibility requirements. www.fastspot.com

If I were issuing an RFP, I'd probably invite 4–5 firms: Purple Rock Scissors, Fuzzy Math, Studio Blue, Landslide Creative, and Urban Insight. That gives you a useful spread between UX strategy, Chicago museum experience, design, and technical museum specialization.

One important distinction: I'd ask each agency to show two or three comparable museum projects and the actual research/IA artifacts behind them, not just polished screenshots. For your project, I'd want to see how they handle visitor planning, exhibitions/events, collections, membership/donations, accessibility, search, and the internal politics of getting curatorial/education/marketing/IT stakeholders aligned.

If you tell me which Chicago museum it is, roughly how large the site is, and whether you're replacing the CMS/ticketing too, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually interview and compare their relevant case studies.

Yes. For a Chicago museum, I’d prioritize agencies that understand museum audiences, complex content/collections, accessibility, ticketing/membership, and internal stakeholder dynamics—not just firms that make attractive nonprofit websites.

My shortlist

1. Sandstorm Design — strong Chicago contender
   • Chicago-based and explicitly UX/research-led.
   • They have museum/cultural-sector experience; notably, Sandstorm worked with the Oriental Institute on a UX/UI-driven digital experience designed to encourage exhibitions, events, donations, membership, and visits. isac.uchicago.edu
   • Best if: you want rigorous UX research and strategy alongside a full website redesign.

2. Clique Studios — best for a large, complex redesign
   • Their offering includes UX research, interviews, information architecture, usability testing, accessibility and design systems.
   • Best if: the museum has a complicated CMS, lots of departments/content, or significant technical integration work.

3. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — especially compelling museum precedent
   • They redesigned the Field Museum's website and report substantial improvements in navigation and ticketing journeys: including a 47% reduction in reliance on homepage search and large increases in clicks to ticketing. www.purplerockscissors.com
   • Their separate Field Museum work also included UX research and digital-product strategy. fuzzymath.com
   • Best if: you want a partner with very direct Chicago-museum website experience.

4. AREA 17 — look closely if collections/content are central
   • They transformed the Art Institute of Chicago's digital experience, including collection discovery, visitor/ticketing/member pathways, accessibility, and a custom publishing platform. area17.com
   • Best if: your site needs to make a large collection or substantial scholarship/content genuinely discoverable rather than simply redesigning the homepage.

5. Cuberis — museum-specialist option
   • This is one of the more explicitly museum-focused agencies I've found. Their portfolio includes the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum and Telfair Museums, and they emphasize usability studies, museum collections, integrations and staff CMS training. cuberis.com
   • Best if: you want a firm that already understands museum-specific website problems rather than educating a general digital agency about them.

6. Landslide Creative — good museum-focused alternative
   • Their process specifically addresses the competing needs of visitors, donors, educators, members, volunteers and researchers, with audience prioritization, user journeys, information architecture and accessibility built into the process. landslidecreative.com
   • Best if: your biggest challenge is organizing a sprawling museum website and making it useful to very different audiences.

One I would consider for UX research specifically

Selinda Research Associates is worth knowing about even though I wouldn't necessarily hire them as the website developer. They're a Chicago museum-research consultancy specializing in visitor research and evaluation.

If your institution has lots of stakeholder disagreement about what the website should do, bringing in a research/evaluation specialist—or requiring the agency to demonstrate serious user research—could be particularly valuable.

How I'd narrow it

If this were my RFP, I'd invite 4–5 firms rather than choosing purely from portfolios: PRPL, Sandstorm, AREA 17, Cuberis, and Landslide. I'd ask each to show one museum project where they changed the information architecture based on user research, not just a visually impressive redesign.

And I'd make the RFP explicitly require: user research → audience segmentation → information architecture → usability testing → accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA) → CMS/editorial workflow → analytics/KPIs → post-launch optimization. That's much more likely to produce a genuinely better museum website than a conventional "website redesign" brief.

