This is the first of a three-part series by Aliza Leventhal and Julia Larson on enhancing archivists’ visual and technical literacy in handling complex digital objects. Deconstructing CAD: Layers, Xrefs, and You. Screenshot of MicroStation. Image courtesy: Turnbull Griffin Haesloop (TGH) collection, (2021-13), Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California. Physical materials in a design archive are inh