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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Amit Kundal

Associate Dean at FLAME University, India

Amit Kundal is a design educator, researcher, and innovation strategist specializing in human-centered design, strategic innovation, and design thinking.

Currently serving as Associate Professor and Associate Dean at FLAME University, Amit is a key academic leader in shaping design education. He has held leadership roles at ISDI Mumbai and worked as a head of design with Asmara International and Li & Fung India.
His research focuses on design-driven problem-solving, user experience innovation, and business strategy, with publications in international conferences and journals. He holds patents in sustainable design and healthcare innovation and serves on FLAME University’s Academic Council.

A TEDx speaker and co-founder of Studio Twenty-Three, Amit is deeply involved in global design networks, driving research and practice at the intersection of design, technology, and business innovation.

He holds a PhD in Human-Centered Design and a Master of Design from IIT Kanpur, as well a Bachelor of Design from NIFT Gandhinagar.

Shapeshift Session

Pune Salon Recap: Skillbuilding and Social Impact | Friday, May 30

About the Summit

Shapeshift Summit

Program

Immersion