The Department of Design consists of well-equipped labs that serve to both research and teaching. The following are the labs in the department:

 

User Experience Lab

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Jyoti Kumar

 

The UX lab is equipped with behavioural and physiological tools like Eye Tracking, Pupillometry, Electroencephalography (EEG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Behavioural observation software (Morae) and Facial recognition and physiological data integration tool (iMotion). Studies on emotional and cognitive responses to designed products are undertaken in this lab.

 

 

Design for Sustainability Lab

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Sumer Singh

 

The design for sustainability Lab works for interdisciplinary research  that empowers innovators, designers, and communities to co-create sustainable solutions that balance environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic resilience, transforming ideas into impact for a thriving planet. This lab is established to bridge the gap between design and sustainability practices and demonstrate the need for interdisciplinary and systems thinking, thereby promoting students to tackle real-world problems in a sustainable manner. The lab intends to cover all three aspects of sustainability (Environmental, economic, Social)

 

 

Media Technology Lab

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Charu Monga

 

The Media Technology Lab at IIT Delhi is a cutting-edge research space focused on exploring the intersection of immersive technology, design, art, and human experience. It aims to push the boundaries of visual and digital communication by integrating advanced tools like virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive media. The lab fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, blending creative expression with technological innovation to enhance how humans perceive and interact with digital environments. Through research, experimentation, and prototyping, the lab aspires to shape the future of immersive storytelling and experiential design, making it a hub for innovation in media and human-centered technology.

 

 

G.A.M.E.S. lab

Faculty In Charge:  Prof. Aakash Johry

 

The Gaming, Augmented & Mixed-reality Experiences and Simulations lab is an experimental collective of designers and researchers that explores the transformative potential of play to facilitate learning and behaviour change, pushing the boundaries of games and playful technology in contexts such as education, well-being and accessibility. The output varies, ranging from production of serious games (tabletop and digital) to simulations and play experiences, leveraging immersive media like , augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and tangible interactions. Using a research-through-design approach, the lab uses the experimental prototypes to create new knowledge on technical aspects (e.g. novel interfaces), experiential aspects (e.g. game aesthetics) and socio-cultural aspects (e.g. empathy-triggering) of play. The lab is equipped with high-performance game development workstations, latest Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality headsets, 360 cameras, popular gaming consoles and peripherals, with capabilities like state-of-the-art eye-tracking and physiological sensing for studying emotions and stress (e.g. GSR, ECG, EMG, IMU, etc). The lab also houses a growing library of tabletop and digital games, to be used for teaching and research.

 

 

Behaviour-informed Design for Development Lab (BiD4D)

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Pramod Khadilkar

 

Behavior-informed design for Development lab (BiD4D) intends to reduce the negative influences of human behavior on society, culture, nature, and technology without treating humans as rational beings but with emotions, biases, and creativity. We humbly pitch ourselves as behavioral designers and not behavioral scientists or behavioral economists as we situate the behaviors in the social, cultural, and technological context and create tangible interventions to promote positive behaviors. BiD4D is a research-driven lab that believes in using scientific theories to immerse in current situations to identify the basis for current problematic behavior in a structured manner and then simulating the future using technological tools and methods to predict the success of proposed target behaviors as the new behaviors are emergent in nature. Thus, we research the current design practice from the behavioral perspective as well as the prospective inclusion of behavioral design in varied domains like healthcare, climate change, etc. We intend to develop and validate theories, frameworks, tools, and methods along with interventions to analyze, synthesize, simulate, and evaluate behaviors. Currently we are working with organizations like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Urban Affairs(NIUA), and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to bring in Behavioural Design into Policy, Healthcare, Climate action and Sports training.

 

 

DeSH Lab

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Saurabh Tewari

 

The Design Studies/History Lab (DeSH Lab) at IIT Delhi advances Design Studies and Design History through research, pedagogy, and public dissemination. We develop rooted paradigms attentive to Indian and Global South contexts while dialoguing with global scholarship. Our work addresses three aims: (1) Bridging gaps across critical, epistemological, and methodological approaches in making and communication; (2) Expanding horizons by engaging diverse communities and stakeholders to translate scholarship into education, governance, and society, foregrounding climate justice, inclusivity, and gender; and (3) Decolonising perspectives by re-situating design’s universalist claims within plural contexts across communication, making, architecture, and design education. Current projects include Sustainability in Design Education (TU Delft–IIT Delhi), Contemporary Practices and Future Frameworks for Institutional Campus Design (UQ Brisbane–IIT Delhi), Design-nama (IIT Delhi seed grant), and Big-Data/Thick-Data in Urban Heat (TU Delft–IIT Delhi).

