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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More Ways to Partner

There are so many opportunities to see what design can make possible.

When your organization partners with ID, your team works alongside ID faculty and students on design-driven solutions to actual business and social challenges.

Project sponsorship can take a variety of forms, including giving your team the opportunity to work alongside ID faculty and students on design-driven solutions to actual business and social challenges.

This will not only elevate your organization’s reputation as a force for innovation, but will inspire your employees as agents of change.

Larry Keeley at whiteboard

Larry Keeley at whiteboard

Students collaborating in class

Workshop & Research Sponsorship

Sponsoring a graduate-level workshop or research project gives your organization the chance to see design methods in action.

Explore the business possibilities of emerging technology, optimize your customer experience, or set new goals for your operation—applying learnings directly to your organization. As a trusted resource for over 85 years, ID shares approaches that have helped organizations imagine new business models, innovate supply chains, and inspire teams to see the world differently.

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