DI Library: Furniture Design: Inspiration

Books in the DI Library

500 Chairs by Lark Books Staff (Created by); Ray Hemachandra; Craig Nutt
Call Number: NK 2715 .A185 2008
500 beautiful chairs, many more sculpture than furniture
500 Years of Masterpieces of Italian Furniture: Magnificence and Design by Enrico Colle (Editor); Luigi Settembrini (Editor)
Call Number: NK 2559 .A163 2009
Presents a comparison between two parallel universes, separated in time but both Italian: that of classic furniture - which first developed during the sixteenth century and flourished with the innovative thrust of eighteenth-century and Empire furniture - and that of design from the latter half of the twentieth century, with the rediscovery and reproposal of a series of unique and unrepeatable projects.
Design Paradigms: A Sourcebook for Creative Visualization by Warren K. Wake
Call Number: TS 171 .W35 2000
Provides a repertoire of design paradigms: basic conceptual and visual ideas that can be applied to all types of design problems and used as a springboard for design exploration.
The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction by Mathias Schwartz-Clauss (Editor); Alexander Von Vegesack (Editor)
Call Number: T 183 .G32 W458 2010
Investigates the motifs and motivations of reduction in design, with a focus on industrial design.
Fairie-Ality Style by David Ellwand (Photographer)
Call Number: NK 1548 .E45 2009
Interior design for fairies, made, of course, from all-natural materials
IKEA, the Book by Staffan Bengtsson
Call Number: NK 2595 .B46 2010
Learn about the designers and the stories behind those flat-packed boxes
Raw Plus Material Equals Art by Tristan Manco
Call Number: N 8541 .M36 2012 OVERSIZE
A wide range of artists turn a wide range of materials into art
Roy McMakin by Roy McMakin
Call Number: NK 2405 .Z8 M313 2010
Explore the blurry boundaries between furniture and sculpture
Allan Wexler: Between Art and Design by Allan Wexler (Artist); Ashley Simone (Editor)
Call Number: N 6537 .W49 A4 2017
Features projects developed across Allan Wexler's forty-five-year career that mediate the gap between fine and applied art using the mediums of architecture, sculpture, photography, painting, and drawing.
Bookshelf by Alex Johnson
Call Number: NK 2740 .J64 2012
Highlights bookcases that are experiments in engineering and explorations into modern art, from “Juxtaposed,” a shelf capitalizing on limited space to display seven books containing the world’s most influential religions, to Sakura Adachi’s “Trick,” a bookcase that constantly mutates into a table and two chairs.
Miami Swing by Luca Beatrice
Call Number: NK 2399.2 .M536 2010
Explores the colorful, scintillating, and comfortable work of Miamiswing, a collaboration between actor and producer Renzo Arbore and theatrical set and furniture designers Alida Cappellini and Giovanni Licheri.
21st Century Design: New Design Icons from Mass Market to Avant-Garde by Marcus Fairs; Marcel Wanders (Foreword by)
Call Number: NK 1397 .F35 2009
Charts the spectrum of design at the start of this innovative and exciting new century, including: architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting, homeware, products, clothing and accessories, visual communication, urban and landscape.
Studio Furniture of the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum by Oscar P. Fitzgerald
Call Number: NK 2408 .F62 2008
Showcases 84 examples of America's finest studio furniture from the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, revealing the importance of wooden furniture in the modern American craft arena, and how first- and second-generation artists shaped the studio furniture movement.
Designed for Kids: A Complete Sourcebook by Phyllis Richardson
Call Number: TS 171.6 .R53 2008
Features a wide range of delightful products created for children and their design-conscious parents, along with interviews with international design gurus that illuminate the design process.

Ebooks - login required

The Architecture of Transgression (ebook) by Rachel Sara (Guest Editor); Jonathan Mosley (Guest Editor)
Publication Date: 2014
Highlights the positive impact that working on the architectural periphery can make on the mainstream, as transgressive practices have the potential to reinvent and reposition the architectural profession. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Cardboard in Architecture (ebook) by M. Eekhout (Editor); F. Verheijen (Editor); R. Visser (Editor)
A report on the potential uses of cardboard in architecture. Color illustrations inspire creativity. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Hypernatural: Architecture's New Relationship with Nature (ebook) by Blair Satterfield (Artist); Michael Weinstock (Foreword by); Blaine Brownell (Editor); Marc Swackhamer (Editor)
Color photographs of inspiring examples of pushing the limits of integrating nature and design. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Limited Edition: Prototypes, One-Offs and Design Art Furniture (ebook) by Sophie Lovell
Explores unique art furniture with color photographs throughout. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Makers: A History of American Studio Craft (ebook) by Janet Koplos; Bruce Metcalf
Follows the development in the United States of studio craft--objects in fiber, clay, glass, wood, and metal--from its roots in nineteenth-century reform movements to the rich diversity of expression at the end of the twentieth century. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration (ebook) by Scott Doorley; Scott Witthoft; David Kelley (Foreword by); Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University
How to design space to foster creativity. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).
Unfolded: Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry (ebook) by Petra Schmidt; Nicola Stattmann
Color illustrations of art, architecture, and design made with paper. Available through ProQuest Ebook Central (login required).

Online

3rings: Product and Material Blog for Architects and Designers
Features furnishings, finishes, lighting, and more
Azure
Print copies of the last 3-5 years are available in the DI Library.
Design Museum London
Showcases contemporary design in every form
Design | Design Museum
Explore everything from chairs of the late 1800s to the design of the Concorde jet
Furniture | DI Library on Pinterest
Fantastic furniture from some of the best online sources
IKEA Hackers
See what other people do with their IKEA furniture
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City
Object of the Week| Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Furniture, clocks, vases, textiles, wallcoverings, jewelry, illustrations, chamber pots, linens, serving dishes … the object of the week could be anything from the museum’s wide-ranging collection
SFMoMA : San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Surface Design Association Blog
Explores textile-inspired art and design
Unframed | LACMA
Interviews with artists and curators, reviews of artworks and exhibitions, events and more
The V&A Museum Blog
Interviews with artists and curators, and news about artworks, exhibitions, events and more
Vitra | Magazine
Articles, images, interviews and anecdotes related to design, architecture and culture, products and their creators, and Vitra exhibitions and events.
Wallpaper* Magazine: design, interiors, architecture, fashion, art
Interiors, architecture, design, art, and fashion from around the world
WHY Magazine | Herman Miller
"At Herman Miller we think, learn, and communicate through design. It is the language with which we share new ideas and address the problems people face. Before we decide what we do and how we do it, we must first ask “why?” It is in this spirit of inquiry that we approach the stories we tell on WHY. For us, design is never just about a finished product. It is a narrative that extends from the designer's vision to the people it touches and places it transforms. With WHY, we invite you to discover why we do what we do at Herman Miller."
Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News
Features international product design