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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Faculty Recognition

Weslynne Ashton Recognized By the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards

Shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Radar Award

September 23, 2025

Image of Weslynne Ashton with text noting that she has been shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Radar Award

Weslynne Ashton, Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability and Food Systems Action Lab Co-Director, has been recognized by the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards.

Weslynne is shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Radar Award. Drawn from the Radar Classes of the previous two years, the Thinkers50 Radar Award spotlights a rising star in management thinking—an exciting new voice with the potential to impact businesses and organizations in the years to come.

“
[Weslynne is] designing systems and generating solutions to make the world a more sustainable, and equitable, place.
—Stuart Crainer & Des Dearlove, Thinkers50
Thinkers 50 logo in gold/yellow

The Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards were added in 2011 to recognise outstanding contributions in particular fields of thought leadership. The Shortlists for the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards comprise eight exceptional thinkers in each of 10 award categories.

The Radar Award will be presented at the Thinkers50 London Summit & Awards Gala 2025 in London’s iconic Guildhall 3-4 November. The Gala has been described by The Financial Times as the “Oscars of management thinking.”

“
It is a genuine honor to be named on the 2025 Thinkers50 Radar Award shortlist. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a community committed to advancing research, shaping management practice, and innovating towards more sustainable, equitable and fulfilling futures.
—Weslynne Ashton
Thinkers50 Radar in partnership with Deloitte

In 2024, Weslynne was one of 30 up-and-coming business thinkers from around the world named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class.

Thinkers50 is the world’s most reliable resource for identifying, ranking, and sharing the leading management ideas of our age. Since 2001, the prestigious Thinkers50 Ranking of Management Thinkers has been published every two years.

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Food Systems Action Lab Director Weslynne Ashton on Sustainability, Capitals, and Food Waste