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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Implementing Innovation

Implementing Innovation

Delivering business innovation with a design mindset.

Objective & Outcomes

This course will prepare students to leverage design strategy concepts and frameworks to solve real world business problems. The frameworks and approach applied during this course are based on practical, hands-on experiences with startups, multi-billion dollar corporations, and government agencies integrating design methods to define strategy, business model innovation and implementation. This course will prepare students to build deeper perspectives, challenge business model assumptions, and engage in strategic discussions with senior business leaders about the strategic direction and future of the business. This course will explore the realities of: 

  • Designing and articulating a clear and compelling vision and purpose statement
  • Intersecting design-strategy with operational constraints
  • Building a Strategic Roadmap for implementing business model innovations 
  • Managing communication and change with leadership and organization stakeholders

Upon completing this course, students will be prepared to take a leadership role in clarifying client business challenges, assessing opportunities, and implementing innovation. Students will understand how to communicate purpose and aspiration, test hypotheses on market dynamics and customer needs, and challenge business model assumptions to inform a Strategic Roadmap.

Typical Schedule

  • Session 1: Understanding Business Frameworks, Models & Value Drivers
  • Session 2: Applying Future-Back Design
  • Session 3: De-Risking Business Model Assumptions
  • Session 4: Articulating the Business Case for Investment
  • Session 5: Anticipating Change: Rational, Emotional & Political Drivers
  • Session 6: Communicating Insights & Final Presentations
  • Session 7: Communicating Insights & Final Presentations

See all MDes Courses