For a Chicago museum, I’d prioritize agencies that can demonstrate museum-specific UX work, not just attractive nonprofit websites. Based on current portfolios, these are the firms I’d put on your shortlist:

1. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — my first call
   • They redesigned the Field Museum website, including a major information-architecture overhaul, visitor journey work, personas, card sorting, and user testing. The redesign reportedly increased clicks to ticketing by 87% on desktop and 360% on mobile. files.purplerockscissors.comwww.purplerockscissors.com
   • Particularly compelling if your priorities are visit planning, navigation, collections/learning content, membership, and conversion.
   • This is unusually close to the problem you're describing.

2. Bluecadet — excellent for a museum with a strong brand/storytelling component
   • They worked on the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago website renovation, balancing the museum's visual identity with usability and its collections/programming. www.bluecadet.com
   • I'd consider them especially seriously if the site needs to feel like an extension of the museum's physical experience rather than a conventional institutional website.

3. Cuberis — strong museum-specialist option
   • Their entire positioning is around museum websites, and their client experience includes the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and Saint Louis Art Museum.
   • They explicitly offer usability studies before redesign and have experience with museum collection databases, ticketing/CRM integrations, WordPress, and staff training. cuberis.com
   • Worth a close look if your museum has complicated collections/content systems behind the public site.

4. Made by Speak — strong UX-research orientation
   • Their Illinois Holocaust Museum project involved extensive UX research and user-journey work before the redesign. www.madebyspeak.com
   • I'd shortlist them if you're trying to solve a fundamental "what do our audiences actually need from this site?" problem rather than simply redesigning the visual layer.

5. Blix — especially interesting for arts/culture
   • Blix focuses specifically on arts and cultural organizations and has worked with organizations including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
   • Their platform explicitly addresses cultural-sector problems such as complex calendars, exhibitions/performances, content management, and Tessitura integrations. blix.co
   • More naturally suited to performing arts, but worth considering depending on your museum's technology stack and content complexity.

One more route I'd consider

If you want UX expertise rather than a giant end-to-end agency, there are excellent independent/smaller practitioners with museum experience. For example, Eva Philips' portfolio includes the Adler Planetarium redesign, covering stakeholder interviews, UX workshops, journey mapping, IA, wireframes, user testing, and CMS training. www.evaphilips.com

How I'd narrow this to 3

I'd probably invite PRPL, Bluecadet, and Cuberis to an initial conversation.

One thing I'd insist on in the RFP: don't let agencies show you only polished final designs. Ask each one to walk you through how they conducted research, what they learned from museum visitors, how they resolved competing departmental requirements, and what changed because of user testing. The Field Museum work is a good benchmark because it demonstrates measurable behavioral outcomes rather than just screenshots. files.purplerockscissors.comwww.purplerockscissors.com

If you tell me which Chicago museum you are (or just your museum type—art, history, science, children's, etc.), your approximate budget, and whether you need strategy + UX + design + development or UX only, I can narrow this to a much more targeted 3–5 agency shortlist and compare their relevant museum projects, likely fit, and potential weaknesses.

For a Chicago museum website renovation, I’d prioritize agencies that understand museum visitor journeys (planning a visit, ticketing, accessibility, collections, education, membership, donations) rather than a general web-design shop. These are firms I’d put on a shortlist:

Strong museum/cultural UX specialists

Bluecadet
A strong fit if you want a sophisticated cultural experience rather than just a marketing site. They’ve worked with Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on a website renovation, focusing on translating institutional identity into an intuitive digital experience. www.bluecadet.com
Best for: major museums, collections storytelling, immersive digital experiences, complex content.

Cuberis
A museum-focused digital agency with deep experience in museum CMS builds, collections integrations, accessibility, and audience engagement. cuberis.comwww.evaphilips.com
Best for: museums that need a durable platform, staff-friendly CMS, collections/event integrations.

Carney
Has cultural-sector experience including museum website redesigns emphasizing UX, accessibility, SEO, and content strategy. carney.co
Best for: institutions balancing storytelling with measurable growth goals.

Chicago-area teams with relevant museum experience

Purple Rock Scissors
Worth considering because they redesigned the website for Field Museum, including information architecture, visitor pathways, and ticketing-related improvements. www.purplerockscissors.comwww.evaphilips.com
Best for: Chicago museums needing a local partner familiar with large cultural institutions.

Eva Philips
An independent UX practitioner with museum experience, including the Adler Planetarium website redesign involving UX audits, stakeholder interviews, journey mapping, information architecture, wireframes, and usability work. www.evaphilips.com
Best for: UX strategy/discovery before selecting a larger build partner.

