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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Layering for a “Chicago Winter”

By Terah Delancy

May 11, 2023

A Simple, Illustrated Layering Guide to Help New Students Stay Warm During the Cold Season

It’s as easy as one - two - three

Many new ID students in Chicago are uncertain about what to wear as autumn fades into winter and temperatures drop. For these students, many of whom have never experienced winter before, figuring out what attire is appropriate can be a challenge. Although they have sought advice from others, they have found it limited and unhelpful. To address this issue, I chose to create a winter weather clothing guide specifically for ID students new to Chicago’s winters. The guide focuses on layering as a means of regulating body temperature in different environments, such as waiting for public transportation, walking between buildings, or attending classes. To aid in comprehension and recall, the guide features simple illustrations, callouts, and color coding to highlight specific clothing pieces and layers. My aim is to provide a starting point for new students to feel confident and comfortable in the winter weather. By providing accessible and practical information, the guide will help new students navigate the challenges of winter weather in Chicago.

Project Details

  • Class: Introduction to Visual Communication
  • Instructor: Tomoko Ichikawa