My Subject: Graphic Design: Digital Resources

Morag Myerscough, Designer Maker User, Design Museum, London, 2020 © Morag Myerscough

Graphic Design Web Resources

Graphic Design Blogs

Photography Web Resources

Radical Resources

Anarchist Book & Zine fair London

leftove.rs This link opens in a new window

Art-Based Websites

Archive of Digital Art
As a pioneer in the field of Media Arts research, the ARCHIVE OF DIGITAL ART (ADA, former Database of Virtual Art) documents the rapidly evolving field of digital installation art.
Art UK
'An online home for every public art collection'. The trust aims to provide access to art through digitisation, education, events. Features include fascinating stories about art.
British Library National Life Stories: Artists
An audio project which reveals the lives of British artists through their own words. Featuring over 200 artists including Eileen Agar, Anthony Caro, Elizabeth Frink, Howard Hodgkin.
CARTA
Collaborative project aimed at capturing and preserving at-risk web-based art materials. CARTA is a collaborative entity of art libraries building collections of archived web-based content related to art history and contemporary art practice.
E-Flux
"e-flux is a publishing platform and archive, artist project, curatorial platform, and enterprise which was founded in 1998. Its news digest, events, exhibitions, schools, journal, books, and the art projects produced and/or disseminated by e-flux describe strains of critical discourse surrounding contemporary art, culture, and theory internationally."
Hyperallergic
With over one million visitors monthly, Hyperallergic combines round-the-clock art world news coverage with insightful commentary.
Summerhall TV
Edinburgh based site houses TV art news with clips of artists, curators, authors and performers, contemporary and historical.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC

Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design, and is the steward of one of the most diverse and comprehensive design collections in existence—more than 215,000 design objects spanning 30 centuries. From ancient textiles and works on paper to icons of modern design and cutting-edge technologies, Cooper Hewitt's collection educates, inspires, and empowers people through design.

Cooper Hewitt - Explore the Collection

Image Resources

It is important to use good quality images in your work. This means not only high resolution but good provenance. This refers to the source of the image. Is there accurate, authoritative information about the object? For example:

Who is the creator?
When was it made?
Where can it be found?
What is it made of?

Instagram and Pinterest have lots of images, but information about the pictures is often very sketchy. Try to use good quality books, museums, galleries and archives or their websites.

These are links to some good quality sources of images:

Artcyclopedia Artcyclopedia is a basic database that can be searched by artist name, title of work, or museum name. Results include links to museums and art image galleries, image archives, other web sites, and articles.
Europeana Multi-lingual online collection of millions of digitized items from European museums, libraries, archives and multi-media collections.
Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute.
The Guardian in pictures Photographic features and essays from The Guardian newspaper.
Getty Images American visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets—creative professionals, the media, and corporate.

History of Advertising Trust This link opens in a new window HAT was founded in 1976 as an archive to the advertising industry and has since grown to embrace all forms of brand communication. It holds an impressive range of material – from industry collections such as Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, The Advertising Association and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, through to iconic British brand archives such as Butlin’s, Hovis, Heinz and McVities.

Imperial War Museum: photographs Photographs documenting the causes and consequences of war from IWM.
Kyoto Costume Institute KCI has a digital archive searchable by date
Look & Learn History Picture Archive Register to use over 800,000 free historical pictures and photos. Many also available to purchase.
Marks & Spencer Archive
The Met The Met has thousands of quality images of its collection online
The Museum at FIT The Fashion Institute of Technology also has searchable collections
Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture MoDA is part of Middlesex University and its website contains a wealth of images from collections including textiles, wallpapers, magazines and other domestic objects.
National Portrait Gallery: photographs Photographic collection from the National Portrait Gallery.

SubCulture Archives This link opens in a new window An educational & cultural research resource of primary sources exploring 100 years of youth culture through the scenes, styles, and sounds that forged them. From Rave, Punk, Rockabilly to Grime. Click “Log in via your University or Institution”, Scroll to “Middlesex University” and click the Select button, This displays the Middlesex University Sign In page where users sign in with their IT User ID and password.

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Images RIBApix is owned by the Royal Institute of British Architects and is its image library for items from the RIBA Collections. All of the images are available to view, buy and download.
V& A Collections Search the V&A's amazing collections of fashion, textiles and accessories.
Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) The online resource for visual arts - VADS is free for educational use and contains over 140,000 images.
Westminster Menswear Archive University of Westminster has an amazing archive which you can search online and also varrange to visit.
Yorkshire Fashion Archive

Zine Resources

Use this list as a starting point for research on zines and as an introduction to major zine collections. It will help you locate zines and materials about creating them in other libraries and online databases.

