Positive mentions of Solid Digital

• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 448 N La Salle Dr Fl 9, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Punchkick Interactive - 150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 3900, Chicago, IL 60601
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• IDEO Chicago - 626 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Streng - Chicago - 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
• Tres Design Group - 435 N Lasalle Dr, Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60610
• Koz Susani Design - 880 N Lake Shore Dr Ste 17D, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If the brief is specifically “redesign a complex B2B SaaS dashboard”, I’d focus less on general branding/web agencies and more on firms with evidence of enterprise UX, workflow-heavy products, dashboards, research, and design systems.

A few Chicago/River North-area options worth putting on an RFP shortlist:

• Grand Studio — River North, 444 N Wells St.

Particularly relevant if the dashboard has complicated workflows or unclear product architecture. They combine UX research, product strategy, interaction design, UI, and design systems, and their positioning is heavily oriented toward complex digital products. UX Planet

• LaunchPad Lab — River North, 448 N LaSalle Dr.

A good candidate if you want design + actual implementation rather than a studio that only hands over Figma files. Their offering includes product discovery, UX/UI, prototyping, and custom software development. ParallelHQ

• Nansen LLC — River North, 300 W Hubbard St.

Worth investigating for a product requiring UX research, strategy, UI, and design-system work. The local business listing specifically identifies those capabilities.

• Solid Digital — Downtown Chicago, 100 N LaSalle St.

More B2B/digital-experience oriented. They do UX discovery, wireframes, user flows and UI for web apps/portals, so they could make sense if the dashboard redesign overlaps with a broader customer portal or web-platform redesign.

• Punchkick Interactive — Downtown, 150 N Michigan Ave.

More of a product design + engineering partner. Their offering spans strategy, UX/UI, custom software and digital products, which is useful if you need the redesign taken all the way into production.

One important caveat

If River North is a preference rather than a hard requirement, I'd also put Fuzzy Math on the list. Multiple current Chicago UX-industry roundups specifically identify them for B2B/enterprise UX and complex workflows, which is unusually close to your dashboard use case. ParallelHQ 925 Studios

Likewise, UX 4Sight is worth considering if the redesign needs substantial user research/usability testing rather than primarily a visual refresh. Their service mix includes UX audits, usability testing, user research, task flows, wireframes and design systems. UX Planet

How I'd structure the shortlist

For a serious B2B SaaS dashboard redesign, I'd ask each studio for 2–3 examples of shipped software—not marketing websites—that demonstrate:

1. Complex tables/data visualization
2. Multi-step workflows
3. Role-based experiences/permissions
4. Information architecture restructuring
5. Design-system/component-library work
6. User research and usability testing
7. Working alongside an existing product/engineering team
8. Evidence that their designs actually reached production

I'd also explicitly ask them to do a paid mini-discovery or UX audit before committing to a full redesign. Current Chicago agency estimates put a comprehensive SaaS redesign anywhere from roughly $50K to $120K+, depending heavily on complexity and research/engineering scope. ParallelHQ 925 Studios

If you tell me your approximate budget (e.g. $25–50K, $50–100K, $100K+) and whether you need design-only or design + development, I can narrow this to a practical 3–5 agency shortlist with contact links, relevant case studies, estimated fit, and questions to ask each in the pitch.

• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 220 W Huron St, Ste 2001, Chicago, IL 60654
• Punchkick Interactive - 150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 3900, Chicago, IL 60601
• 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
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Tres Design Group - 435 N Lasalle Dr, Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60610
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• IDEO Chicago - 626 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Streng - Chicago - 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607

For a B2B SaaS dashboard redesign specifically in River North, I’d shortlist:

• Grand Studio — best overall fit. River North location, strong UX research/product strategy, and experience tackling complex enterprise problems. ParallelHQ
• Nansen LLC — worth considering for UX research, UX/UI, and design systems; actually located in River North.
• LaunchPad Lab — good if you want design + engineering rather than a design-only engagement; particularly relevant for complex software modernization.
• Punchkick Interactive — broader digital product strategy/design/development capability.

My pick: Grand Studio if the problem is primarily workflow/UX complexity; LaunchPad Lab if you also need the redesigned dashboard engineered.

One caveat: several of Chicago’s strongest B2B SaaS specialists—particularly Fuzzy Math and Codal—aren’t actually in River North, so I wouldn't restrict the search geographically. ParallelHQ agency.uxplanet.org memcite

Yes. For a law-firm client portal, I’d bias toward agencies with real product/UX depth rather than a conventional branding/web shop. The portal has to handle documents, matters, messaging, billing, deadlines, permissions, and sensitive information without feeling like legal software from 2012.

My Chicago shortlist:

My top 5

• TXI — best if the portal is a serious product.

This would be my first call if you're contemplating more than a visual redesign. TXI combines product strategy, user research, UX, prototyping and software engineering, which is valuable when the agency needs to understand the underlying workflows rather than simply make screens prettier.

