Visual Communications

• This art research database covers a broad range of subjects from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design.

• A comprehensive survey of current publications in the fields of visual and applied arts, the Art, Design & Architecture Collection includes ARTbibliographies Modern (covering modern and contemporary art), Design & Applied Arts Index (for all aspects of design and crafts), and International Bibliography of Art (covering scholarship on western art history), together with a complementary collection of current full-text Arts & Humanities journals.

• Featuring eBooks on the scholarship of the history of art, architecture, decorative arts, photography, and design. The site includes many out-of-print titles, key backlist, recent releases from academic and museum publishers and image search functionality to find related publications.

• JSTOR Arts & Sciences + Essentials collections have extensive coverage in the humanities, social sciences and sciences, including literature, film, art, music, religion, classical studies, history, education, economics, political science, and sociology. This collection includes Full text articles, and a broad range of subjects.
• NEW! Artstor is now on JSTOR! The Artstor Digital Library is an image database featuring a range of images from some of the world's leading museums, photo archives, scholars, and artists in one easily-navigated repository. All images are accompanied by comprehensive metadata and are rights-cleared for educational use. Note: See My library account for details on registering and creating a personal account for full access to Artstor resources.

• Library Stack provides access to a variety of digital materials covering the topics of art, design, theory, and architecture. It is a database, archive, publisher, and distributor. The collection includes eBooks, software, books on media theory, philosophy and technology, artists’ magazines, experimental fonts, podcasts, museum catalogues, essays and pamphlets, critical journals and project ephemera from the field of architecture, sound works and writings on experimental sound pieces and publications focused on the cinema.

• This database spans world history from the ancient world all the way up to recent current events, putting issues of interest in their historical context. Multi-media content includes journal articles, primary source documents, historical maps, news sources and web links.

• Statistics Canada produces statistical data and insights to help Canadians better understand their country. Discover the studies conducted by Statistics Canada and the various subjects of statistical information obtained from them. We're committed to giving Canadians the resources to find the data they are looking for and to respecting the privacy of individuals and businesses - whether they are responding to one of our surveys, providing personal information, purchasing a product or service, or using our website. 

• Ad Age is a daily must-read for an influential audience of decision makers and disruptors across the marketing and media landscape.

  Created in 1930 to cover a burgeoning industry with objectivity, accuracy, and fairness, Ad Age continues to be powered by award-winning journalism. Today, Ad Age is a global media brand focusing on curated creativity, data and analysis, people and culture, and innovation and forecasting.

  From vital print editions to must-attend events and innovative platform offerings, its industry-leading offerings include the coveted A-List & Creativity Awards, the Ad Age Next Conference, and proprietary data such as the Leading National Advertisers Report from the Ad Age Datacenter.

The Advertising Archives

• Since 1990 the Advertising Archives has been one of Europe’s most extensive collections of original vintage magazines, annuals, newspapers, music magazines & artwork from all over the world.

Ad Views

• The AdViews digital collection provides access to thousands of historic commercials created for clients or acquired by the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) advertising agency or its predecessor during the 1950s - 1980s. All of the commercials held in the DMB&B Archives will be digitized, allowing students and researchers access to a wide range of vintage brand advertising from the first four decades of mainstream commercial television.

  AdViews is a collaborative project between the Digital Collections Program and the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, as well as a number of other groups, at Duke University.

History of Graphic Design Timeline

• View an interactive timeline on the book Meggs' History of Graphic Design.

Canadian Design Resource Center

• Canadian Design resource Center is the first of its kind destination that caters to the varied requirements of customers and industry professionals alike. For those seeking the finest interior design solutions, CDRC showcases an exquisite collection of fabrics, upholstery, wall coverings and more from globally-acclaimed brand manufacturers and suppliers.

University of Brighton Design Archives

• The University of Brighton Design Archives is an internationally significant research base with a curatorial team that initiates and promotes collaborative activity through a programme of projects. Founded on a scholarly resource focusing on design in Britain and global design organisations in the twentieth century, we have been contributing substantially to the research profile of the University for over 20 years. The Design Archives welcome scholars and students from many academic disciplines researching the designed environment, the design profession and design practice. As a distinctive component of the University’s research organisation, we work with researchers across the arts and humanities and beyond, particularly through our relationship with the Centre for Design History.

  Since the 1990s we have undertaken a range of innovative projects with a variety of partners including AHRC-funded collaborative doctorates and JISC-funded digitisation projects. Since 2010, the Design Archives has received funding from Research England’s Higher Education Museums, Galleries and Collections Fund. In 2020 we became an Accredited Archive Service.

  For more information about our collections, please Browse our Archives. Our catalogue descriptions are available on the Archives Hub, with selected digital scans. You can also find digital resources from our collections in our Document Library and at the Visual Arts Data Service.

• Founded in 1977, the Design History Society works internationally to promote and support the study and understanding of design history.

  The Society welcomes members from other disciplines such as anthropology, architecture and art history, business history, the history of science and technology, craft history, cultural studies, economic and social history, design and design management studies.

Inclusive Design Toolkit

• Every design decision has the potential to include or exclude customers. Inclusive design is about making informed design decisions, by better understanding user diversity, which helps to include as many people as possible. User diversity covers variation in capabilities, needs and aspirations.
  Utilize this toolkit to ensure your designs are accessible and inclusive.

Queer Comics Database

• Our mission is to facilitate access to comics that contain queer representation. This includes:

  • Comics published in print and on the web.
  • Comics from major publishers, independent publishers, and self-published comics.
  • Comics for children, teens, and adults, as well as all-ages comics.
  • Representation from across the LGBTQIA spectrum, as well as intersectional representation.
• To view a complete list of the 615 titles currently in the database, please go to Browse Series.

• The development of early American animation is represented by this collection of 21 animated films and 2 fragments, which spans the years 1900 to 1921. The films include clay, puppet, and cut-out animation, as well as pen drawings. They point to a connection between newspaper comic strips and early animated films, as represented by Keeping Up With the Joneses, Krazy Kat, and The Katzenjammer Kids. As well as showing the development of animation, these films also reveal the social attitudes of early twentieth-century America.