IIT Institute of Design
Encyclopedia
Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology
(IIT), originally founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design.
The IIT Institute of Design is a school of design founded in 1937 in Chicago
by László Moholy-Nagy
, a Bauhaus
teacher (1923–1928).
After a spell in London, Bauhaus master Moholy-Nagy, at the invitation of Chicago's Association of Art and Industry, moved to Chicago in 1937 to start a new design school, which he named the New Bauhaus. The philosophy of the school was basically unchanged from that of the original, and its first headquarters was the Prairie Avenue mansion that architect Richard Morris Hunt
, designed for department store magnate Marshall Field
.
Due to financial problems the school briefly closed in 1938. However, Walter Paepcke, Chairman of the Container Corporation of America
and an early champion of industrial design in America, soon offered his personal support, and in 1939, Moholy-Nagy re-opened the school as the Chicago School of Design. In 1944, this became the Institute of Design, and in 1949 it became part of the new Illinois Institute of Technology
university system and also the first institution in the United States to offer a PhD in design.
Moholy authored an account of his efforts to develop the curriculum of the School of Design in his book Vision in Motion.
Archival materials are held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago
. The Institute of Design Collection includes articles, letters, photographs, and other materials documenting the institute's history and works by faculty and students.
At one time, the Institute of Design offered a Bachelor of Science in Design degree, with specialties in Photography, Product Design, and Communication Design. The Bachelor's program was halted in 1998.
The School of Design in Chicago
The Institute of Design
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
(IIT), originally founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design.
History
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
by László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
, a Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
teacher (1923–1928).
After a spell in London, Bauhaus master Moholy-Nagy, at the invitation of Chicago's Association of Art and Industry, moved to Chicago in 1937 to start a new design school, which he named the New Bauhaus. The philosophy of the school was basically unchanged from that of the original, and its first headquarters was the Prairie Avenue mansion that architect Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, designed for department store magnate Marshall Field
Marshall Field
Marshall Field was founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores.-Life and career:...
.
Due to financial problems the school briefly closed in 1938. However, Walter Paepcke, Chairman of the Container Corporation of America
Container Corporation of America
Container Corporation of America was founded in 1926 and manufactures corrugated boxes. In 1968 CCA merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc., in a move that was largely intended to thwart takeover bids against either company. MARCOR maintained separate management for the operations of each...
and an early champion of industrial design in America, soon offered his personal support, and in 1939, Moholy-Nagy re-opened the school as the Chicago School of Design. In 1944, this became the Institute of Design, and in 1949 it became part of the new Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
university system and also the first institution in the United States to offer a PhD in design.
Moholy authored an account of his efforts to develop the curriculum of the School of Design in his book Vision in Motion.
Archival materials are held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. The Institute of Design Collection includes articles, letters, photographs, and other materials documenting the institute's history and works by faculty and students.
Educational Programs
The Institute of Design offers two professional degrees, the Master of Design (MDes) and the Master of Design Methods (MDM), as well as a research degree, the PhD, which was the first doctoral program in design in the United States, and a dual MDes / MBA degree program, also the first of its kind, with the IIT Stuart School of Business. http://www.id.iit.edu/99/At one time, the Institute of Design offered a Bachelor of Science in Design degree, with specialties in Photography, Product Design, and Communication Design. The Bachelor's program was halted in 1998.
Conferences
The Institute of Design annually organizes two large design conferences in the Chicago Area. The Strategy Conference international executives and designers together to address how businesses can use design to explore emerging opportunities. The Design Research Conference, is conducted by students and deals with emerging trends in design research.Institute of Design directors
- 1937–1945, László Moholy-NagyLászló Moholy-NagyLászló Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
- 1946–1951, Serge ChermayeffSerge ChermayeffSerge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian born, British architect, industrial designer, writer, and co-founder of several architectural societies, including the American Society of Planners and Architects....
- 1951–1955, Crombie Taylor (acting)
- 1955–1969, Jay DoblinJay DoblinJay Doblin was an American industrial designer, best known for his contribution to the field of design in particular his work related to systems thinking, design methods and design theory in general...
