Design for America at UIUC

We aim to teach and practice equitable Human Centered Design methods that build a solid community culture and confident design thinkers who design creative and empathetic solutions for real-world problems.

#DFAmily

/dˈfam(ə)lē/

Noun: A tight-knit group of students passionate about making a positive impact using the Human-Centered Design Process

Now Accepting Fall 2023 Applications!

Join the DFAm!

Applications Due Friday, September 1st @ 5:00 pm

Apply Now

Fall 2023 Projects

Developing Independence as an Adult

• Tenant/Housing Rights
• Student Healthcare/Insurance
• Navigating Apartment/Dorm Life
• Personal Finance
• Cooking/Grocery Shopping
• Reducing Household Waste (food, electricity, water)

Champaign-Urbana Community

• Donation Initiatives during Move-Out Week Food Scarcity
• Farmer's Market Engagement/Artisan Fair
• LGBT Training & Education for Faculty/Community
• Emotional Education for Youth

Student Resource Education

• Underutilized Campus Resources
• LGBT Events and Programs
• Student Healthcare/Insurance
• Engagement with Local Businesses
• Campus/City Tours

Environmental Sustainability

• Food Waste (household or local businesses)
• Fast Fashion Education/Encouragement
• Development of Bee/Butterfly Gardens
• Education/Encouragement on Growing Local Fauna/Flora

Transportation on/off Campus

• Bussing 101 (Navigating the Bus System and Apps)
• Encouraging Bike Usage
• Accessibility

Our Vision
& Mission

 Who we are

Design for America is a nationwide network of student-led studios that aim to create products and solutions that solve real world problems using the Human-Centered Design process. Design for America at University of Illinois is a highly diverse, interdisciplinary RSO, welcoming students from all backgrounds and majors, in addition to consistently being one of the top performing DFA studios in the nation.

What we do

Tackling complex social challenges can be tricky. The Human-Centered Design process is here to help! We form teams of students from all backgrounds and majors in order to design products and solutions that solve real world problems. These projects all follow a guided design process with the ultimate goal of implementing the solution in the real world.