ID@85: 85 Years of Making the Future is an inquiry into the Institute of Design's history and culture, documenting its stunning legacy evidenced through myriads of philosophies, projects, papers, conferences, and a vast network of distinguished faculty, staff, students, and alums.

Brief

Objective

Conduct curatorial research on two transformative eras of the Institute of Design that the exhibition is organized around, Systems (1950s-1980s) and Human-Centered Design (1990s-2010s), looking into stories, original objects, copies, texts, and photographs from the Institute of Design's history.

Drive the development of the content for the Institute of Design's 85th Anniversary Exhibition by establishing key narratives, identifying sources, building databases, and creating an object list, demonstrating how events happening in the world provide context for work produced in the school.

Process

Identifying key moments, projects, and milestones within each era

From the Dove soap bar to a more inclusive work environment, the Institute of Design has played a historic role in shaping our everyday and beyond since October 19, 1937. As a research fellow, I comprehensively mapped 85 years of design artifacts and stories from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology's University Archives and Special Collections.

Building a database of objects and thematic connections.

Carried out independent and self-led secondary research into and within important public and private collections and sources (centering on Illinois Insititute of Technology and the Institue of Design), surveying relevant collections objects, and completing research, investigating, interpreting, collecting, and arranging these materials to identify stories—Text, Objects, Photos, Reproductions, Books, Visualizations, Posters, Films— that could be exhibited.

Establishing a first draft narrative and exhibition scope.

Design is invisible because it is everywhere and is informed by everything surrounding it. This exhibition needed to go broader than the Institute of Design's history to demonstrate how events happening in the world provide context for work produced in the school. I supported early-stage scoping for the exhibition by refining the content into a clear, concise, and consistent tone of voice, reflecting the Institute of Design's new brand guidelines: be optimistic, grounded, insightful, and relatable to unlock fresh knowledge in viewers.

ID @ 85 Exhibition: 85 Years of Making the Future.

The result of the six-week project is the ID@85: 85 Years of Making the Future exhibition, an original exhibition organized in partnership with the Design Museum of Chicago, showcasing 85 key stories that demonstrate the essential role of design, as well as the Institute of Design, in enhancing everyday life.

Exhibitions themes

The exhibition is structured around the four eras of the Institute of Design:

• Experimentation: showcasing ID's early days, founded by László Moholy-Nagy as The New Bauhaus in 1937, where faculty and students experimented with new visual languages and emerging technologies to integrate all arts and improve the quality of life
• Systems: exploring Dean Jay Doblin's impact of on ID's curriculum in the 1950s and 1960s, introducing design theory and systems design. During this era, faculty and students recognized the usefulness of design in solving large-scale problems facing business and society, incorporated approaches from the social sciences into the design process, and pioneered the use of computers in design.
  
• Human-Centered Design: highlighting ID's significant contribution to the field of Human-Centered Design, which began with Dean Patrick Whitney's leadership in 1986, and focuses on a human-centered approach to design that studies human behavior and technology relationships to inform strategy.
  
• [Era in Process]: Examining ID's continuing evolution in response to the challenges of a new era marked by the fourth Industrial Revolution. Embracing the spirit of the Bauhaus, the school continues to push the boundaries of design and is uniquely positioned to lead the field in imagining the potential for design to benefit humanity.
  

Exhibition narrative

The stories told during each era culminate into a larger narrative of invention and evolution. This narrative attests to the Institute's significant impact in the field of design in the United States. Although the exhibition acknowledges updates made to the school's curriculum over time, it also highlights the constants that define the Institute's philosophy.

• A steadfast commitment to creative innovation in response to changing technology and industrialization. 
  
• A belief in design as a systematic and democratic solution to problems. 
  
• Dedication to collaborative efforts for optimal results.

Exhibitions Artifacts

The exhibition showcases a range of artifacts from ID's history, including stories, original objects, texts, reproductions, and photographs. It highlights both famous and lesser-known design pioneers and projects that have made significant contributions across a wide range of fields, from gas stations to space stations. Additionally, it features notable Institute of Design alumni and lecturers, such as Buckminster Fuller, Charles Harrison, and Kim Erwin, who have left a lasting impact on the world of design and other industries.