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Design Resources in Napier Library

Key reference books

These can all be found in Merchiston Library reference section: follow the links to our library catalogue then click on Location to see the shelfmark.

The dictionary of art (Grove, 34 vols.)

Designers international index

Encyclopedia of interior design

History of industrial design

The international design yearbook

The designer's handbook

The creative handbook

The One Show

Architects' data

Architects' job book

Encyclopedia of American architecture

Encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world

Edinburgh: an illustrated architectural guide

The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh

Phaidon architecture guide: Glasgow

Journal Databases

These can help you identify useful journal articles: look for the link to our helpsheets on the information and access page that comes up.

You may still have more work to do to find the full text of the articles! See our web page on Locating Journal Articles.

Design and arts in general:

• Design and applied arts index - may link to full text via SFX
• Art index - print version only, Merchiston abstracts section
• Architectural publications index - search the index in electronic form as part of the RIBA online catalogue - Before searching, scroll down to Search Limits and change this from ALL to ARTICLES instead. We also have the Print version in Merchiston Library, Abstracts Section
• BHI - British Humanities Index - may link to full text via SFX
• Expanded Academic ASAP - contains some full text
• FindArticles - Arts and Entertainment - some full text but may not include images
• IngentaConnect - contains some full text
• ISI Web of Knowledge - includes Arts and humanities citation index - may link to full text via SFX
• Zetoc - if not available locally, anything you find here can be requested from the British Library via our Document Supply service

Newspaper articles

• Nexis UK contains the full text of a huge range of international newspapers - but no pictures, sadly.

Technical subjects:

• ANTE - Abstracts in new technologies and engineering - may link to full text via SFX
• CADCAMNet- full text - Napier has a limited number of users for this service.

Market reports:

• Mintel marketing intelligence - full text
• Global market information database - full text

Other Databases

Product catalogues

• Specify-it - illustrated product catalogues covering the construction industry - via Info4Education. At the first screen, click on Athens logon and enter your Athens password. From the next screen, select Specify-it.
• RIBA Office Library - collection of printed product catalogues covering the construction industry. Updated regularly, located at the back right hand corner of Merchiston Library. See our RIBA Office Library helpsheet for an explanation of how to use the indexes.

Technical data

• British Standards Online

Images and film clips:

• AHDS Visual Arts: Collections
• Film and Sound Online - a set of ten collections of film and video, providing about 300 hours of material on a wide range of subjects
• SCRAN - a resource base of Scottish material culture and human history

TV schedules

• TRILT - Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching - listings for more than 300 TV and radio channels with data from 1995 onwards

Design Resources on the Internet

Design

Design Council Information about the work of the Council, education, projects, Design Journal, industry links

Design Directions The RSA's student annual awards scheme, Design Directions, offers a range of challenging projects which comment on the changing role of the designer in relation to society, technology and culture.

Design Research Society "The Society is international in outlook, with a design research network across 35 countries". The site includes a small collection of links.

Design History Society Information about the society, conferences, competitions, electronic discussion list, regional network, links to related sites

British Design Innovation "a not for profit membership organisation whose services and professional membership reflect the increasing focus on open & collaborative innovation by designers, industry, universities and dealmakers"

The Design Business Association "The Design Business Association exists to promote professional excellence through productive partnerships between commerce and the design industry to champion effective design which improves the quality of people's lives."

Desktoppublishing.start4all.com This site contains a huge number of links to websites of interest to graphic and multimedia designers

Printworks Magazine "The information resource for printmakers". News, articles, materials and techniques and lots of links to other sites.

The Desktop Desktop Graphic Services is a multimedia web page design company operating on the West Coast of America. This site is intended for artists and designers and you can view some of the websites they have created, get the latest design news and pick up tips and tricks

Alessi The official website of the Italian design company. Designers and products, special projects, history, news

Philips Design Philips Design's corporate website includes information about the company, design awards, job opportunities

Braun Braun's official webpage includes company news and images of their product range

Mitsubishi Current projects and company history

SonyStyle USA Overview of Sony range of products. Includes links to Sony global websites.

FM4: Furniture: Meubles: Mobili: Muebles: Möbel This website devoted to furniture is based in the US, but coverage is worldwide. Includes furniture history, furniture design, furniture industry contacts, and articles about furniture.

The Textile Institute Based in the USA, the Textile Institute is "the worldwide professional association for people working with fibres and fabrics, clothing and footwear, interior and technical textiles". Their Virtual Library section contains a good selection of links.

Lighting Research Center This site focuses strongly on the USA, but there are many industry links and useful information about residential and commercial lighting.

The Ergonomics Society Information about the Society, news, features, events, competitions, and links to many related organisations

Bad Human Factors Designs "A scrapbook of illustrated examples of things that are hard to use because they do not follow human factors principles". Essential reading to see how NOT to do it!

CADALOG.com US site with links to CAD shareware and freeware

Architecture

RIAS Website The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. News, events, competitions, Internet directory of Chartered Architects and their services.

Edinburgh Architectural Association The Association is a Chapter of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, and the website highlights some recent Edinburgh projects.

Architecture.com All about architecture, run by the Royal Institute of British Architects. News, exhibitions, list of architects.

Abacus Construction Index A directory of recommended websites relevant to construction in the USA and UK. Incorporates Archinet UK.

Cyburbia: the planning community "Cyburbia includes a busy message board, image gallery, planning and urbanism-related blog feeds, a wiki, and a directory of related web sites. Based in the US.

The Great Buildings Collection "the leading architecture site on the web, the Great Buildings Online. This gateway to architecture around the world and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects, with 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds." Not everything listed on this site is available for free, and some items require you to download special software.

DiCamillo Companion- Database of Houses The Database of Houses is a continuing effort to list every country house built in Britain and Ireland, standing or demolished. The Database is updated daily and currently lists over 6,500 houses, with images for over 800 houses.

Architectural review The website of the monthly magazine. A few selected articles and images are available online.

Metropolis online "Metropolis is a renowned architecture and design publication founded in 1981 to explore the contexts--economic, environmental, social, cultural, political, technological - that surround objects, interiors, buildings, streets, and cities."

The Lighthouse Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. Details of exhibitions and educational activities

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Information about Mackintosh and details of Mackintosh buildings open to the public.

All-Wright-Site An internet guide to Frank Lloyd Wright. Not an official site, and lots of broken links now, but contains a useful guide to more than 420 Wright buildings, and an extensive selection of links to other sites.

Santiago Calatrava Official website with images and information on Calatrava's bridges and buildings.

Foster and Partners News, projects and information about the company.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners The new name of Richard Rogers Partnership. Company profile, projects, environmental statement, and a bibliography.

Multimedia / Computer graphics

Digital Producer Magazine "The premier resource for information on Digital Video, Animation, Effects, Imaging and Technology"

Computer Graphics World Online Web version of the monthly magazine

Adobe News, tips and technical information on Adobe products, e.g. Photoshop, Cold Fusion, Dreamweaver, Flash, Acrobat, Shockwave