ÖzU / Istanbul Institute of Design (İID) is a collective project that emerged from the need to represent Istanbul in a way it deserves within global design education and research networks. Although it has a quarter-century history as an idea, it was born in 2014 at Özyeğin University, with the establishment of the Faculty of Architecture and Design in 2012, and was registered as a brand by the university in 2015. Between 2015 and 2020, a series of international and national design events were held at ATÖLYE İstanbul’s Bomontiada venue, of which İID was a stakeholder during its establishment phase. Additionally, the “ÖzU / İID Gökçeada – Imroz Design Workshops” were organized between 2014 and 2018. Having suspended its activities during the pandemic, ÖzU / İID has been restructured to diversify its areas of activity and strengthen its interdisciplinary character, with a target date of 2026.