All guides: Furniture Design and Product Design: Key resources

Recommended databases

Find journal articles on topics related to furniture design and product design using the databases listed below.

Search using the main keywords that describe your topic. For example: “ergonomic furniture design”.

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

ProQuest Central
A comprehensive, multidisciplinary collection, ideal for starting your research on design related subjects.
JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive
JSTOR provides access to a wide range of scholarly content for art and design research.
Taylor & Francis Online
A broad collection of peer-reviewed articles. Including content on industrial and product design.
Bloomsbury Design Library
Bloomsbury Design Library provides cutting-edge scholarly coverage for design research, where you can explore the history and context of influential design schools, people, periods, places, and disciplines.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (ProQuest)
Find journal articles on architecture and design, including key research on furniture designers and the practice of furniture design.
DAAI: Design and Applied Arts Index (ProQuest)
The Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) contains annotated references from design and craft journals and newspapers including data on designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops, firms, and more.
Wiley Online Library
Wiley hosts a broad, multidisciplinary collection of academic journal articles including content on design.
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals
Access quality-controlled Open Access Journals and their articles. The Directory covers all open access scientific and scholarly journals including design topics.
ScienceDirect (Elsevier)
ScienceDirect combines authoritative, full-text scientific, technical publications for design research and other discipline areas.
Lifestyle & Interiors (WGSN)
Offers online trend-analysis and a research service that provides creative and business intelligence for a range of design industries.

Material and product information

Find and research suitable materials and products for design projects.

Designbook
Includes projects from Green magazine, and an extensive listing of supplier products and services to search, collate and share efficiently.
Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA)
The Australian Ecolabel Program provided by GECA uses standards of environmental performance for different product sectors to verify product compliance for the ecolabel.
Selector
Developed in partnership with the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. View photographs, technical data, colours and textures, and much more for thousands of building products.
MaterialDistrict
Design professionals of all industries utilise this platform to discover new material solutions by matching them with their material needs.
University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture Materials collection
Search the materials collection for composition, form, process, properties, and application. Each entry includes sample images and dimensions, manufacturer information, and a list of material attributes.

Higg Materials Sustainability Index
The Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) is a material assessment tool using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate the environmental impacts of materials used in the apparel, footwear, and home textile industries. These materials are also used in related industries such as outdoor equipment and toys, making the Higg MSI a valuable tool for understanding material impacts across several industries.

Standards, patents, and building codes

Standards provide detailed guidelines to ensure that materials, products, and processes are safe, reliable and fit for purpose.

Patents protect the intellectual property rights of inventors.

Building codes contain technical provisions for the design and construction of buildings and other structures.

Standards: Library collection guide
Find Australian and international standards and patents. Discover where and how to search, and how to request standards not available at RMIT.

Australian Standards Online (Intertek Inform)
Full-text access to the majority of Australian Standards, draft standards and some handbooks.

Australian Patent Search
IP Australia’s database of patent applications lodged and granted in Australia since 1904.
Espacenet
The European Patent Office (EPO) provides access to over 150 million patent documents.
USPTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.
Google Patents
Search for design patents across many countries.
Patent Quality Artificial Intelligence (PQAI)
A free open-source AI patent search platform using natural language.
IP Australia
Information about intellectual property (IP) including trade marks, patents and design rights.
Australian Building Code
The National Construction Code (NCC) provides the minimum necessary requirements for safety and health; amenity and accessibility, and sustainability in the design, construction, performance, and liveability of new buildings (and new building work in existing buildings) throughout Australia.

Academic study skills

Assignments: get started

Assignments: get started is your guide to finding, evaluating and referencing sources of information.

Learning lab

Access the Learning lab to develop skills in writing, critical thinking, assessment tasks and much more.

Library subject guides

Furniture Design and Product Design

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Recommended databases

Material and product information

Standards, patents, and building codes

Academic study skills