In 2026, after nearly 90 years, the Institute of Design was folded into Illinois Tech's School of Design & Society.
This website is an archive of the impactful and inspirational work produced by the ID community before that transition.

László Moholy-Nagy opened the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1937, treating design as a discipline that was teachable, testable, and consequential. Nine decades on, its scope had widened from the things people use to the systems they depend on: hospitals, government agencies, classrooms, supply chains, digital platforms. Along the way, ID community members developed the published research, methods, and frameworks that designers rely on every day.

Chief among them is human-centered design: close attention to how people actually live, and advocacy for what that research reveals. It shaped designers who are comfortable with complexity and ambiguity: curious, rigorous, inclusive, and stubbornly optimistic about design's ability to change the systems that shape our lives.

To every one of them, who taught, studied, built, critiqued, and stayed late in the studio: thank you, and keep designing.

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Addressing Our Accelerating E-Waste through Civic Engagement

By Mrinal Bhatia | Shraddha Jain | Snehal Khatavkar | William Rutter

May 10, 2024

Our project is dedicated to fostering civic engagement through community-based initiatives. In this, we focused on the management of electronic waste (e-waste), the world’s fastest-growing waste stream. Our research identified key behavioral challenges faced by individuals during e-waste disposal. @ In the U.S., the primary dilemma is choosing between landfill disposal and retention—the latter influenced by motivations to repair, repurpose, or reuse. This retention poses significant barriers to responsible disposal practices. Our service aims to address these challenges, providing a platform that not only facilitates, but also encourages proper e-waste management through innovative and community-driven solutions.

Project Details

  • Class: Service Systems Workshop
  • Instructor: Mark Jones
  • Project Partner: Accenture Song