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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Chelsea Pratt

Design Lead & Strategist at ThoughtFull

Chelsea Pratt speaking

Chelsea Pratt is a Design Lead and Strategist at ThoughtFull, a New Zealand-based innovation agency, helping businesses cut through complexity to uncover new opportunities for innovation.

With experience on Lululemon’s innovation team in Vancouver as well as working with clients such as New Zealand’s national airline, major banks, and youth organizations, Chelsea has a passion for driving impact in often overlooked spaces. Dedicated to making life easier for businesses and citizens through thoughtful design and bold ideas, her work has been recognized with top design awards and exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Her impact lies in helping organizations navigate change and shape the future through strategic innovation, while also applying her skills to founding and scaling a fast-growing consumer goods startup in the health and wellness space.

Shapeshift Session

Auckland Salon Recap: Culture & Democracy in New Zealand | Thursday, May 29

About the Summit

Shapeshift Summit

Program

Immersion