Susan Skarsgard: Design Preservation Featured

As manager of the General Motors Design Archive, Susan Skarsgard (MFA 2004) has helped preserve countless sketches and prints documenting the history of design at GM. Her work is featured in Women designers and the making of a modern General Motors, an article recently published in metromode.

“Now there’s a repository for researchers and designers that they can use as inspiration for their work,” says Skarsgard. ​“But also GM can tell its own story. My job here is not just documenting GM’s design, but American design. GM has influenced so many areas of design over the years.”

This collection continues to grow because the work of her department has expanded beyond the walls of the Technical Center. Skarsgard and her team have interviewed designers from the early days about their work, back to a time when automakers started to take design seriously and the title ​“industrial designer” first came into use. Back to the time of Harley Earl.

Women designers and the making of a modern General Motors | metromode