• UX 4Sight — best pure UX/UI fit in the Loop.

Their offering is unusually aligned with your problem: UX research, UX/UI, usability testing, wireframes, responsive web apps and design validation. They're at 111 W Jackson Blvd in the Loop. Clutch

• Solid Digital — best for portal + implementation.

They specifically work on B2B digital experiences and web apps/portals, including complex customer-facing workflows. I'd put them high on the list if you want one partner to take you from UX through development rather than handing Figma files to another vendor.

• Clique Studios — best larger-agency option.

They bring UX/UI, information architecture, usability/accessibility, content strategy, engineering and digital transformation together. I'd consider them if this is part of a broader modernization of the firm's digital client experience.

• Design In Chicago — best Fulton Market-local option.

They're actually in the West Loop/Fulton Market area at 159 N Sangamon and offer branding, digital design, development and UI work. I'd favor them if the portal needs to feel like a natural extension of a broader firm rebrand.

One wildcard I'd seriously investigate

ALL FOR™ is in Fulton Market at 160 N. Elizabeth and explicitly offers UI/UX, custom web design and design systems. They're more of a design/brand/web studio than a deep product consultancy, so I'd use them if the goal is “make our client experience dramatically more modern and premium” rather than “rethink a complicated legal workflow.” ALL FOR™ ALL FOR™

There's also a particularly interesting non-Chicago-local option: Convex explicitly specializes in legal UX and lists client portals, intake, document sharing, case-management workflows and legal SaaS among its work. That's unusually close to your brief, although I'd want to establish whether having the team local is important to you. The Convex Agency

If I were running the RFP

I'd invite TXI, UX 4Sight, Solid Digital, and Convex to pitch.

And I wouldn't ask them to pitch a generic “portal redesign.” I'd give them 3–4 representative journeys:

1. New client: invitation → account setup → intake → engagement letter.
2. Active matter: see status → communicate with attorney → upload/review documents → upcoming deadlines.
3. Billing: invoice → payment → billing history.
4. Multiple matters: one client with several matters/attorneys, with appropriate permissions.

Then ask each agency to redesign one journey in a short workshop/prototype. You'll learn far more about their UX thinking that way than from looking at polished homepage case studies.

The biggest thing I'd screen for is whether they understand “client portal UX” rather than “website UX.” Those are very different problems.

If you tell me roughly your firm size, practice areas, existing portal/platform (Litify, Clio, Salesforce, custom, etc.), and whether you want design-only or design + development, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a suggested RFP/budget range for each.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If your goal is specifically increasing completed donations (not just redesigning a nonprofit website), I’d prioritize agencies that can show evidence of:

• donation funnel audits
• UX research/usability testing with donors
• donation form optimization
• A/B testing or experimentation
• analytics setup (GA4, Hotjar/Clarity, etc.)
• recurring giving optimization
• measurable conversion lifts

A shortlist of Chicago-area firms worth evaluating:

A couple of non-Chicago specialists are also worth considering because they are closer to “donation conversion specialists” than general UX agencies:

• Donately — focuses on donation experiences, donor flows, custom forms, and fundraising optimization services. Donately Donately
• PhilanthroForge — focuses specifically on donation UX audits, donor journeys, form optimization, and fundraising analytics. PhilanthroForge
• Donation Scalers — focuses on donor funnels, campaigns, and fundraising growth systems. Donation Scalers

How I’d vet them before hiring

Ask each agency these questions:

1. “Show us 2–3 donation pages you improved. What was the baseline conversion rate and what changed?”
2. “Did you optimize the donation form itself or only redesign the website?”
3. “What donor friction did you identify?”

• too many fields
• unclear impact of gifts
• weak trust signals
• poor mobile UX
• confusing recurring-gift options
• “What testing methodology do you use?”

• A/B testing
• usability testing
• heatmaps/session recordings
• donor interviews
• “Who owns analytics after launch?”

• GA4 events
• donation completion tracking
• recurring donor tracking
• experiment reporting

For a nonprofit whose primary KPI is more completed donations, I’d probably start conversations with Orbit Media, Oak Theory, UX 4Sight, and one fundraising-specialist firm (Donately or PhilanthroForge) rather than a pure branding/web design shop. Orbit Media Studios Oak Theory PhilanthroForge

I can also put together a ranked shortlist by nonprofit experience, CRO depth, estimated budget range, and project fit (small nonprofit vs. large institution) if that would help.

