*Design Resources: Articles & Databases

Listed here are some design journals that cover a broad scope of topics. Journals that are specifically focused on a single area of design are found under the subject tabs. 

Design Issues, 1984- An academic journal that examines design history, theory, and criticism. Regular features include theoretical and critical articles by professional and scholarly contributors, extensive book reviews, and illustrations. Special guest-edited issues concentrate on particular themes, such as artificial intelligence, product seminars, design in Asia, and design education.

Design Week, 1986- Provides information on graphics, packaging, digital media, commercial interiors, product and exhibition design.

International Journal of Design, 2007- A peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to publishing research papers in all fields of design, including industrial design, visual communication design, interface design, animation and game design, architectural design, urban design, and other design related fields.

 Journal of Design History, 1988- Journal of the Design History Society, this magazine provides a forum for dialog and debate, for publishing new research, and for addressing current issues of interest on a wide and interdisciplinary basis.

To learn of an article in a journal on a topic that you are researching, you may need to use an index or bibliography. These tools can be searched like the library catalog using names, keywords, phrases, word combinations, etc. Different indexes may present the information in a variety of formats so you need to read the page carefully to determine how to proceed. Some indexes will only provide a CITATION to the article while others may provide a full-text version. If there is only a citation, look for the symbol to learn if there is a full-text online version, a paper copy in the library, or, if KU does not own, an option to borrow through Interlibrary Loan.

General & Architecture Indexes

JSTOR (To access PDF articles, your browser must allow pop-ups for this site) Provides image and full-text online access of core academic journals in a variety of disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, The most comprehensive index to journal literature in architecture, urban design, historic preservation, and urban planning history covering more than 700 U.S. and foreign journals. Updated weekly.

RIBA British Architectural Library. Catalogue. Includes an index to over 300 architectural periodicals held in the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as the catalog to the library's collection, the photograph collection, the drawing collection, the manuscript collection, and a biographical database of architects.  

Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI). An international index to design and crafts journals, containing over 150,000 records published from 1973-present.

Design Abstracts Retrospective (DAR).Part of Arts:Search. Serves as a retrospective complement to DAAI, covering design journals and yearbooks published between 1900 and 1987. The project is ongoing, with journals being indexed in their entirety from first issue, on a title-by-title basis. When complete, the index will cover at least 68 titles.

Art Index, Indexes articles and illustrations in 313 international art, architecture and design periodicals from 1984-present. 

ARTbibliographies Modern. Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews. Covers all aspects of modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on 20th & 21st century art.

Oxford Art Online: An encyclopedia of art and design information and a good starting point for research. Allows simultaneous searching of Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Content includes biographies, subject entries, bibliographies, images and learning resources.

Arts:Search: Consists of three databases: Design Abstracts Retrospective (DAR), Arts + Architecture ProFILES, Arts: Search Research Guides, and Review.  Design Abstracts Retrospective is a new ongoing abstracting and indexing service that aims to cover many of the most important design and applied arts journals and annuals published during the twentieth century.  Arts + Architecture ProFILES is a dictionary of modern designers, craftspeople, artists and architects whose work is discussed or illustrated in the journals and yearbooks covered by DAR. Arts:Search Reseach Guides contain other internet sources of biographical information and digitized art, architecture, desing and craft journals. ReVIEW is an ongoing project to digitize many of the most important decorative and fine arts journals published in Europe and the USA during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

   365: AIGA Year in Design, 1986-. Showcases the work selected in the AIGA competitions for the year. Feature photographs of each selection as well as jurors' comments and extensive credits.

Art Directors Annual, 1922-. Honors the year's best work in design and advertising around the globe through print, illustration, photography, broadcast, and interactive media.

Design (Graphis Design Annual), 1953-. Features the year’s best international Design work in a variety of categories ranging from Annual Reports, Branding and Exhibits to Logos, Packaging and Posters, with detailed explanations in the back of the book written by designers on their process to the solution.

International Design Yearbook, 1985-2007. International showcase of domestic design, surveying the best furniture, lighting, tableware, textile and product designs. Each object is illustrated with full technical information and Introductions by the editors provide insight into both the selection and the trends and issues currently influencing the design world.