Anarchist Zines Sprout Distro is an anarchist zine distro. They feature 100s of zines on topics ranging from direct action to theory. Their main focus is sharing practical skills with an eye towards anarchy.
Barnard Zine Library Barnard's zines are created by women (cis- and transgender) with an emphasis on zines by women of color.
BathMagg BathMagg is an online poetry magazine that offers a platform for both established and emerging writers. They publish three times a year, and are regularly open for unsolicited submissions.
Buffalo Zine Buffalo Zine’s design and format change with each issue – with an overarching theme of satire. Previous editions have focused on gender roles, art, friendship groups, memes and life on social media.
Cornwall Zine Library Zine Library based in Falmouth, Cornwall, and established in 2017.
Edinburgh Zine Library Many zine covers available.
Fashion Zines
Feminist Zines Feminist zines from Chapman University, US.
Glasgow Zine Library Growing collection of zines covering a whole range of subjects and interests, many show covers only.
Independent Publishing Resource Center The Independent Publishing Resource Center seeks to help provide individual access to tools and resources for creating independently published media and artwork. Based in Portland, OR.
Internet Archive: Zines Thousands of zines from the internet archive, US based. [Some may contain offensive material!]
ISSUU Blog Inspiration about zines including examples
It’s Freezing in LA! IFLA! is an independent magazine that focuses on science and activism, inviting writers and illustrators from a variety of fields to share their views on the effects of climate change. They also hold events on ways to combat its effects in London, most of which are free to attend.
LCC Zines Collection London College of Communication created this site to provide some access to their substantial zine collection during the lockdown.
London Housing Struggles Archive The London Housing Struggles Archive is a collection of documents related to housing campaigns, squatting and rent strikes.
Louche Louche is all about drag and queer performance art, with an aim to create an archive bank of what drag performances look like in the present day – whilst equally engaging with the influence of drag history.
Mushpit Magazine Mushpit Magazine was founded to counteract the concept of photoshopped magazines with ads and the associated lack of creative control. Inspired by magazines of the late 90s and early 2000s, it specialises in humorous and sarcastic takes on life as a woman in London, and covers themes ranging from relationships to mental health.
Offlicence Magazine Playfully taking their name from the British cultural landmark – the corner shop also known as the off licence (or offie) – this Brighton-based publication spans underground music, photography and culture. It offers plenty of great interviews with musicians and artists alike.
Oof Magazine Founded on the belief that football and art have more in common than one might think – namely, the power to make people collectively feel – this independent magazine is an extension of the Oof gallery in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and combines the two activities in a bi-annual publication.
OOMK Zine (One of My Kind) OOMK Zine (One of My Kind) is a collaborative publishing practice who advocate inclusion of women from diverse ethnic backgrounds in creative spaces. Their work is highly visual, using techniques such as risograph printing – and they regularly hold open-access workshops, so you can kick start your very own zine-making project.
Polyester Zine Featuring articles and interviews that engage with pop culture, music and the internet, Polyester Zine is a self-published, intersectional feminist arts and culture magazine that bridges the gap between cyber and IRL feminism. They also host regular talks and events.
Quaranzine! A zine about isolation, connectedness & survival in dark times, edited by Mad Covid [2020].
The Queer Zine Archive Project The Queer Zine Archive Project is an online archive, based in Milwaukee and run by a group of six anonymous people since 2003, collecting queer zines from the last three decades and making them available online for free. Their website is a lesson in queer history, full of rare zines, including all the issues of J.D.s, the legendary queercore zine by G.B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce from the late 80s and early 90s.
Sabat Sabat explores the notion of contemporary witchcraft by engaging largely with its appearance in Tumblr and Instagram culture. The zine publishes interviews, essays, articles and visuals, examining the perceptions of the occult especially through aesthetic expression.
Season Zine Somewhere between a football fanzine and a fashion mag, Season Zine tells stories surrounding football and fashion, spotlighting female fans and marginalised communities within the sphere. With a commitment to authentic storytelling, the zine seeks to counteract the traditional white and male-dominated culture of the sport.
Small Science Collective A whole range of science subjects produced by artists, illustrators, students.
So Young So Young focuses on a close-up view of the alternative music scene. Having made a name for themselves as a key player in the lo-fi aesthetics music zine space, they have expanded their output to starting their own record label, hosting live shows and developing their own line of merch.
SpamZine Spamzine aims to import experimental culture and glitchy computer aesthetics into a literary zine format. They accept poetry and essay submissions that engage with meme culture, irony, sincerity, cyberspace and beyond. The zine also puts on events, readings and workshops.
Stolen Sharpie Revolution Stolen Sharpie Revolution is a "useful tool in the creation of zines and the celebration of the ever changing zine community." New, events and resources all about zines.
Sweet-thang Zine Sweet-thang is an independent print zine and arts platform featuring work by Black artists of marginalised genders. They foster a creative space for women, femmes, gender non-conforming and non-binary people.
Tendencies Bulletin A left-wing zine focusing on poetry, art, football, fashion, politics and people, Tendencies Bulletin hosts regular readings of their printed pieces on independent radio stations, and organises regular gatherings for their readers. They also sell classic zine merch including neckerchiefs and pins.
Twos Mag Twos Mag was launched to combat what founder Morgan Allan sees as the commericalisation of youth culture mags. The magazine publishes a wide range of themes, interviews, fake advertisements and has recently launched a series of Central London cheap eats maps.
Typical Girls Typical Girls is an intersectional print publication platforming a diverse look at womanhood. Themes include everything from exploring the female form and looking at our connection to the earth, to championing upcoming music creators.
UK & Ireland Zine Libraries Directory A directory of zine libraries giving details of holdings.
Weird Walk Zine Weird Walk zine was created by three friends who had spent extended periods of time together roaming the British countryside, and felt compelled to capture the stories of folklore, foraging and history that they came across amongst the landscape.
The Wellcome Collection - Zines Zines in the Wellcome Collection
We Make Zines Online community for zine makers and readers.
Zine Archive and Publishing Project ZAPP offers classes on all aspects of zines and zine-making, from the history of zines and teaching with zines to workshops on binding methods and creating stamps.
Zines - Internet Archive Digitised collection of zines that can be found on the Internet Archive. Register using your email address, log in, and click Borrow.
Zines at the Library of Congress The Library of Congress is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. The Library of Congress has a growing collection of zines.
Zine Web Archive The Library of Congress has a growing collection of zines. The Zine Web Archive was created to supplement the physical zine collection.
ZineWiki ZineWiki is an open-source encyclopedia devoted to zines and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.
Zine World Published from 1996 to 2012, Zine World offered reviews and information about zines, comics, self-published books, chapbooks, and other DIY stuff.

