Graphic Design
Whether you’re a new student starting your first assignment or delving into a research project, this subject guide is designed to assist Graphic Design students in finding the best information. On this page you'll find key resources, as well as guides to help you develop your academic, study, and digital skills. If you can’t find what you need, you contact the Academic Support Team: library-SAM@salford.ac.uk.
Popular pages on the Library website
Three key actions for getting started
Finding information for your assessments
Developing strong information searching skills saves time and yields relevant results. The Finding Information Skills page covers everything you need for academic searching. Take the Finding Information Skills assessment for a personalised action plan.
- Reading Lists
These are set up by your tutors to guide you to good quality, relevant and useful materials to help you with your studies. They are a great starting point before doing your own research - find out more about your Reading Lists.
- Library Search
Library Search can make your academic life easier by helping you find a range of reliable and trustworthy sources for your work. It contains a wealth of information to help you make the most of your studies, including books/eBooks, journals/eJournals, articles, databases, and more.
Using Library Search may feel daunting at first, but don't worry, we have a range of guides on how to find relevant resources.
Key resources for Graphic Design students
Books & Journals
The first place you should look is your Reading List – you will find a link to this in your Blackboard modules. It lists all the core texts for your subject as recommended by your lecturers. All our other books and journals can be found in Library Search.
Databases
Whilst Library Search is your starting point when researching a topic, sometimes it’s helpful to restrict your search to one of our specialist sources.
- Taylor & Francis Journals - Provides articles on all sorts of subjects including material on graphic design.
- ABI Inform Collection - Provides business information on all sorts of areas including the design.
- LS:N Global - A resource for information about market and consumer trends – excellent for information on design trends.
- JSTOR - An archive of scholarly journal articles and book chapters covering the arts and sciences – a valuable source worth checking for almost any topic.
- Mintel - A market research source, so sometimes useful for information about lifestyle and consumer trends
- Detail: Inspiration - Images from the architectural journal Detail. Provides interesting examples of images of buildings and urban settings.
- Kanopy - Videos on a wide range of topics. Search for design int eh subject headings and explore what’s there!
- Google Scholar - Always worth checking for academic books and journals. To get the most from it, make sure you’ve added Library Access to your browser.
Useful links
There are many great websites provided by museums, galleries and artists themselves that it’s not possible to provide a list. However, here is one to get you started.
Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) - A fantastic resource for visual arts students. It provides access to 140,000 images from a huge number of museums, galleries and archives.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of professionally produced online courses covering technical, creative and professional skills and including lots on film making.
Always use our institutional login to log in – you will need your University email address and password.
The first time you log in, you will be taken through a setup process to discover courses tailored to your interests.
Find out more in our video: Using LinkedIn Learning at Salford.
Newspapers
Sources to try include Gale OneFile News, Newsstream and LexisLibrary. Check our Newspapers web page to see which papers we have access to.
Study better
- University Assessments
Whilst studying at Salford you will need to complete a range of assessments. We provide a range of guidance on how to approach the different assessment types you may come across.
- Referencing
We provide eLearning, written guides, and an extensive list of referencing examples.
- Skills A-Z
We have developed eLearning over a wide range of subjects for you to develop your academic skills at home and in your own time.
Workshops
We offer online and face-to-face workshops to help you develop your academic skills. These engaging, interactive sessions cover a wide range of topics which take place throughout the year, so check up on the list regularly.
Click on a workshop title to book onto the session via Advantage. If a session has no remaining spaces, sign up to the waiting list in case a space becomes free!
One to one appointments
You can book a one to one appointment with your Academic Support Team to discuss finding information, academic and writing skills, or digital support.
Follow the link below, choose your school and what you'd like support with, then select your chosen time slot and book on through Advantage.