Orbit Media Studios
A Chicago firm with experience on cultural and visitor-focused websites, including museum-related projects. www.orbitmedia.com
Best for: content-heavy sites where SEO, WordPress expertise, and maintainability matter.

How I’d narrow the field

For a museum RFP, I’d ask each candidate to show:

• 2–3 museum or cultural institution case studies (not just “arts” clients)
• Their approach to visitor research and usability testing
• Examples of improving:
  • ticket purchase flows
  • event calendars
  • collections discovery
  • accessibility (WCAG)
  • mobile visit planning
  • membership/donation conversion
• Who will actually do the UX work (senior strategists vs. junior production staff)

If this is a large Chicago institution (Field/MCA/Art Institute scale), I’d start conversations with Bluecadet, Purple Rock Scissors, and Cuberis. If it’s a smaller museum with limited internal digital staff, I’d lean toward Cuberis or a UX-led engagement with Eva Philips first. www.evaphilips.com

I can also help you build a shortlist by museum type (art, science, history, children’s, university) and approximate budget tier.

For a Chicago museum website renovation, I’d put a fairly short list together. The strongest candidates are agencies/consultancies that understand the peculiar combination of public-facing UX, collections and exhibitions, event/visit planning, accessibility, editorial content, and lots of internal stakeholders.

My shortlist

1. Next/Now — worth considering if you want a more experiential, innovative digital presence. They’re Chicago-based and focus on experience design and technology. I’d put them higher if the project extends beyond a conventional website into interactive visitor experiences.

2. Sandstorm Design — probably one of the better fits if UX research and usability are central to the project. They’re Chicago-based and emphasize user research, usability testing, journey mapping, accessibility, and UX strategy. They also have directly relevant cultural-sector experience: they worked with the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago on its Centennial digital experience, including a UX/UI process. www.sandstormdesign.com

Sandstorm Design

3. Bluecadet — my first call if you want a museum-specialist digital partner. Their work includes the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Princeton University Art Museum, Buffalo AKG, and other major cultural institutions. Their MCA project specifically involved collection discovery, information architecture, editorial templates, and user-centered storytelling—not simply visual redesign. www.bluecadet.com

Bluecadet

4. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — especially compelling if visitor journeys, IA, and measurable outcomes are priorities. They redesigned the Field Museum website, including more than 2,000 pages, using personas, card sorting and user testing. Their published results include an 87% increase in clicks to ticketing from visit-related desktop pages and a 360% increase on mobile. files.purplerockscissors.com

Purple Rock Scissors

5. Studio Blue — an interesting smaller Chicago option if you want a more intimate design partner. They're particularly focused on cultural and academic institutions and do website strategy/design and information architecture. Their work includes the Art Institute of Chicago and other cultural organizations.

6. Spellerberg Associates — I'd seriously consider them for the strategy/UX side, particularly if your museum has complicated institutional politics or needs to rethink its overall digital strategy before jumping into design. They specialize specifically in cultural institutions and list MCA Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Terra Foundation, Hammer Museum, Warhol, and others among their clients. spellerberg.org

Spellerberg Associates

How I'd narrow it

One important distinction: don't evaluate these firms primarily on whether their portfolio looks beautiful. For a museum, I'd make the RFP heavily test their ability to handle information architecture, search/collections, exhibitions, events/calendar, ticketing, membership, accessibility, mobile visit planning, content governance, and stakeholder research.

I'd also ask each finalist to show one museum project where the UX was measurably improved, rather than just showing screenshots.

If you tell me which Chicago museum (or roughly its size/type) and your ballpark budget—e.g. <$100K, $100–250K, $250–500K, $500K+—I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually invite to the RFP, including relevant case studies and why each fits.

