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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Jenny Niemann Appointed as New Chair of ID’s Board of Advisors

CEO of Forward Space is Committed to Supporting ID As It Continues to Evolve

By Casey Halas

October 11, 2024

Jenny Niemann

Before Jenny Niemann moved to Chicago from Boston to become an entrepreneur and to launch her own company, she had spent nearly 20 years working at Steelcase, an international manufacturer of furniture and other goods for offices, hospitals, and classrooms.

It was at Steelcase that Jenny found herself working and collaborating with a lot of designers, many from the Institute of Design.

She was inspired by the “great talent” of her employees and colleagues who were ID alumni. She enjoyed their different perspectives and approaches to projects. She didn’t know how deep her connection with ID would grow, and that she would eventually become chair of ID’s Board of Advisors—a role she officially stepped into in August 2024.

Jenny left Steelcase 10 years ago to become president, CEO, and owner of her current company, Forward Space, which specializes in workspace consultation, procurement, delivery, installation, and maintenance to create innovative work environments for today’s workforce. During this transition, she was advised by the chair of the Steelcase board, Rob Pew, to get involved at ID while she was in Chicago.

Rob Pew was, at that time, serving as the chair of ID’s Board of Advisors. During the years following her acquisition of Forward Space, Jenny took Rob’s advice and got involved with ID and Illinois Tech. She joined ID’s Board of Advisors in 2018, later joining Illinois Tech’s Board of Trustees in 2019 and serving on the trustees’ Facilities and Public Safety committee.

Now, as a chairperson, she looks forward to continuing to work with the ID community.

“
ID Dean Anijo Mathew has a good vision of what we were and what we’re going to be, both for the graduate school and also for the Executive Academy and Action Labs. It’s a really interesting time to support and move those things forward.
—Jenny Niemann, Chair, ID Board of Advisors

In addition to working closely with the dean and being a sounding board for his goals and vision, Niemann sees this new role as an opportunity to take advantage of her experiences and connections to provide input and access for the college.

“I want to be more of a catalyst, help in the community. I have different connections to get visibility or new thinking,” she says.

Jenny is also looking forward to continuing her relationship with Illinois Tech as a whole—a place that she didn’t expect to become so familiar and involved with.

“
It’s hard to not fall in love with the mission of what Illinois Tech is doing in Chicago. To see the diverse population and first-generation students, it’s awesome. I love the fact that ID introduced me to what Illinois Tech is doing and led to a trustee role there as well. I love both now.
—Jenny Niemann

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