Interior Design resources

Library Resources for Interior Design

Use Library Search to find:

• All physical material held at the three UWE libraries (including books, magazines and DVDs)
• A vast amount of online content (including e-books and journal articles).

Journals and magazines (print and online)

These provide information on specialist topics and can be more up to date than books as well as being a useful source to research precedents. Interiors magazine titles include Abitare, Architects’ Journal, Frame, Detail, Blueprint and Domus.

Many journals and magazines are available online, but some are also (or only) in print in the library. The current issues are on display in the north wing, and older issues are with books. Ask library staff if you need help locating relevant journals. 

Most online journal articles can be located using Library Search. For some however, you will need to access the database they are held in. For example: Architects' Journal is a key journal, best accessed via the Construction Information Service (CIS) database. 

Databases

Databases provide reliable information from collections of journal articles, images, audio and film, maps and more.

Databases for interior design

Art & Architecture Source is a journal article database with international coverage of 400 art, design and architecture journals from 1984 onwards.

Construction Information Service (CIS) is an index of standards, regulatory and advisory documents for the UK construction industry. This includes the New Metric Handbook and the Building Regs approved documents. Plus, access to the Architects' Journal.

DETAIL inspiration provides architects with images and details for more than 3,000 projects from the last 30 years (also available in print at Bower Ashton and Frenchay)

Digimap provides access to a collection of maps including:

• Current Ordnance Survey Collection: which can be downloaded and used within GIS and CAD applications.
• Historic Digimap: historic Ordnance Survey maps dating from 1843 to 1996.
• Environment Digimap: view, download and print environmental maps and map data

JSTOR is a scholarly archive of over 1,000 full-text e-journals including key art and design publications. Useful for historical perspectives.

MaterialDistrict is a resource of innovative materials and processes, useful for projects in architecture, interior design, product design, industrial design, fashion and more.

RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Online is an index to over 150,000 books and journals covering every aspect of architecture and architectural history.

WGSN Lifestyle & Interiors is a product and interior design resource that provides trend intelligence to those working in the design, lifestyle and interiors industry.

Workbooks, guides and tutorials

• Site analysis workbook (interior design) -  A guide to useful resources for conducting a site analysis.
• Visual culture workbook - A guide to researching and writing your Independent Research Project.

Special collections

• Artists' books, Visionaire editions and zines are in the Special Collections area of Bower Ashton Library. All items are listed on Library Search or you can browse the collection during the library staffed hours.
• Film, TV and radio resources - Access to a variety of resources including Box of Broadcasts, Kanopy and other audio and moving image collections.
• Image resources - A curated list of image databases and links, including advice on copyright issues.
• Maps - Information about local map resources and archives.

Subject support

Your Subject Librarian is Morwenna Peters. Contact the Library.