Yes. For a Chicago museum, I’d put museum-specific digital experience ahead of a generic Chicago web agency. Based on current portfolios and case studies, these are the firms I’d shortlist:

1. Bluecadet — strongest overall fit
   • They redesigned the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago site, including collection discovery, search/filtering, editorial templates, and UX. www.bluecadet.comwww.purplerockscissors.comwww.sandstormdesign.comsukacreative.com
   • Their current practice explicitly combines UX research, product strategy, accessibility, CMS/editorial systems, and cultural-institution websites, alongside physical visitor-experience work. www.bluecadet.com
   • Particularly attractive if you want the website to feel like an extension of the museum experience rather than a conventional marketing site.
   • Bluecadet

2. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — strongest evidence on measurable museum UX
   • They redesigned Chicago's Field Museum website, restructuring 2,000+ pages, using personas, card sorting and user testing. www.purplerockscissors.com
   • Their reported results are unusually concrete: 87% more clicks to ticketing from visit pages on desktop, 360% more on mobile, and 47% less reliance on homepage search. www.purplerockscissors.com
   • They also have museum work for the National Museum of Women in the Arts and Detroit Institute of Arts. www.purplerockscissors.com
   • The caveat: they're headquartered in Orlando, so I'd choose them for portfolio strength rather than Chicago proximity.
   • Purple Rock Scissors

3. Sandstorm Design — strongest Chicago-based UX specialist
   • They're headquartered in Chicago and describe UX research/usability testing as a core competency, with 5,000+ hours of UX research and usability studies. www.sandstormdesign.com
   • Their work is particularly oriented toward purpose-driven organizations and complex, content-heavy digital experiences. www.sandstormdesign.com
   • I'd seriously consider them if your biggest problems are information architecture, accessibility, research, content organization, and getting lots of internal stakeholders aligned.
   • Sandstorm Design

4. Suka Creative — strong museum-specific alternative
   • Their Tenement Museum redesign is a particularly relevant case: audience research, staff interviews, personas, user flows, wireframes, usability testing, mobile-first design, ticketing and fundraising integrations. sukacreative.com
   • They explicitly serve nonprofit/cultural institutions and have a mature UX-to-development process. sukacreative.com
   • Good choice if you want UX + content strategy + brand/visual design, rather than UX in isolation.
   • Suka Creative

5. Cuberis — worth an RFP if WordPress is important
   • They're unusually focused on museum websites and specialize in museum-optimized WordPress platforms, collections, memberships, donations and integrations. cuberis.com
   • They have experience with institutions including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum.
   • Not Chicago-based, but potentially a very good practical choice if the project is CMS-heavy and operationally complex.
   • Cuberis

My shortlist

If I were running your RFP, I'd probably invite Bluecadet, PRPL, Sandstorm, and Suka to pitch.

I'd differentiate them this way:

One important point: don't evaluate these agencies primarily on how attractive their portfolio screenshots are. For a museum, I'd make the RFP heavily weighted toward audience research, information architecture, ticketing/visit planning, collections discovery, accessibility, events, membership/donations, CMS governance, and the ability to reconcile the needs of visitors, educators, members, donors and staff.

If you tell me what kind of Chicago museum you are (art/history/science/etc.), approximate budget, and whether you're staying on WordPress/Drupal/Tessitura/etc., I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually interview and explain why.

For a Chicago museum website redesign, I’d prioritize agencies that understand museum-specific problems—multiple audiences, collections/exhibitions, ticketing and membership, accessibility, institutional stakeholders, and often complicated CMS/CRM integrations—rather than a generic UX shop.

My shortlist would be:

1. Sandstorm Design — strongest Chicago UX-oriented option
   • Chicago-based and explicitly research/UX driven.
   • Emphasizes usability testing, journey mapping, inclusive design, and ongoing optimization.
   • Particularly interesting if the project involves organizational change as well as a visual redesign.

2. Studio Blue — excellent cultural-institution fit
   • Specializes in mission-driven organizations, including museums and academic institutions.
   • Their work includes web experience, information architecture, and digital storytelling.
   • A good choice if your museum has complex content and many internal stakeholders.

3. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — very compelling if you want demonstrated museum results
   • They redesigned the Field Museum website and report substantial UX improvements: 87% more clicks to ticketing from visit pages on desktop, 47% less reliance on homepage search, and 360% more ticketing clicks on mobile. www.purplerockscissors.com
   • That's unusually relevant evidence for a museum trying to improve the actual visitor journey rather than just refresh its look.

