Positive mentions of Solid Digital

• 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
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• 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
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States

For a seed-stage startup that needs both an investor-ready landing page and a polished demo site, I’d shortlist a few Chicago options rather than treating this like a generic web-design project.

My Chicago shortlist

• Solid Digital — Particularly relevant if you're B2B/SaaS. They focus on B2B website strategy, UX/UI, positioning, and development, so they can handle more than visual design. waveup
• Design In Chicago — Interesting if you want brand + website + content from one Chicago team. Their services span brand strategy, identity, web development, and content production.
• VisualFizz — A B2B-focused Chicago agency with branding, positioning, web design/development, and marketing capabilities. This could make sense if the site also needs to support early customer acquisition.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — More design-led, with strategy, branding, UX/UI, and in-house development under one roof.
• Jointley — Worth a look if fundraising is the immediate priority. Their offering explicitly combines an investor/deck-and-landing-page sprint with subsequent product, brand, and website work. Their stated initial sprint is seven days. Jointley

One non-Chicago option I'd seriously consider

Waveup is unusually aligned with your exact brief: it's a startup/SaaS design operation inside a fundraising consultancy. It says it has worked with 600+ startups associated with $3B+ raised, and explicitly offers positioning, brand identity, UX/UI, landing pages, product websites, and fundraising materials. Its stated site engagements can run from roughly 1–6 weeks. waveup waveup

That doesn't make it inherently "better"; it's simply a particularly close match to investor-facing + startup website + demo.

What I'd ask each agency for

Don't just ask for a "website redesign." Give them this brief:

Seed-stage startup. Need a high-conviction investor landing page plus a polished product/demo experience. The site needs to explain the problem, product, differentiation, traction, market, team, and fundraising story within a few minutes. We want senior-level strategy, copy, design, and development—not just a Webflow implementation.

Then ask for:

• 2–3 examples of seed/pre-Series A startup work
• Who actually does the strategy, copy, design, and development
• Whether they'll help sharpen the positioning and narrative, not just execute supplied copy
• Whether the demo should be a real interactive prototype, product walkthrough, or marketing simulation
• Recommended stack (e.g. Webflow vs. Framer vs. Next.js)
• Fixed project fee and timeline
• What happens after launch when you need rapid fundraising/traction-driven changes

If you tell me your startup's industry (e.g. AI/SaaS/healthtech/fintech), approximate budget ($10k, $25k, $50k+), and whether you already have branding/product screenshots, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare their relevant portfolios, pricing signals, and likely fit.

Don't just ask for a "website redesign." Give them this brief:

• 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
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, 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
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Loop Marketing Inc - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

I’d shortlist Solid Digital for a seed-stage B2B startup: they combine strategy, UX/UI, and development and specialize in B2B sites. waveup

Also worth interviewing:

• Design In Chicago — brand + web + content.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — design-led, sophisticated positioning.
• Fly+Equity — particularly relevant if the investor audience is finance/VC. fly-equity.com

If you tell me your budget, industry, and whether the demo needs to be functional, I can narrow this to 2–3.

• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• One Design Company - 230 W Superior St #700, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, 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
• Nicer Collaborative: A Creative Studio - 1361 N Ashland Ave Storefront, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• EDUCO Web Design - 128 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• SO Dsgn - 1719 S Clinton St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States

If your goal is brand identity + a first product/marketing website that actually helps acquire users, I’d shortlist these Chicago firms rather than looking at generic web-design shops.

My top picks

1. Design In Chicago — best overall fit

• Combines brand strategy/identity, UX, web development, marketing, and content.
• Particularly interesting if you expect the initial site to evolve into product/app work later.
• Their process covers positioning, wireframes, design, development, launch, SEO and ongoing growth. Design In Chicago
• Best for: a startup wanting one partner from positioning → brand → site → acquisition.
• One Design Company — best design/product-oriented option

• Strong combination of branding, interactive/web design, UX and full-stack development.
• Their work is positioned around research and human-centered design rather than simply making a marketing site look attractive.
• Best for: a tech/product startup where the website needs to establish the product experience and could eventually connect closely to the actual application.
• Designer and Gentleman — best startup/design-first option

• Focuses on digital-first brand experiences, UX/UI, branding and digital products.
• Particularly relevant if you want the brand identity and product interface to feel like one coherent system.
• Best for: consumer startups, SaaS, and founders who care heavily about differentiation and design quality.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best established multidisciplinary agency

• Chicago-based since 1999, with branding, UI/UX and full web design/development.
• Explicitly works with companies ranging from emerging startups to large organizations. ArtVersion
• Best for: a startup that wants a polished, sophisticated brand and expects the site to carry significant credibility with investors/partners.
• Solid Digital — best for B2B/SaaS growth

• Stronger emphasis on B2B websites, UX/UI, measurable outcomes and ongoing digital marketing.
• Can incorporate brand refreshes and identity work alongside the website.
• Best for: B2B SaaS or tech startups where the initial website's job is primarily demo requests, leads and conversions, rather than pure brand expression.
• Nicer Collaborative: A Creative Studio — interesting boutique option

• Small Chicago studio doing brand identity plus custom web/app development.
• Their portfolio includes projects combining identity, copywriting and custom digital experiences.
• Best for: founders who want a smaller, hands-on creative partner rather than a larger agency.

