Digital design crosses a number of disciplines so simialr to finding book, you may use databases that focus on art & design as well as technology and computing. Below are some that should be useful to your reseach but you can also use the the more general databases suggested in the journals section.

Digital Design databases:

  • ACM Digital Library the digital library of  the Association of Computing Machinery inlcudes journals, trade magazines, conference proceedings and e-books from 1985 onwards. There are also videos and demonstrations useful to students involved in design and programming projects.
  • Art, Design & Architecture Collection – A useful tool for any visual and applied arts research. Includes cross-searchable databases with full-text from hundreds of journals. Coverage from 1973-current.
  • DAAI: Design & Applied Arts Index This link opens in a new window–  key bibliographic database for architecture, design and craft. Includes citations for journal articles, news items and reviews (part of Arts Premium Collection).
  • IEEE Xplore– database of journal articles, ebooks, conference proceedings and selected standards for use in the fields of technology and physics. This video tutorial will help you get started on using this database to find journal articles, reports, conference proceedings and more.
  • IET Research Hub – open access collection of 43 IET journals from 2013 onwards
  • SPIE Digital Library – The largest collection of optics and photonics applied research, providing full-text access to technical papers from SPIE journals and conference proceedings from 1962 onwards.

Check out our digital resources directory to find others that might be useful to your studies.

Image databases:

Standards & Patents

  • British Standards Online (BSOL) provides access to full-text current British Standards.
  • IEEE Standards   provides access to full text IEEE Standards from 1988.
  • Google Patents – covers issued patents and millions of patent applications made available by the USPTO, from the 1790s to the present. It does not currently include international patents.
  • Espacenet – free access to 90 million patent documents worldwide

Other resources:

  • Material District searchable database of innovative building materials.
  • UAL Research Online open access, online collection of scholarly research produced at University of the Arts London.