4. Fuzzy Math — best if strategy/research is the hard part
   • Their Field Museum engagement focused on digital strategy, UX research, organizational silos, legacy systems, and creating an actionable digital roadmap. fuzzymath.com
   • I'd consider them especially if you're still figuring out what the new site needs to accomplish before choosing the design.

5. Luci Creative — best for museum/visitor-experience thinking
   • Chicago-area firm with deep museum and cultural-experience expertise, including Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Children's Museum, and First Division Museum. www.tronviggroup.com
   • More experience-design oriented than a conventional website UX agency, so particularly attractive if the website needs to connect with the physical visitor experience.

6. Futurehaus — good smaller-studio alternative
   • Chicago design/technology studio working with mission-driven and cultural organizations, covering website strategy, UX/UI, content architecture, and development.
   • Worth considering if you want a relatively integrated strategy/design/technology partner.

One wildcard I'd seriously investigate

Spellerberg Associates isn't the typical large agency, but its specialization is almost exactly your problem: cultural-sector digital strategy. Its principal has worked with institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Terra Foundation, Andy Warhol Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the firm works across strategy, UX, CMS, and implementation. spellerberg.org

How I'd narrow this to an RFP

I'd probably invite 4 firms:

• Sandstorm — UX/research + Chicago
• Purple Rock Scissors — proven museum website outcomes
• Studio Blue — cultural-sector fluency
• Spellerberg or Fuzzy Math — deep digital strategy

And I'd make the RFP require each agency to show 2–3 museum/cultural projects, specifically demonstrating:

• audience research and usability testing
• information architecture for exhibitions/collections/programs
• ticketing, membership and donation journeys
• accessibility/WCAG approach
• CMS governance for nontechnical museum staff
• integrations with your ticketing/CRM/collections systems
• measurable outcomes after launch

One important distinction: don't let an agency win simply by showing you beautiful museum websites. Ask them to demonstrate how they discovered what visitors were struggling with and what changed in measurable terms.

If you tell me which Chicago museum it is, approximate budget (e.g. $50–100k vs. $200k+), and whether you need design only or design + development, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually interview, with relevant case studies and contact links.

Yes. For a Chicago museum website redesign where UX for cultural audiences is the priority, I’d put these agencies on the shortlist:

1. Sandstorm Design — probably my first Chicago call. They emphasize UX research, usability testing, journey mapping, inclusive design, and large organizational websites. They also have direct cultural-institution experience; notably, they worked with the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute on a UX/UI-driven digital experience. isac.uchicago.edu

Sandstorm Design

2. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — particularly compelling because they redesigned the Field Museum's website. Their case study reports substantial improvements in navigation and clicks to ticketing, including a 47% reduction in reliance on homepage search and a 360% increase in mobile clicks to ticketing. www.purplerockscissors.com

Purple Rock Scissors

3. Cuberis — I'd strongly consider them if your site has complicated collections, education content, memberships, ticketing, or CMS requirements. They specialize specifically in museum websites and cite work for the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum, and other cultural institutions, including usability studies before redesign. cuberis.com

Cuberis

4. Studio Blue — a good Chicago option if you want a studio with deep cultural/academic design experience rather than a conventional digital-marketing agency. Their work includes museums and cultural organizations, with website strategy, information architecture, and digital experiences.

5. Span — worth a look if the project has a significant brand + website component. Their cultural portfolio includes the Intuit Art Museum and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

6. Futurehaus — interesting for a museum that needs storytelling, UX, content architecture, and technology handled together. They position themselves specifically around mission-driven organizations and cultural institutions.

One non-Chicago agency I'd absolutely interview

Oomph has an unusually strong museum UX case study with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They tackled information architecture, visitor journeys, accessibility, content systems, and design—not merely a visual redesign. Their approach included user research and TreeJack testing before visual design, which is exactly the kind of UX rigor I'd want in an RFP. www.oomphinc.com
Oomph

My shortlist

If I were running the selection process, I'd probably invite Sandstorm, Purple Rock Scissors, Cuberis, and Oomph to pitch.

