Index of American Design: Making an Obscure Collection Discoverable by Chanel Kim

The Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project providing work-relief to hundreds of artists, produced over 18,000 watercolors documenting everyday objects from America’s past. Sparking discovery of this obscure collection, this project offers a novel and interactive entry point into the vast archive. Beyond preserving history, this thesis also aims to explore the complexities of digitizing analog resources and spur critical reflection on the task of defining American design in the first place.