For over 4 years the team at IIDA has been working on developing a program to help expose underrepresented communities to the power of design to change our lives. The lack of representation within the industry has been top of mind for some time, but a program to help change this became real as a series of dramatic global events changed our lives.

If the potential of Design Your World resembles anything close to the interest and curiosity of the first class of teens in Chicago, the future of design is bright and filled with possibilities. But the challenges are real and the work ahead will require the entire industry to participate in some way.

This past Spring we spent time with Cheryl S. Durst and the amazing Design Your Word team at IIDA headquarters in an unusually quiet downtown Chicago. The challenges of remote working, masks, and keeping a safe distance never deterred the team from sharing passionately about the intent, hopes, and dreams for this exciting program.