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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Facilitation Methods

Facilitation Methods

Explore the process, tools and techniques to build engagement and alignment around desired group outcomes.

“
One of the best courses I’ve taken at ID. All activities support the development of real skills and techniques that will transfer into a professional setting.
—Former Student

Objective & Outcomes

Facilitation is an essential skill for any designer. It can make all the difference in the ability to lead others through routine or complex challenges. This skill is especially relevant as workplaces change and new ways are required to engage both remote and in-person teams.

In this class, students will become more confident facilitators through hands-on practice and exposure to tools and methods that work in both remote and in-person settings. 

Upon completing this course, students will be able to identify and use tools and techniques for each stage of the design process. They will be able to integrate their personal thinking style into facilitator roles and articulate success principles for facilitation.

Typical Schedule

  • Session 1: Your Thinking Style, Your Strengths & Biases
  • Session 2: Participate in a Workshop for an Outside Partner
  • Session 3: Clarify & Ideate – Tools & Practice
  • Session 4: Develop & Implement – Tools & Practice
  • Session 5: Success Principles & Curve Balls
  • Session 6: Design & Facilitate a Workshop for an Outside Partner
  • Session 7: Reflections, Lessons Learned & Success Principles

See all MDes Courses