Nancy Perkins, FIDSA

Principal, Perkins Design Ltd.   In 1991, Nancy J. Perkins and Sharyn Thompson co-founded IDSA’s Women’s Section,now known as Women in Design. Through the dedication of numerous contributors, today, Women in Design has expanded to five regional chapters. In 1993, Nancy received IDSA’s highest award, Fellow, the third woman so honored since IDSA’s founding in 1965. She was elected Chicago Chapter Chair, Midwest District VP and National Secretary/Treasurer.  Currently, she is Vice Chair of the Disability Section. In consultant and corporate positions, Nancy has created successful designs for a wide range of product categories; consumer products, cellular communications, mass transit, marine and medical products, contract interior components, way-finding, corporate identity and industrial equipment. As CEO of a manufacturing agency employing people who are blind, she rebranded the organization and expanded employee opportunities. Nancy has been granted twenty-seven patents and is an expert witness for design patent litigation. Adjunct teaching invitations have included Carnegie Mellon University, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois Chicago. Nancy continues to document the career of her great aunt, Anna Keichline, an early twentieth-century architect and inventor. Recent publications about Keichline include the “New Angle Voice” podcast (2023) produced by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, and the “Journeys of Innovation” article written by the USPTO (2025). Nancy received her B.F.A. in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1972.