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Interior Design Biography: Selected Resources

This guide lists sources for finding biographical and pictorial information about interior designers and interior design firms. The titles cited here emphasize twentieth-century designers, particularly contemporary practitioners. Information about earlier periods can be found by consulting the library catalogs and periodical resources described below. Sources are arranged by bibliographic type in a logical searching sequence.

• Biographical Dictionaries and Directories
• Bibliographies
• Monographic Literature
• Periodical Literature

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES AND DIRECTORIES

Biographical dictionaries and directories are the best places to begin research on the life and work of an artist in any medium. The dictionary and directory entries help the researcher formulate his or her search strategy by providing basic biographical facts about the subject--dates, nationality, important commissions. The titles described below also provide citations to other sources of information about interior designers, listing specific books, periodical articles, and exhibition catalogs that may be available in the RIT Library collection.

REF NK1165.E53 1997
Banham, Joanna. Encyclopedia of Interior Design.Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.
Provides description and entries for a broad range of subjects and individuals related to the history of interior design. Inlcudes many 20th century designers. Entries include a general discussion of the designers life and work, biographical data, selected works, publications written by the designer as well as a bibliography for further reading.

REF NK1370.B93 1994
Byars, Mel. The Design Encyclopedia. New York: John Wiley & Son, 1994.
Includes entries of individuals and firms "directly associated with the production of the decorative and applied arts in the past 125 years." International scope. Entries for individuals include basic biographical information, list exhibitions and awards, provide brief description of work and a bibliography of publications by and about the designer.

REF NA680.C625 1994
Contemporary Architects. 3rd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1994.
Covers 400 major contemporary architects and architectural firms, including those active in related areas of design (interiors, furnishings). Brief biography, major commissions and exhibitions, publications by and about, short personal statement, critical assessment, and illustrations given in each entry.

On Order
Contemporary Designers. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997.
Includes major contemporary interior designers among the over 600 entrants practicing in all fields of design. Brief biography, exhibitions, publications by and about, short personal statement, critical assessment, and illustrations given in each entry.

REF NK1705.I58
Interni Guida. Milan: Elemond spa. Annual. Current edition only.
General buyers guide for the Italian interior design and interior architecture industry. Includes a section listing Italian interior designers and architects and firms. Entries give basic contact information, arranged alphabetically by names of firms and designers.

REF NK1705.I588 1991
Interior Designers in the United States of America. Melbourne: Images Publishing Group, 1991.
Showcase of 50 American interior design and architecture firms. Entries provide contact information, list principals, give a partial list of clients, and illustrate the firm's recent projects. Many entries include a statement summarizing the firm's design philosophy and give a brief history of the firm.

REF NK1390.P53 1990
Pile, John. Dictionary of 20th-Century Design. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
Though not restricted to biography, includes extensive coverage of individual designers and design firms in all media. Brief, but informative entries, many illustrated.

REF NK1700.W46
Who's Who in Interior Design. Laguna Beach, CA: John L. Pellam. Current edition only.
International scope, covering almost 3,400 practicing professional designers. Biographical data (dates, education), address and phone number, lists of awards, memberships, professional affiliations, major projects, and publications (rather poor citations) are given in each entry.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

REF NK1175.D485 1984
Design. Oxford, Eng.: Clio, 1984.
Subject oriented annotated bibliography on all aspects of design compiled from periodicals, books, and exhibition catalogs published from 1972 to 1984. Names of individual designers and design firms are listed in the subject index in the back of the volume.

REF NK1160.D5 1991
Designers International Index. 3 vols. London: Bowker-Saur, 1991.
Biographically oriented bibliography providing coverage of all aspects of design. Entries are drawn from a core of approximately 100 periodicals dating from the early 1980s to the present supplemented by books, reference sources, and other periodicals from the early 20th-century to date. Organized by artists' names with an index by media.

MONOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

Illustrated Surveys of Interior Design

Though not specifically biographical works, the titles listed here provide substantial biographical information and illustrations of the work of interior designers and design firms.

In process 2003
Abercrombie, Stanley. A Century of Interior Design 1900-2000: A Timetable of the Design, the Designers, the Products and the Profession. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 2003.

REF NK1980.B73 1980
Brown, Erica. Interior Views: Design at its Best. New York: Viking, 1980.
Two-page essays about the lives and work of forty designers and design firm principals active in the United States and Europe. Excellent color illustrations of typical work.

NK1980.B84 1991
Bullivant, Lucy. International Interior Design. New York: Abbeville, 1991.
Survey of 76 public interior design projects completed between 1988 and 1990, each documented by a descriptive essay and excellent color photographs. Brief biographical entries for architects and designerswhose work is included in the survey are given on pages 246 to 249.

NK2115.8.D36 1989
Dampierre, Florence de. The Decorator. New York: Rizzoli, 1989.
Chatty biographical profiles of 48 contemporary interior designers (primarily Americans). Excellent photos and basic directory information provided for all designers included.

NK2004.H36 1992
Hampton, Mark. Legendary Decorators of the Twentieth Century. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Profiles of 22 major decorators present basic biographical information and an analysis of the artist's style and contribution to the profession. Anecdotal style, watercolor illustrations by the author.

NK1980.M38 2001
Massey, Anne. Interior Design of the 20th Century. London: Thames and Hudson, 2001.

NK1710.P55 2000
Pile, John F. History of Interior Design. New York: John Wiley, 2000.
A major survey textbook on interior design examining 6,000 years of personal and public space.

NK2004.S65 1987
Smith, C. Ray. Interior design in 20th-Century America: A History New York: Harper and Row, 1987; and
NK1980.T37 1986 Smith, C. Ray, and Alan Tate. Interior Design in the 20th Century. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.
Both titles are general histories of interior design with profiles of major designers which include basic biographical information, descriptions and critical assessments of their influence on the field. Fair illustrations, some in color, bibliographies.

Library Catalog Subject Headings

Suggested subject searching strategies for "Einstein," the library catalog, for monographs (books, exhibition catalogs) about a designer's work are given below. Also check the catalog for books written by designers and extensively-illustrated books and exhibition catalogs about their work using an author search strategy.