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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Recognition

FitForm Bras Receives Second Fast Company Award

Named Finalist in Innovation by Design's Artificial Intelligence Category

July 23, 2024

FitForm Bra repeated breast illustrations.

FitForm Bras, created by Institute of Design students Joanna Veleris (MDes 2022) and Anahita Dasgupta (MDes 2023), was honored in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for 2024 as a finalist in the Artificial Intelligence alongside category winner Canva and fellow finalists Microsoft and Volumental.

The project was also honored by Fast Company‘s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards.

FitForm Bras uses generative design to transform physical breast measurements and user preferences into highly accurate, supportive, digitally fabricated, and tailored bras.

The Innovation by Design Awards, which can be found in the Summer 2024 issue of Fast Company, honor the designers and businesses solving the most crucial problems of today and anticipating the pressing issues of tomorrow. The competition, now in its 13th year, features a range of blue-chip companies, emerging startups, and promising young talent. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry.

“
It's design's responsibility to ensure that AI and other emerging technologies can be a force for good. Kudos to Joanna and Anahita for demonstrating this kind of thoughtful, responsible design. Their work deserves this repeated recognition.
—Anijo Mathew, Dean, Institute of Design

FitForm Bras was created by ID students with ID Assistant Professor Zach Pino in his Spring 2022 Generative Design Workshop. Joanna Veleris and Anahita Dasgupta’s project aspires to bring inclusive bras to individuals underserved by current market conditions. By prioritizing personalization and precision, FitForm Bras uses generative design, precise individual data, and personal preferences to create individually tailored bras that can be manufactured to order without material waste.

“
Many of today's generative AI designs and technologies collapse nuance, context, and specificity in order to serve up the average, the most common, and the most generically appealing. FitForm, instead, brings sensitivity and nuance to data-driven design, and demonstrates how these technologies can be used to highlight and support the true diversity of bodies, human preferences, lifestyle choices, and unique needs. The work of Joanna and Anahita is as inspiring as it is essential today, demonstrating a new path forward for generative, truly inclusive designs.
—Zach Pino, Assistant Professor

Innovation by Design judges include renowned designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Company’s own writers and editors. Entries are judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact, and business impact.

“
This year’s honorees show how essential creativity is to the process of innovation. It’s inspiring to see how some of the best minds across industries are using design to shape our world for the better.
—Brendan Vaughan, Editor-in-Chief, Fast Company

Winners, finalists, and honorable mentions are featured online, and winners and finalists are featured in the Summer issue of Fast Company magazine, on newsstands July 30, 2024.

Learn more about FitForm Bras.

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