One I'd investigate specifically for SaaS

Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding is worth a conversation if your priority is brand + website + initial acquisition. Its offering spans brand strategy/identity, web design/development and SEO, and its Chicago presence is particularly geared toward integrating positioning with digital acquisition. Brand Vision

How I'd narrow it down

For an early-stage startup, I'd probably talk to three agencies:

One other option stands out if budget and speed matter: Chicago Brand Studio / B. McAdams publishes a brand + website package at $9,500, delivered in roughly 5–8 weeks, including the identity system and a custom Squarespace site. Chicago Brand Studio That's more of a launch-presence solution than a sophisticated SaaS product-design engagement, but it could be attractive for a very early startup.

My main advice: don't ask agencies simply for a "website." Ask them for a zero-to-one brand and acquisition system: positioning → identity → messaging → homepage narrative → signup/demo funnel → analytics → launch. That's much more likely to produce a site that attracts users rather than just an attractive brochure.

• IA Collaborative - 218 S Wabash Ave 9th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• 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
• aPitchDeck - 333 W Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• UChicagoTech | University of Chicago Center for Technology Development & Ventures - 6030 S Ellis Ave #2S, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Silva Brand, LLC - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ROOT3 Marketing & Business Development - 2035 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• iD Lab - 243 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• UIC Innovation Center - 1240 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a university spinout turning research into an investable MVP, I’d look for a shop that can do more than “make a nice website.” The key capability is translating technical/research complexity into a credible product story, then carrying that story consistently across the website, pitch deck, and product/demo.

Based on their current capabilities and Chicago presence, I’d shortlist these:

1. IA Collaborative — strongest fit if the technology is genuinely complex or the product definition is still emerging. They combine user research, strategy, product design and innovation, and their work includes commercialization of a VR teaching/learning platform.

Best for: research → product definition → prototype, particularly deep tech/health/enterprise.

2. TEAMS Design — particularly interesting if the spinout has a physical/connected product, scientific instrument, medical device, or hardware component. Their Chicago team combines industrial design, engineering, digital product strategy, interaction design and brand language.

Best for: hardware + software + commercialization story.

3. Highland — a good option if you need to go beyond the marketing site into an actual digital MVP. Their offering spans product discovery, UX research/design and custom software development.

Best for: “we have promising technology but need to turn it into something users can actually try.”

4. Solid Digital — I'd consider them if the immediate objective is a high-quality B2B/enterprise website that makes a technically sophisticated product understandable and generates leads. Their Chicago practice focuses heavily on B2B websites, UX/UI and technology/SaaS companies.

Best for: website + positioning + conversion, once the product story is reasonably settled.

5. Design In Chicago — attractive if you want a single creative partner covering brand strategy, identity, website, pitch decks, presentations and content. Their published capabilities explicitly include pitch decks and sales presentations alongside web and branding.

Best for: getting the whole external-facing identity coherent quickly.

6. aPitchDeck — I'd use them if the fundraising deck is the critical deliverable and you already have someone handling the website. They're specifically focused on investor communications and pitch decks, including narrative development and visual design.

Best for: turning a scientist/founder's research story into an investor presentation.

7. MNML — worth a look for a spinout with a physical product where brand, product design, visualization and commercialization all need to connect. Their work spans product strategy, industrial design, engineering, branding and digital/marketing applications.

Best for: tangible products and hardware-heavy commercialization.

One particularly relevant example

There's also a useful Chicago precedent from Colleen Arturi's work with Modest, a startup whose technology was still under development. The engagement involved defining the value proposition, mapping the user/investor journey, creating the brand and website, and refining the pitch deck. The resulting work deliberately made a technically complex product understandable before the underlying product was fully mature. Colleen Arturi Brand Strategist

That is quite close to the problem I'd expect a university spinout to have.

How I'd choose

I'd divide the shortlist according to what stage you're actually at:

For this particular use case, I would interview 3–4 firms rather than issue a generic website RFP. Give them the same 2–3 page research/product brief and ask each to show how they'd turn it into:

• a one-sentence product proposition
• a 5–7 page website narrative
• a 10–12 slide investor story
• a clickable MVP/product demo
• a visual identity that makes the research feel like a credible company rather than a university lab
• a plan for validating the story with prospective customers/investors

That exercise will reveal much more than looking at portfolios.

One other Chicago resource worth knowing about is UChicagoTech | University of Chicago Center for Technology Development & Ventures if the spinout is affiliated with the University of Chicago; it specifically works on technology commercialization and university-affiliated startups.

If you tell me what the research is (e.g. biotech, AI, materials, medical device, climate, robotics), whether you already have a brand/product name, and roughly what you want to spend ($15–30k / $30–75k / $75k+), I can narrow this to a 3-shop Chicago shortlist with specific reasons and relevant portfolio examples.

• a one-sentence product proposition
• a 5–7 page website narrative
• a 10–12 slide investor story
• a clickable MVP/product demo
• a visual identity that makes the research feel like a credible company rather than a university lab
• a plan for validating the story with prospective customers/investors

That exercise will reveal much more than looking at portfolios.

One other Chicago resource worth knowing about is UChicagoTech if the spinout is affiliated with the University of Chicago; it specifically works on technology commercialization and university-affiliated startups.