Welcome to the Chicago Design Archive
Join us for the opening night of Chicago Design Milestones at 150 Media Stream! 
Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019
Monday, July 1, 6:30–9pm, 150 N Riverside Plaza, Chicago
The Chicago Design Archive is delighted to showcase highlights of its collection in Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019, the upcoming installation taking place throughout July at 150 Media Stream, the largest media screen (3,000+ sq ft) in Chicago. The installation visualizes the evolution of Chicago design by its examination and presentation of historic characteristics of design works in the CDA collection over the last 10 decades.
Chicago Design Milestones was developed as a collaboration of CDA, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Design & Electronic Visualization Laboratory, and Columbia College Chicago. It is part of the ongoing research of this collaboration aiming to highlight the role of Chicago as a national design center through the use of new technologies.
We hope you’ll celebrate with us the enduring legacy of Chicago’s design history through this momentous event. Mark your calendar for the Opening of the Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019 installation:
Monday, July 1, 6:30–9pm, 150 N Riverside Plaza, Chicago
150 Media Stream is comprised of 89 LED blades stretching 150 ft long and rising 22 ft high, located in the lobby of a downtown Chicago riverfront building. It is the only structure of its kind dedicated to showcasing Chicago artists, culture and history alongside renowned and emerging artists from around the world.
Creators:
Daria Tsoupikova (UIC)
Sharon Oiga (UIC/CDA)
Guy Villa Jr (CCC)
Jack Weiss (CDA)
Cheri Gearhart (CDA)
Wayne Stuetzer (CDA)
Krystofer Kim, (NASA)
Ali Khan (UIC)
Grant funding support:
Riverside/150 Media Stream
Columbia College Chicago
UIC College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts
Looking Back: Chicago Design Milestones
Continuing at Archeworks, 625 N Kingsbury Street in Chicago the Chicago Design Archive is delighted to showcase highlights of the collection in Chicago Design Milestones, the upcoming installation taking place starting July 1 at 150 Media Stream (a media art display at a grand scale). Developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago and Columbia College Chicago, the Chicago Design Milestones installation visualizes the evolution of Chicago design by its examination and accentuation of historic characteristics of design works in the CDA collection over the last 10 decades.
The CDA thanks everyone who came out to enjoy the Preview Gala and all those that donated items to our silent auction fundraiser. Our generous auction bidders helped us raise nearly $2000 at our first fundraiser.
The exhibition will be on view at Archeworks through July 19.
Submit Your Work to the Archive
The Chicago Design Archive is an exclusive and permanent online record featuring Chicago-related experiential, graphic, and product design created from the 1920s to the present. The CDA provides a means for Chicago design firms and clients to showcase their creative effort to a worldwide audience.
The Archive is not merely a static collection of historically important design, but also a living, growing record of the vibrant Chicago design scene.
The mission of the CDA is To share the best of Chicago design.
Current Programming
Chicago Design Museum's What's Worth Preserving / Noteworthy Work (by invitation)
password: broadshoulders
27 Chicago Designers exhibition at UIC Special Collections
27 Chicago Designers book is in the collection
90 Years of The Society of Typographic Arts is a 100+ page book (of records, essays, and design work documenting the history of the STA, recently published by CDA Press