I’m a huge fan of libraries, and I can’t stress enough how much of a resource they can be. That said, not everyone has the same type of library access, which often means students and designers have to pony up for monographs and magazines on top of Adobe’s already hefty software fees. All of that gets pricey fast, so below are links to free digital archives that not only offer access to inspiring work, but books and periodicals that are filled with stuff you don’t always find in a classroom. I’ll try to update this regularly, since getting caught up in a book or falling down a design archive rabbit hole beats the hell out of reading Twitter.
Updated: 06/25/22
Design Archives
- The People’s Graphic Design Archive
- Letterform Archive
- Chicago Women’s Graphics Collective Archive
- AIGA Design Archives
- The Herb Lubalin Study Center
- Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives
- RIT Graphic Design Archive
- See Red Women’s Workshop
- Museum of Design Zurich Archive
- Re:collection – Australian Graphic Design 1960-1990
- Logobook
- AGI Archives
Design Magazine Archives
- The International Advertising & Design Database
* Favorites: Affiche, Biennale Plakatu Warszawa, Gebrauchsgraphik, Graphis, International Poster Annual, Modern Publicity - U&lc Magazine Archive / (alternate link)
- Communication Arts (it’s $30/year to access their archive, but worth it)
- Emigre Magazine Archive
Design Books (Out of Print)
- American Modernism by R. Roger Remington
- American Posters of Protest 1966-70 by David Kunzle
- Art is Work by Milton Glaser
- Beware Wet Paint by Alan Fletcher
- Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas
- Chip Kidd by Véronique Vienne
- Cipe Pineles: A Life of Design by Martha Scotford
- Creative Ad Design & Illustration by Dick Ward
- The Design Concept by Allen Hurlburt
- The End of Print: The Grafik Design of David Carson by Lewis Blackwell
- Forget All the Rules by Bob Gill
- Graphic Design as a Second Language by Bob Gill
- Graphic Design History by Georgette Ballance & Steven Heller
- Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide by Johanna Drucker
- Graphic Design: A Concise History by Richard Hollis
- Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons by Fletcher/Forbes/Gill
- Graphic Idea Notebook by Jan V. White
- Graphics in Motion by John Halas
- Great Movie Graphics by Marc English
- International Women in Design by Supon Design Group
- LogoMania by Bob Gill
- The Modern American Poster by MoMA
- The New Typography by Jan Tschichold
- Nine Pioneers in American Graphic Design by R. Roger Remington
- Paul Rand: A Designer’s Art by Paul Rand
- Paul Renner: The Art of Typography by Christopher Burke
- The Poster Art of Tomi Ungerer by Tomi Ungerer
- Practical Graphic Design Techniques by Lydia Darbyshire
- Reasons to be Cheerful: The Life and Work of Barney Bubbles by Paul Gorman
- Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography by Emily King
- Swiss Graphic Design by Richard Hollis
- Television Graphics: From Pencil to Pixel by Douglas Meritt
- tellmewhy by Karlssonwilker Inc
- Thinking of You by Barbara Kruger
- Trademarks & Symbols Vol. 1 by Yasaburō Kuwayama
- Trademarks & Symbols Vol. 2 by Yasaburō Kuwayama
- Typography by Wolfgang Weingart
- Typography: Macro + Micro Aesthetics by Willi Kunz
- The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli
- The Visual Craft of William Golden by Cipe Pineles
- This Ain’t No Disco: New Wave Album Covers by Jennifer McKnight-Trontz
- What’s the Big Idea? by George Lois
Non-Design Books (Out of Print)
- 75 Years of DC Comics by Paul Levitz
- 1000 Record Covers by Michael Ochs
- American Illustration 3
- American Illustration 7
- Art without Boundaries: 1950-70 by John Williams
- The Art of Tron by Michael Bonifer
- Batman Animated by Paul Dini & Chip Kidd
- Cartoon Modern by Amid Amidi
- Drawing is Thinking by Milton Glaser
- The Golden Age of Advertising – the 70s
- Illustration by Bob Gill
- Learning by Heart by Jan Steward & Corita Kent
- Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art by David Roach
- A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics
- A Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics
- Testament: The Life and Art of Frank Frazetta by Arnie & Cathy Fenner
- Tomi Ungerer: Cartoons by Tomi Ungerer (German)
Graphis Annuals
Poster Galleries, etc.
- Art of the Title
- Budapest Poster Gallery
- Bulgarian Film Posters
- Czech Poster Gallery
- JozefSquare
- Movie Poster of the Week
- Posteritati
- Poster House
- Polish Poster Gallery
- Post-Soc
- Projekt 26
Artist Specific Archives
- Hans Hillmann Archive
- Daniel Gil Book Cover Archive
- Robert Brownjohn Archive
- Corita Kent Art Center
- Romek Marber Archive
- Renato Casaro – Opere
- The Fred/Alan Archive (1983-1992)
Miscellaneous Collections
- The Black Panther Collection
- Interview 1975-2010
- The Peculiar Manicule
- LP Album Art Covers
- Stuff 1979-1985 Archive
- Fonts In Use
- Atlas Film Programme Covers
- Entertainment Trade Ads
- NES Packaging
Royalty Free Images for Projects