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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Robert C. Pew

Chairman, Board of Directors, Steelcase, Inc.

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Robert C. Pew III is chairman of the board of directors at Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services, and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture, and technology products.

Now a private investor, Rob served as president of Steelcase North America from May 1990 to March 1994. In that capacity, he was responsible for all sales, marketing, and manufacturing operations involving Steelcase brand products.

Rob’s activities in the not-for-profit world have included a term as president of Junior Achievement of Western North Carolina and various roles within United Way, including chair of the community planning and allocation process of the Buncombe County United Way and overall campaign chair of United Way of Western Michigan. Rob has also served as chair of the Asheville Downtown Commission and campaign chair for the Pack Place Arts and Science Center. He is a former trustee of Grand Valley State University and served as board chair of IIT Institute of Design as well as president of The Manaus Fund as well as owner and director of Voke Inc.