The National Graphic Design Image Database at Cooper Union is an on-line system under development at the Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography in the School of Art. The Image Database is designed to electronically preserve and disseminate material related to the history of visual communication in the twentieth century. The software, CUImage, enables students, designers and artists to study and contribute to image files from web sites worldwide. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the project aims to build a virtual visual encyclopedia through an electronic community of students and educators.