• Fuzzy Math - 1440 N Dayton, Ste 307, Chicago, IL 60642
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Design Science - 909 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Mightybytes - 4001 N Ravenswood Ave, Ste 404, Chicago, IL 60613
• Rowe Intermedia - Chicago, IL 60641
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• WeCo Accessibility Services - 300 1/2 S Main St, Stillwater, MN 55082
• Chicago Harbor Lighthouse - Chicago Harbor, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX Healthcare - 211 E 43rd St 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017, United States
• Digital Accessibility by WeCo - 2730 W Lake St Ste 300, Minneapolis, MN 55416, United States
• Alphazeta - 325 W Huron St, Ste 506, Chicago, IL 60654
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a Chicago healthcare portal, I’d put these firms on the initial RFP list based on the combination of accessibility auditing, UX/product work, and healthcare experience:

• Fuzzy Math — Chicago UX strategy/research consultancy with experience in healthcare and complex workflow-heavy products. Good candidate if the UX improvement side is substantial. Agency List
• Sandstorm Design — Chicago UX/digital-experience agency that combines research, design, development and accessibility work. Agency List
• Design Science — Evanston-based human-factors consultancy specifically focused on healthcare/medical technology usability. Particularly relevant if the portal involves clinically important workflows or safety-sensitive interactions.
• Mightybytes — Chicago digital agency with accessibility as an explicit service area, alongside strategy, design and development.
• Rowe Intermedia — Worth contacting if you want a healthcare-oriented accessibility/compliance partner; its Chicago practice specifically works with health systems and healthcare/life-sciences organizations.
• Clique Studios — Chicago agency covering UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility-focused design and engineering, which could make sense if you want one partner to carry findings through implementation.

There are also specialist accessibility organizations I'd consider separately from the UX agencies. WeCo Accessibility Services provides dedicated accessibility testing/consulting, while Chicago Harbor Lighthouse offers accessibility audits, consulting and testing and has more than 15 years of relevant experience. The Chicago Lighthouse

What I'd put in the RFP

For a healthcare portal, don't ask simply for an “ADA audit.” Ask candidates to demonstrate:

• WCAG 2.2 AA testing, including manual testing—not just automated scans.
• Keyboard-only testing and actual NVDA/JAWS/VoiceOver screen-reader testing. Access Living
• Usability testing with people with disabilities, where appropriate.
• Review of patient registration, login, scheduling, forms, error handling, documents/PDFs and medication/health-information flows.
• A finding-by-finding report mapped to WCAG criteria, severity, affected users and developer-ready remediation.
• UX research and redesign recommendations after the audit, rather than treating accessibility as a compliance-only exercise.
• Retesting after remediation and a plan for preventing regressions.
• If the agency will encounter PHI, ask about its BAA/HIPAA handling and data-access procedures.

One especially relevant specialist is Access Living, which explicitly combines automated and manual accessibility testing and tests to WCAG 2.2 AA; its manual testing is intended to uncover real-world usability barriers that automated tools miss. Access Living

If you want, I can also turn this into a 5–7 agency shortlist with contact links, healthcare clients/case studies, estimated agency size, and a side-by-side RFP scorecard.

• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Rowe Intermedia - Chicago, IL 60641
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• UX Healthcare - 211 E 43rd St 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017, United States
• WeCo Accessibility Services - 300 1/2 S Main St, Stillwater, MN 55082
• Agency 39A - 10000 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232, United States
• Alphazeta - 325 W Huron St, Ste 506, Chicago, IL 60654
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Mederi Digital - Healthcare Design Agency - 3422 Business Center Dr Ste 106 #1077, Pearland, TX 77584, United States
• Bold Insight (Chicago) - 125 S Wacker Dr Suite 3020, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Nemera Insight Chicago LLC - 4660 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States

For a Chicago healthcare portal, I’d put these firms on the initial shortlist, based on their publicly described accessibility and UX capabilities:

• Sandstorm Design — Chicago-based digital experience/UX agency with healthcare experience and an accessibility-oriented audit → development → retest process. Web Tonic
• Rowe Intermedia — Particularly worth contacting if the portal is tied to a health system or regulated healthcare organization; its public materials emphasize healthcare/life-sciences work and accessibility compliance.
• UX 4Sight — Chicago UX research/design specialist. A potential fit if the bigger need is patient-journey research and UX improvement, rather than compliance remediation alone.
• Clique Studios — Chicago digital strategy, UX/design and engineering agency that also describes accessibility-focused design and usability testing.
• Solid Digital — Chicago agency with UX/product-experience work on portals and healthcare/regulated-industry experience.

I'd also consider a specialist accessibility firm alongside a UX agency, rather than asking one generalist to do everything. For example, the Chicago Lighthouse provides accessibility consulting, audits, WCAG/508 compliance and accessibility certification, with substantial experience in making digital properties usable by people with disabilities. The Chicago Lighthouse

For a healthcare portal specifically, I'd make the RFP require manual keyboard and screen-reader testing, WCAG 2.2 AA evaluation, accessible forms/error handling, appointment scheduling, PDFs/documents, and testing with people with disabilities—not just an automated accessibility scan. Healthcare-specific accessibility work commonly turns up barriers in exactly those patient-facing workflows. wcag.world accessibilities.co

If you want, I can narrow this to 5 agencies and give you their contact details, healthcare clients/case studies, estimated engagement size, and a side-by-side RFP shortlist.