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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Introduction to Observing Users

Introduction to Observing Users

Introduces the theory and methods of behavioral observation, description, and analysis.

This course is not available for the upcoming semester. Consult with your advisor for similar options.

Objective & Outcomes

This class will introduce students to the theory and methods of behavioral observation, description, and analysis. Students will use a variety of techniques derived from cultural anthropology, sociology, and behavioral psychology to develop useful, powerful approaches to gaining insight into solving modern design and business problems. Readings and theory are integrated with observational fieldwork exercises to provide rich learning experiences both in and outside the classroom.

Students of Observing Users will demonstrate new skills for planning and executing field research activities ranging from behavioral observation to interviewing. They will be able to understand the outcomes of other people’s research and the kinds of implications that can be drawn from different approaches to user and design research.

Typical Schedule

  • Session 1: Introductions & Basic Theoretical Tools
  • Session 2: Field Observation Toolkit
  • Session 3: Observe & Document a Single Environment
  • Session 4: Observe & Document the Social Life of an Object
  • Session 5: Observe & Document the Social Behavior of an Individual
  • Session 6: Observe & Document Body Language & Facial Expressions
  • Session 7: Learning About a Person Three Ways
  • Session 8: Observe & Document a Complete Experience
  • Session 9: Develop Research Project Protocol
  • Session 10: Conduct a Small Design Research Project
  • Session 11: Final Presentation

See all MDes Courses