I'd evaluate them less on portfolio aesthetics and more on whether they can demonstrate:

• Actual visitor research before designing
• Strong information architecture for exhibitions, events, collections, education, and visiting
• Mobile-first trip planning and ticketing UX
• Accessibility/WCAG expertise
• Membership and donation conversion without making the site feel commercial
• Integration with your CMS, ticketing, CRM, and collections systems
• A sustainable content model your museum staff can actually maintain
• Evidence that they measure UX outcomes after launch

One especially important question for the pitches: “Show us how you would decide what belongs on our homepage and primary navigation before you show us any visual design.” That will tell you very quickly which firms are genuinely UX-led versus primarily web-design firms.

If you tell me which Chicago museum you're renovating, your CMS/ticketing stack, and rough budget, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their relevant museum projects and likely fit.

Yes. For a Chicago museum website renovation, I’d prioritize agencies that can demonstrate actual museum/cultural UX work—not just general nonprofit web design.

My shortlist

1. Sandstorm Design — probably my first call for a traditional website redesign. They’re Chicago-based and emphasize UX research, usability testing, journey mapping, information architecture, accessibility, and enterprise web development. They also have cultural/mission-driven experience; their work with the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute involved a substantial UX and creative process. isac.uchicago.edu

Sandstorm Design

2. Next/Now — worth considering if the project extends beyond the website into visitor experience, interactive storytelling, or digital interpretation. They're Chicago-based and specialize in experience design combining strategy, creative, and technology.

3. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — especially compelling because they actually redesigned the Field Museum's website. Their work included information architecture, personas, card sorting, user testing, accessibility, and visit-planning UX. The reported results are unusually concrete: a 47% decrease in reliance on homepage search and an 87% increase in clicks to ticketing from desktop visit pages. files.purplerockscissors.com

PRPL Field Museum case study

4. Bluecadet — a particularly interesting choice if your museum wants the website to feel like an extension of the physical museum experience, rather than simply a marketing site. They redesigned the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's site, explicitly balancing the museum's visual identity with "effortless usability." www.bluecadet.com

Bluecadet

5. Cuberis — I'd put them on the RFP list if you have complicated museum infrastructure behind the site—collections databases, ticketing, memberships, CRM, WordPress, etc. They specialize in museum websites and specifically cite work with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum, including usability studies and integrations with museum systems. cuberis.com

Cuberis

6. Eva Philips — if you're open to a smaller specialist rather than a large agency, this is an intriguing option. She led the UX/content work for the Adler Planetarium website redesign, including stakeholder interviews, UX workshops, journey mapping, information architecture, wireframes, user testing, and CMS training. www.evaphilips.com

If I were narrowing it to three

I'd interview Sandstorm, PRPL, and Bluecadet first.

They represent three slightly different approaches:

One thing I'd strongly build into the RFP: require the finalists to show their research artifacts and decision-making process, not just polished screenshots. Ask to see examples of stakeholder interviews, visitor research, card sorting/tree testing, usability testing, accessibility work, information architecture, and how they handled competing audiences (visitors, members, donors, educators, researchers, etc.).

If you tell me which Chicago museum and roughly your budget/scale (e.g. $100–250k vs. $500k+), I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are realistically appropriate and compare their museum portfolios, likely strengths, and red flags.

For a Chicago museum website renovation, I’d prioritize agencies that understand visitor journeys, collections/exhibitions content, ticketing or membership flows, accessibility, and the realities of museum governance—not just general web design. A few firms worth considering:

Strong museum-specific fits

Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL)
A very strong match if your priority is museum UX and audience conversion. They redesigned the Field Museum website, focusing on information architecture, visit planning, personas, and user testing. Their case study reports improvements around ticketing journeys, navigation, and engagement. files.purplerockscissors.comwww.purplerockscissors.com
Best for: large museums, complex content ecosystems, improving “plan your visit” experiences.

Bluecadet
A strong cultural-sector specialist. They worked on the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago website, including collection exploration, storytelling templates, and balancing a distinctive museum brand with usability. www.bluecadet.comwww.purplerockscissors.com
Best for: art museums, collection-driven sites, digital storytelling.

Cuberis
A museum-focused digital agency that specializes in museum websites, collections, memberships, and content platforms. cuberis.comwww.purplerockscissors.com
Best for: institutions that need a long-term CMS partner and staff-friendly publishing workflows.

