Chicago Design Through the Decades

Chicago Design Through the Decades is a swift, exciting journey through the history of Chicago design spanning the last one hundred years. The project is based on the vast collection of the Chicago Design Archive (CDA), the premiere and permanent online record of Chicago design, currently holding over 3200 examples of work by over 1100 Chicago designers.

Investigating a human-centered approach and following engaging characters and textual tidbits from archived design works, the journey begins in the 1920s with the era’s painterly and illustrative techniques. Forms then evolve under the modes of photography, minimalism, futurism, three-dimensionality, postmodernism and more throughout the 1930s–2010s. Ultimately, the journey ends with digital portraits produced using neural networks, a machine learning (ML) approach that formed the foundation of much of modern artificial intelligence (AI)—technologies becoming increasingly prevalent in contemporary art.

Each ‘design decade’ emphasizes the specific understandings and methods of the time. The underlying research made it possible to apprise how particular characteristics evolved over time in the presence of social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental contexts. The project presents an opportunity to review the development of Chicago design history as a series of chronological stages and connects them into a cohesive visualization.

At once nostalgic and whimsical, the overall journey abounds with both humorous and sobering moments. It harnesses leading-edge technology to focus public attention on the complexity, historical context, critique, and interpretation of archival materials. The breadth of creative works by Chicago designers shown in the time-lapse visualization illustrates the perpetual advancement of design, a field that continually expands, allowing members of the public to immerse themselves in design history. Additionally, the project opened new avenues for collaboration between design, science, and digital humanities to elevate the appreciation of Chicago design history, and to contribute to the recognition of Chicago as an international modern design center.

Following seasons of forced social isolation, this outdoor public projection celebrates the resurgence of communal gathering and experiencing art together in the streets of Chicago.