 

 

DESCINED Lab

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Srinivasan Venkataraman

 

Design Science, Innovation and Education (DESCINED; pronounced di-zined) Laboratory was created for undertaking design science, producing design innovation and providing design education. The current members of this lab work at the intersection of two or more of the following areas: Design Creativity, Design Theory & Methodology, AI in Design, Assistive Technology, Virtual Reality and New Product Development. The current projects are supported by the Ministry of Education of the Government of India and American Express.

 

 

Makerspace

Faculty In Charge: Prof. Jay Dhariwal

 

Makerspace is a DIY facility for people who like to make things, are curious about how stuff works, or would like to learn new skills in tinkering. Makerspace is equipped with machines such as laser cutters, waterjet cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers, PCB prototyping stations, soldering stations, welding kits, and various hand and power tools.

 

 

QuEST Lab

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Jay Dhariwal

 

This lab works in designing products and solutions for Quality of Life Enhancement using Science and Technology. Among other things, the lab houses Weather Station, Reference equipment for Air Quality Monitoring, Thermal Imaging Camera, Background Oriented Schlieren Imaging setup, Sensors for Indoor Environmental Quality.

 

 

Human Factors and Ergonomics

 

The Ergo Lab is designed as a flexible facility for research work on usability, human performance, comfort, health, environmental simulation and user preferences. The ErgoLab is in process of acquiring measurement systems for surface electromyography, energy expenditure, motion analysis, force and pressure mapping, environmental assessment, and performance and productivity assessment software.

 

 

DIVINE Lab

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Jyoti Kumar

 

The Design and Innovation in Villagepreneurs Ecosystem lab is a sponsored lab that undertakes research in the Indian rural ecosystem, enabling students to visit villages and undertake design projects relevant to rural ecosystems.

 

 

Rekhi Mind Lab

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Jyoti Kumar

 

Mind Lab at DoD, IIT Delhi, has been funded by Rekhi Foundation. The goal of the lab is to design and develop evidence-based pedagogical interventions to integrate happiness and well-being into higher education

 

 

Phygital Humanics Lab (PH Lab)

Human-Centered Design, Serious Gaming, Cultural Ergonomics & Experiential Learning

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Nilakshi Yein

 

The Phygital Humanics Lab (PH Lab) is an interdisciplinary research incubator operating at the intersection of ergonomics, humanics, and digital interface design. The lab develops phygital interventions and multimodal systems, integrated solutions merging physical ergonomic principles with digital augmentation and mixed reality, to support human performance and well-being in healthcare, learning, and cultural heritage preservation. Grounded in Human-Centered Design (HCD), the Lab translates data into meaningful experiences, such as gamified rehabilitation protocols for elderly and special-needs populations and the digitization of "tactile intelligence" in regional crafts like Chindari weaving, Muga Silk, Kavad storytelling, etc. PH lab aims to achieve an ergonomic symbiosis where digital intelligence augments physical human capability and well-being rather than displacing it. We welcome motivated students and researchers to join us in exploring these frontiers of embodied intelligence and experiential learning.

 

 

WAH Studio (Wellbeing + AI + Humanity)

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Mritunjay Kumar

 

WAH Studio designs and studies AI systems that support human wellbeing. We examine how emotions influence thinking, creativity, learning, and everyday decision-making, and how technology can be intentionally designed to strengthen these human capacities.

Our work sits at the intersection of design, emotions, human behavior, and artificial intelligence. We investigate how AI systems can sense, model, and respond to emotional and cognitive states in responsible and meaningful ways. Rather than treating emotion as just data, we explore how it shapes human experience and how intelligent systems can align with it.

The studio combines design research, behavioral experimentation, affective computing, and AI development. We build and evaluate interactive prototypes, immersive environments, and AI-enabled tools, testing them through user studies and empirical methods. Our research produces validated insights, design frameworks, and deployable systems that can be translated into real-world applications.

WAH Studio works across domains such as healthcare, education, creative practice, and digital and immersive technologies. Ultimately, our goal is to design intelligent systems and solutions that enhance human resilience, creativity, and well-being.

 

Image and Narratives Lab

Faculty Incharge: Prof. Subir Dey

 

Image and Narratives Lab explores how images shape and communicate thoughts, ideas, and information across contexts. Situated at the intersection of visual studies, culture, and design research, the lab studies images, illustrations, typography, and other graphic elements as systems of meaning in contemporary media.