Chicago-based agencies to put on your shortlist

Sandstorm Design
Chicago-based agency with UX strategy, accessibility, and mission-driven organization experience. They may be a good fit if your museum needs broader digital strategy, governance, and inclusive design—not only a visual redesign.

Studio Blue
A Chicago studio with cultural and academic institution experience, including work connected to museum and university audiences.
Best for: institutions where brand expression, editorial design, and digital storytelling matter.

Bark Design
A Chicago studio with museum/cultural organization experience and capabilities spanning UX, information architecture, CMS, and web development.
Best for: smaller or mid-sized museums wanting a hands-on partner.

Also worth a look

• Eva Philips — worked on the Adler Planetarium website redesign, including UX audits, user journeys, IA, wireframes, and testing. www.evaphilips.com Good if you want a more specialized UX-led engagement.
• Luci Creative — more focused on visitor experience, exhibits, and physical/digital interpretation than purely websites.

How I’d narrow the field

For an RFP, I’d probably invite 4–6 firms and ask them to specifically address:

1. Museum UX evidence
   • Show 2–3 museum/cultural websites they redesigned.
   • Explain what research informed the IA and navigation.

2. Visitor conversion
   • How will they improve ticket purchases, event discovery, membership, donations, and trip planning?

3. Collections and storytelling
   • How will they handle thousands of objects, exhibitions, archives, and educational resources?

4. Internal usability
   • Ask museum staff to update the site themselves after launch.

5. Accessibility
   • Require WCAG-focused design and testing, not just a compliance statement.

If this is a major Chicago museum (Field/MCA/Art Institute scale), I’d start with PRPL, Bluecadet, and Cuberis. If it’s a smaller museum with a tighter team, I’d look closely at Bark, Sandstorm, or Studio Blue. www.purplerockscissors.com

For a Chicago museum, I’d prioritize agencies that understand museum-specific audience journeys, collections/content complexity, accessibility, ticketing/membership, and institutional stakeholder management—not just firms that happen to make attractive websites.

My shortlist

1. Sandstorm Design — strongest Chicago UX-oriented option
   • Chicago-based and explicitly UX/research driven.
   • Their process includes usability testing, personas, journey mapping, and metrics.
   • They also have experience with mission-led organizations and complex institutional websites.
   • I'd put them high on the RFP list if the project is primarily a website/digital-experience redesign.

2. Purple Rock Scissors (PRPL) — particularly strong museum precedent
   • They redesigned the Field Museum's website, including information architecture, visitor journeys, membership and educational resources.
   • The results are unusually concrete: 87% more clicks to ticketing from visit pages on desktop, 360% more on mobile, and a 47% reduction in homepage reliance on search. files.purplerockscissors.comwww.purplerockscissors.com
   • This is probably the most directly relevant case study I'd want to discuss with a prospective agency.

3. Studio Blue — excellent cultural-sector sensibility
   • Chicago firm with a strong concentration in museums, universities and other cultural/mission-driven institutions.
   • I'd consider them especially if your redesign needs to balance editorial/content strategy, institutional identity and digital UX, rather than treating the website as a purely transactional product.

4. Cuberis — museum-specialist rather than Chicago-local
   • Their entire practice is heavily oriented toward museum websites.
   • They emphasize museum-specific UX, collections, memberships, programs and integrations, and have worked with institutions including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum. cuberis.com
   • Worth including if museum-platform expertise matters more than having a Chicago office.

5. Landslide Creative — another museum-focused specialist
   • Their work specifically addresses museum information architecture, audience prioritization, accessibility, membership, donations and visit planning.
   • They also emphasize WCAG accessibility and staff-friendly CMS administration. landslidecreative.com
   • A good candidate if the museum has a large content ecosystem and lots of internal editors.

6. Speak — particularly interesting if ticketing/conversion is central
   • Focuses specifically on arts and cultural organizations, with website UX, ticket calendars, CRM integrations, membership, donations and mobile experiences.
   • I'd investigate them if the redesign needs to improve the entire journey from "I'm interested" → "I'm planning a visit" → ticket purchase → membership/repeat visit. www.madebyspeak.com

One more option I'd investigate

Spellerberg Associates is a particularly interesting specialist consultancy. Its founder has extensive museum digital/arts-administration experience, including work with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and other major cultural institutions. Their offering spans UX, digital strategy, CMS and technical implementation. spellerberg.org

How I'd narrow this down

If I were running your selection process, I'd probably invite PRPL, Sandstorm, Landslide and Cuberis to an initial conversation, with Studio Blue or Spellerberg as an alternative depending on whether you want a more design/editorial or strategic/consultative partner.

