Marilee Bowles-Carey

She earned a BFA in graphic design from University of Michigan, where she learned to love grids, typography, the Bauhaus and the golden ratio. She later earned a Masters of Design (MDes) at Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design, and an MBA from IIT Stuart School of Business and now works as a an instructor in IIT’s IPRO (Inter-professional Projects) program, design strategy consultant, and lead instructor for General Assembly’s Chicago UXDI course.

Marilee continually looks for ways for designers to understand users better, synthesize insight into action, and mitigate the risks inherent in creating new experiences. As teacher/coach/mentor, Marilee tries to hep each student to discover his or her own unique entry point into the learning process, and develop confidence in their roles as questioners of orthodoxy and creators of experiences grounded in thoughtful observance of real people pursuing real objectives of personal value.

In her off-the-clock hours, Marilee is a maker and explorer—of all things related to textiles, printmaking, ceramics, and ink on paper drawing. She supports her community as volunteer designer for the Chi-Town Jazz Festival (supporting hunger relief in Chicago), and as a laborer for Habitat for Humanity in West Tallahatchee County, MS.