- 1969–1974, James S. Montague (acting)
- 1974–1982, various
- 1982–1986, Dale Fahnstrom
- 1986–present, Patrick Whitney
Prominent former faculty
- George AnseleviciusGeorge AnseleviciusGeorge Anselevicius originally from Lithuania, was an architect in the St. Louis-based architecture and planning practice of Anselevicius and Montgomery George Anselevicius (June 5, 1923 - October 1, 2008) originally from Lithuania, was an architect in the St. Louis-based architecture and planning...
1949 - Alexander ArchipenkoAlexander ArchipenkoAlexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
- John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
- Jay DoblinJay DoblinJay Doblin was an American industrial designer, best known for his contribution to the field of design in particular his work related to systems thinking, design methods and design theory in general...
, Director (1954–1968) - Harry Callahan, Photography (1947–1961)
- Buckminster FullerBuckminster FullerRichard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
- George Fred KeckGeorge Fred KeckGeorge Fred Keck was an American modernist architect based in Chicago, Illinois. He was later assisted in his practice by his brother William Keck.-Biography:...
- György KepesGyörgy KepesGyörgy Kepes was a Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1937, he taught design at the New Bauhaus in Chicago...
- Ralph RapsonRalph RapsonRalph Rapson was the head of architecture at the University of Minnesota for many years...
- Arthur Siegel, Photography (1946–1949 and 1967–1977)
- Aaron SiskindAaron SiskindAaron Siskind was an American abstract expressionist photographer. In his biography he wrote that he began his foray into photography when he received a camera for a wedding gift and began taking pictures on his honeymoon. He quickly realized the artistic potential this offered...
, Photography (1951–1971) - Konrad WachsmannKonrad WachsmannKonrad Wachsmann was a German modernist architect...
Taught at the IIT from 1949, and later at the University of Illinois. - Hugo Webber
- Massimo VignelliMassimo VignelliMassimo Vignelli is a designer who has done work in a number of areas ranging from package design to furniture design to public signage to showroom design through Vignelli Associates, which he co-founded with his wife, Lella...
1958-60
Institute of Design former names and locations
New Bauhaus - American School of Design- 1938: 1905 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago
The School of Design in Chicago
- 1939–1945: 247 E. Ontario Street, Chicago
The Institute of Design
- 1945–1946: 1009 N. State Street, Chicago
- 1946–1956: 632 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago (now an Excalibur nightclub)
- 1956–1989: S.R. Crown HallS.R. Crown HallS. R. Crown Hall, designed by the German-born Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is the home of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
IIT campus on South State Street - 1989–1996: 10 West 35th Street (ITRI on IIT campus)
- 1996–present: 350 N. LaSalle Blvd, Chicago
Prominent alumni
- Ivan Chermayeff, Principal of Chermayeff & GeismarChermayeff & GeismarChermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
, son of former Institute of Design director Serge ChermayeffSerge ChermayeffSerge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian born, British architect, industrial designer, writer, and co-founder of several architectural societies, including the American Society of Planners and Architects....
and designer of the Chase Manhattan BankChase Manhattan BankJPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
logo among other achievements. - Roger Sweet (MS 1960), Creator of He-Man from Mattel
- Charles L. Owen (MS 1965), creator of the Structured Planning method for complex systems design
- John Henry Waddell, American sculptor
- Richard NickelRichard NickelRichard Stanley Nickel was an American photographer and historian of Polish descent best known for his efforts to preserve and document the buildings of architect Louis Sullivan.-Early life:...
, American Photographer - Robert BrownjohnRobert BrownjohnRobert Brownjohn was a graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and sixties pop culture...
, American Graphic Designer - Louis SauerLouis SauerLouis Sauer , FAIA, is an American architect and design theorist. In the 1960s and 1970s Sauer untypically worked with housing developers, producing low-rise high-density housing projects....
,(student 1949 to 1953), American Architect