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Art and Design

Graphic Design Resources

Encyclopedias and Reference

The following links will take you to encyclopedias and reference manuals to help you get started on your research. Here you can find general background information, definitions, and history on many graphic design terms and concepts. Searching in an encyclopedia can also help you find a topic for a paper or project. 

 

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Finding Articles

Use databases to find academic articles to continue your research. Below are the most helpful databases for finding relevant articles on graphic design.

Note: If you are looking for collections or databases of images, take a look at the Finding Images guide (follow hyperlink or find the green tab to the left). This will take you to the Images guide. Once on the guide, click the "Image Databases" tab. The first box you will see, "Art Images Databases" contains links to collections of various high-quality/high-definition images from museums and galleries around the world. 

Graphic Design Journals

The following are links to specific academic journals which are published and peer-reviewed by experts in the field. If you want to narrow your search to a specific time period or genre, finding a journal that publishes in that area can help. 

Search the entire library catalog here.

Materials on fine art topics are found under the "N" subclass on the 3rd floor of the library. 

NC1-1940  Drawing. Design. Illustration 
NC845-915  Graphic art materials 
NC997-1003  Commercial art. Advertising art 
NC1280-1284  Printed ephemera. Imagerie populaire
NC1800-1850  Posters

Featured Books

Looking for an interesting research topic or project? Currently, the featured books section holds some of the newest additions to the library's collection of graphic design texts.