Skip to Main Content

Communication Design and Graphic Design

This guide showcases the major resources available for research in the field of communication design, as well as graphic design. Use databases and LibrarySearch to search for academic journal articles, as well as books and ebooks, conference papers and tr

Recommended databases for research

Databases are collections of resources, primarily journal articles, but they can also contain conference papers, videos, ebooks, reports, images and more. Many databases specialise in a specific subject area, so you'll know when you're searching the database you will find material relevant to your studies.

Find resources on communication and graphic design, including digital communication, branding, typography, design and decoration.

Search using the main keywords that describe your topic.  For example: visual communication design 

Try the advanced search options for combining keywords and refining your search to find the most relevant results.

Resources for creating

Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Stock - Apps for graphic design, illustration and photography, 3D art, animations and websites. Free for RMIT students and staff. Click "Sign in" in the top-right corner, enter your RMIT email address, then select "Company or School account". 
 

Awesome Design Tools - Comprehensive list of tools including such as font libraries, stock photos, colour pickers, accessibility tools, animation tools, logo design, and more.  
 

The Gnomon workshop - collection of training videos to support visual effects artists, concept designers, sculptors, illustrators, game designers and more. 
 

Pro Sound Effects Online Library  - large collection of sound effects. 
 

Smithsonian Global Sound for libraries - a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. 
 

Canva - a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other visual content. 

Fonts

Typewolf 

Font Review Journal 

Interactive Typography cheat sheet - a simple typographic cheat sheet to help you discover or revisit typeface anatomy and terminology. 

FontShop 

Google Fonts 

Colour

Search Tip - Colour is often listed as Color, even on Australian search engines 

Canva colour wiki - See the quick guide to colours from Canva, including a colour matching and combination tool. 

Pantone 

Paletton - Color Scheme Designer - Generates color schemes based on one color with variations. 

Colour lovers - a creative community where people from around the world create and share colors, palettes and patterns, discuss the latest trends and explore color. 

Colour Matters 

Pigments through the ages - Explore how artists have coloured our lives. 

For more databases in your subject area, use the A-Z Databases tool, choose Art and Design or Media and Communication, and review the details of the databases before making a selection. 
 

Further Support

Study Support
Book a one-on-one consultation with an academic skills advisor or librarian. Connect with a peer mentor to help you with your course. Discover a range of tools to support your study.

Your feedback and suggestions

Send us your feedback about this guide.