Quick Links

Quick links to useful pages and resources.

Art Full Text This link opens in a new window
Bloomsbury Applied Visual Arts This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Kortext eBooks – Library Collection This link opens in a new window
Internet Archive This link opens in a new window

Kanopy

BoB (Box of Broadcasts) This link opens in a new window The first time you use this you will have to sign in with your Middlesex email address. Description: BoB (Box of Broadcasts) National is a shared online off-air TV and radio recording service we subscribe to. BoB enables all staff and students to choose and record any broadcast programme from 60+ TV and radio channels from the last 30 days plus access to BBC TV and radio Archive going back to 2007.
LinkedIn Learning This link opens in a new window
Make the most of free access to LinkedIn Learning and your time at Middlesex University, activate your LinkedIn Learning account and connect it to your LinkedIn profile page to:
• retain a permanent record of your learning history
• grow your network of like-minded people
• increase your employment prospects after graduation
To find out more, visit the LinkedIn Learning Subject Guide here (https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/linkedinlearning)

Warning: if you do not save your learning history on your LinkedIn profile page it cannot be retrieved after graduation.

Statista This link opens in a new window

UniHelp
UniHelp advisors can provide information and support on all aspects of the University including your student record and programme of study, sources of academic support, money and welfare services, Library, IT and information enquiries. If you are having issues accessing the MyMDX app please follow this link to MyMdx select “Student login Support” click on the tile and start a live chat with a UniHelp advisor for support with logging in. You can also contact UniHelp, face-to-face on campus, by completing an online form or over the telephone on 020 8411 6060 (UK), 0044 208 411 6060 (International).
WGSN

SubCulture Archives This link opens in a new window An educational & cultural research resource of primary sources exploring 100 years of youth culture through the scenes, styles, and sounds that forged them. From Rave, Punk, Rockabilly to Grime. Click “Log in via your University or Institution”, Scroll to “Middlesex University” and click the Select button, This displays the Middlesex University Sign In page where users sign in with their IT User ID and password.