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.

institute
of desiGn
Search

Behavioral Design

Behavioral Design

Exploring the principles of behavioral science in the context of human-centered and systems design.

Objective & Outcomes

This course aims to expose students to principles of behavioral science and social psychology, and teach them how to apply these concepts to common behavioral challenges. During the course students will practice strategies, apply the principles to human-centered design issues, and explore how this knowledge can be used to design more effective offerings. 

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to articulate how the field of behavioral science can inform design problem-solving. They will have a level of familiarity with a wide range of behavioral design theories and frameworks, and the confidence to apply them to design challenges. 

Typical Schedule

  • Session 1: Introduction & Context: Identity, value & narrative
  • Session 2: Cognitive Effort: Kahneman & Tversky and the birth of the field
  • Session 3: Uncertainty: Overcoming risk, abstraction & comparative value
  • Session 4: Action: Barriers, enablers & positive friction
  • Session 5: Behavioral Design in Professional Practice: Time, social norms & classic frameworks
  • Session 6: In-Class Working Session: Applying concepts to a case
  • Session 7: Final Presentations

See all MDes Courses