And I would not choose based primarily on visual portfolio. Ask each agency to show you:

• a museum website where they improved visit planning and ticket conversion
• their actual user-research and IA process
• how they handle collections + exhibitions + events + education + membership without creating an impossible navigation system
• accessibility/user testing with actual museum audiences
• how they resolve conflicts among curatorial, education, marketing, development and visitor-services stakeholders
• experience integrating Tessitura, Altru, Blackbaud, ticketing, CRM and collection systems
• what the museum team can change itself after launch
• measurable results from comparable projects

The Field Museum/PRPL case is especially worth using as a benchmark because it gives you actual UX outcomes rather than simply saying "we redesigned a museum website." files.purplerockscissors.comwww.purplerockscissors.com

If you tell me which Chicago museum you are (or roughly your size, CMS, and budget range), I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies and compare their relevant museum work, strengths, likely fit, and questions to ask in the RFP.

For a Chicago museum website renovation, I’d put three firms at the top of the shortlist, with a couple of strong alternates depending on what you need the site to accomplish.

My shortlist

1. PRPL / Purple Rock Scissors — probably my first call for a museum where visitor UX, information architecture, and measurable outcomes are priorities. They redesigned the Field Museum website, using personas, card sorting and user testing to restructure navigation and visitor journeys. Their published results include an 87% increase in clicks from visit-related pages to ticketing on desktop and 360% on mobile. files.purplerockscissors.com

2. Bluecadet — especially compelling if your museum wants a site that feels distinctively cultural rather than like a conventional nonprofit website. They redesigned the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's site, explicitly balancing the museum's visual identity with usability and integrating the online experience with the physical museum experience. www.bluecadet.com

3. Sandstorm Design — a good Chicago-based option if you want research-heavy UX plus strategy, accessibility, and development. Their positioning emphasizes usability testing, journey mapping, inclusive design and UX strategy; they also have experience with cultural/mission-driven organizations. Sandstorm Design

Also worth interviewing

• Speak — particularly relevant if your project involves audience research and visitor journeys. They worked with the Illinois Holocaust Museum on UX research around ticket purchasing and membership, then used that research to inform the redesign. www.madebyspeak.com
• Studio Blue — a more design-led Chicago option with substantial cultural-institution experience, including the Art Institute of Chicago, and expertise in information architecture and digital experiences. Studio Blue
• Cuberis — worth considering if the site will have a large collection, complex CMS, membership/ticketing integrations, or a relatively small internal web team. Their museum practice is unusually specialized, with experience integrating collection databases and third-party systems. cuberis.com
• Landslide Creative — another museum-specialist option. Their approach explicitly prioritizes audience journeys, IA, accessibility and the needs of multiple museum constituencies (visitors, donors, educators, members, researchers, etc.). landslidecreative.com

How I'd narrow it down

If I were running the RFP, I'd probably invite PRPL, Bluecadet, and Sandstorm to pitch.

I'd evaluate them less on visual comps and more on whether they can demonstrate:

• Real visitor research, not just stakeholder interviews
• Excellent visit-planning UX: hours, tickets, exhibitions, directions, accessibility, parking, events
• A coherent IA for collections + exhibitions + programs + learning resources
• Mobile-first design
• Accessibility baked into research/design rather than checked at the end
• Integration with your ticketing, membership, CRM and collection systems
• A CMS your staff can actually maintain
• Evidence that they've improved conversion/visitor behavior, not merely produced a prettier site

One particularly important distinction: Bluecadet is probably the strongest choice if the museum's digital experience needs to be highly expressive and experiential; PRPL if you're looking for rigorous UX optimization; Sandstorm if you want a strategic/research-oriented partner that can carry the project through implementation.

If you tell me which Chicago museum, your approximate budget, CMS/ticketing system, and whether you're looking for strategy-only or full redesign/development, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies and compare their relevant museum projects, strengths, and likely fit.