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Art and Design Subject Guide

This guide will take you through all you need to make the most out of the resources available to you through the library.

New Books

The Library receives new Print and Electronic books all the time. Check the "new books" link in the lower section on the Library catalogue to see the latest additions: 

 

New Art and Design Books

The latest books received that would be useful to Art & Design students are listed here: 

Gallery

The Social Design Reader

The Social Design Reader explores the ways in which design can be a catalyst for social change. Bringing together key texts of the last fifty years, editor Elizabeth Resnick traces the emergence of the notion of socially responsible design. This volume represents the authentic voices of the thinkers, writers and designers who are helping to build a 'canon' of informed literature which documents the development of the discipline. The Social Design Reader is divided into three parts. Section 1: Making a Stand includes an introduction to the term 'social design' and features papers which explore its historical underpinnings. Section 2: Creating the Future documents the emergence of social design as a concept, as a nascent field of study, and subsequently as a rapidly developing professional discipline, and Section 3: A Sea Change is made up of papers acknowledging social design as a firmly established practice. Contextualising section introductions are provided to aid readers in understanding the original source material, while summary boxes clearly articulate how each text fits with the larger milieu of social design theory, methods, and practice.

Chromatopia : an illustrated history of colour

Did you know that the Egyptians created the first synthetic colour; or that the noblest purple comes from a predatory sea snail? Throughout history, artist pigments have been made from deadly metals, poisonous minerals, urine, cow dung, and even crushed insects.
From grinding down beetles and burning animal bones to alchemy and pure luck, Chromatopia reveals the origin stories behind over fifty of history's most vivid colour pigments. Spanning the ancient world to modern leaps in technology, this is the book for the artist, the history buff, the science lover and the design fanatic.

Design As Art

Bruno Munari was among the most inspirational designers of all time, described by Picasso as 'the new Leonardo'. Munari insisted that design be beautiful, functional and accessible, and this enlightening and highly entertaining book sets out his ideas about visual, graphic and industrial design and the role it plays in the objects we use everyday. Lamps, road signs, typography, posters, children's books, advertising, cars and chairs - these are just some of the subjects to which he turns his illuminating gaze.

Delicious

Delicious focuses on the visual identity of the sweetest places in the world: chocolate boutiques, bakeries and confectionaries, and coffee shops. Even though it would seem easy for these kinds of businesses to establish a connection with customers, the fiercely growing competition in this field makes it essential for shop owners and designers to shape a unique and unforgettable impression so as to create fidelity and brand awareness. This book presents brand strategies designed by international designers to catch the eye of hungry consumers.

Instafame

Instafame charts the impact of Instagram--one of the world's most popular social media platforms--on visual culture in the mere eight years since its launch. MacDowell traces the intuitive connections between graffiti, street art, and Instagram, arguing that social media's unending battle for a viewer's attention is closely aligned with the eye-catching ethos of unsanctioned public art. Beginning with the observation that the scroll of images on a sideways phone screen resembles nothing so much as graffiti seen through the windows of a moving train, Macdowell moves outward to give us a wide-ranging look at how Instagram has already effected a dramatic shift in the making and viewing of street art.

Hybrid Drawing Techniques for Interior Design

Hybrid Drawing Techniques for Interior Design shows you a flexible and productive design workflow that starts with hand drawing and moves on to digital techniques. In this book, digital and freehand images are displayed side-by-side, so that you can choose at every step which method is best for your desired effect. You will also learn how to draw freehand using a digital tablet, and how to render perspective views, elevations and floor plans. This book includes more than 400 color images and practice exercises that can be referenced online.

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