Healthcare Design Rankings

Best Healthcare Design Agencies in Chicago (2026)

Chicago's design scene skews toward enterprise and B2B complexity — a natural fit for healthcare, where a project usually involves a hospital system, a health plan, or a mid-market practice group rather than a scrappy consumer app. The five agencies below all carry real, named healthcare work, checked against their own sites.

Best for

Hospitals & health systems

Large systems and health plans with complex, technical problems and many stakeholders to satisfy.

3 agencies

  • Grand Studio logo

    Grand Studio

    #1 · Chicago, IL

    Designed elective-surgery scheduling tools for one of the largest US health systems.

  • Sandstorm Design logo

    Sandstorm Design

    #2 · Chicago, IL

    Resurrection Health Care among named healthcare clients; 5,000+ hours of UX research.

  • Clique Studios logo

    Clique Studios

    #3 · Chicago, IL (also Denver)

    Physicians Immediate Care's find-and-book clinic site.

Agency profiles

#1

Grand Studio

Chicago, IL · Founded n/a (20 years operating)

Specialty
UX/UI design, product strategy, qualitative research
Client tier
Enterprise and Fortune 500

Why it ranks here

  • Two decades of design and innovation work, with more than 15 Fortune 500 clients and design staff spanning 8 markets from its Chicago HQ
  • Named work includes designing scheduling tools for elective surgeries at one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States
  • Industry-agnostic breadth (financial services, insurance, manufacturing) brings cross-sector pattern recognition into healthcare-specific problems

Ideal for

Large health systems or enterprise healthcare organizations that need complex, technical UX problems solved with genuine research rigor.

Consider instead

Sandstorm Design, if you want brand strategy paired with UX rather than a pure research-and-design consultancy.

#2

Sandstorm Design

Chicago, IL · Founded 1998

Specialty
Brand strategy combined with UX design
Client tier
Midmarket healthcare systems and associations

Why it ranks here

  • Founded by Sandy Marsico in 1998, with more than 5,000 hours of UX research behind its design process
  • Named healthcare clients include Resurrection Health Care and the American Medical Association
  • Accessibility-certified practice with satellite offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle beyond its Chicago base

Ideal for

Healthcare systems and associations that want brand strategy and UX design handled together by a research-grounded team.

Consider instead

Grand Studio, if your project is a large-scale, highly technical UX problem rather than a brand-and-website engagement.

#3

Clique Studios

Chicago, IL (also Denver) · Founded 2003

Specialty
Enterprise-caliber creative across industries
Client tier
Enterprise / brand-conscious mid-market

Why it ranks here

  • Enterprise roster (Southwest Airlines, Hilton, Northwestern) demonstrates design chops beyond a healthcare-only shop
  • Built Physicians Immediate Care's site around a demanding brief: make finding and booking a nearby clinic effortless
  • Second studio in Denver gives Midwest and Mountain West clients two access points

Ideal for

Healthcare organizations that want enterprise-level creative from a broader agency, not a niche healthcare-only specialist.

Consider instead

Grand Studio, if you specifically need deep UX research rather than broad creative and brand work.

#4

Solid Digital

Chicago, IL (also Portland, OR) · Founded 2007

Specialty
B2B web design and digital growth
Client tier
B2B SaaS and healthcare technology

Why it ranks here

  • Named healthcare client BioLEAP modernized its design and UX with Solid Digital while reaching new audiences without losing its mission-driven positioning
  • Focused specifically on B2B brand and website work, with healthcare technology as one of its named core industries
  • Values-driven culture recognized among the Best & Brightest Companies to work for in the nation

Ideal for

B2B healthcare technology companies that want website design tied to measurable brand and lead-generation growth.

Consider instead

ArtVersion, if you want a firm with a broader branding and graphic design practice alongside web work.

#5

ArtVersion

Chicago, IL (also Northbrook, IL) · Founded 1999

Specialty
Branding, UI/UX, and graphic design
Client tier
Startups to Fortune 500

Why it ranks here

  • Founded by designer Goran Paun in 1999, with a 4.9-star Clutch rating across 40-plus verified client reviews
  • Recognized by WebDesignRankings.com as a top healthcare web design company, with named dental client Dental Salon
  • Combines branding, UI/UX, and print/graphic design under one roof, useful for a healthcare brand that needs both digital and physical materials

Ideal for

Healthcare and dental practices that want branding and graphic design paired with web design, not just a website.

Consider instead

Solid Digital, if your priority is B2B lead generation over broad branding and print design work.

Comparison

Facts only, as each agency publishes them. Rank order follows the profiles above; nothing here is a score.

#AgencyBaseSpecialtyClient tierOther officesHealthcare-only
1Grand Studio logoGrand StudioChicago, ILUX/UI design, product strategy, qualitative researchEnterprise and Fortune 500Design staff in 8 marketsNo
2Sandstorm Design logoSandstorm DesignChicago, ILBrand strategy combined with UX designMidmarket healthcare systems and associationsCharlotte, Dallas, Denver, SeattleNot stated
3Clique Studios logoClique StudiosChicago, IL (also Denver)Enterprise-caliber creative across industriesEnterprise / brand-conscious mid-marketDenverNo
4Solid Digital logoSolid DigitalChicago, IL (also Portland, OR)B2B web design and digital growthB2B SaaS and healthcare technologyPortland, ORNo
5ArtVersion logoArtVersionChicago, IL (also Northbrook, IL)Branding, UI/UX, and graphic designStartups to Fortune 500Northbrook, ILNot stated

Where the Five Work

All five are headquartered in Chicago, and four run a second office elsewhere in the country.

Ranking criteria

Named, verifiable healthcare work.

We check every claim against the agency's own site or another independently verifiable source.

Real specialization.

A firm needs a genuine, repeated healthcare practice to rank, not one project in an unrelated portfolio.

Design-led positioning.

We favor agencies whose core identity is design, research, or brand strategy — not software engineering shops that mention design as a secondary service.

A clear client-tier fit.

Every entry states the scale of organization it actually serves.

How to narrow it down

Large health system with a complex, technical UX problem?

Grand Studio's Fortune 500 and enterprise healthcare track record is the deepest here.

Want brand strategy and UX together?

Sandstorm Design leads with brand positioning backed by genuine research.

Need enterprise-caliber creative without a healthcare-only specialist?

Clique Studios brings cross-industry polish.

B2B healthcare technology company chasing growth?

Solid Digital is built specifically around that funnel.

Need branding and print materials alongside your website?

ArtVersion covers both digital and physical brand touchpoints.

Common questions

Is Chicago a strong market for healthcare design specifically, or just design generally?

Chicago's strength is broader — enterprise, B2B, and complex-systems design generally — which happens to map well onto healthcare's mix of hospital systems, health plans, and B2B healthtech. It's not a healthcare-design-only hub the way a market like Nashville is.

Should we hire locally if our healthcare organization isn't in Chicago?

Not necessarily — most of these agencies serve clients nationwide, and remote collaboration works well for design and branding work. Local presence matters more if you want in-person workshops or on-site research.

How do we tell a genuine design agency from a software shop that also does design?

Check how the agency describes itself on its own site and LinkedIn — a firm that leads with "software development company" and lists design as one service among several is different from one that leads with design, UX, or brand strategy. We've filtered for the latter on this page.

What's the typical cost range for Chicago healthcare design work?

It varies by scope and agency size. Smaller, focused engagements can start in the low five figures; enterprise-level UX research and design work with firms like Grand Studio typically runs well into six figures for a full engagement.