University of Brighton Design Archives

The University of Brighton Design Archives champion the legacy of British designers, the professional organisations that promoted and represented design, and their impact internationally. Since the mid 1990s it has made accessible a unique picture of twentieth-century British design and its role in shaping reconstruction and a democratic Britain. Both the content of the Design Archives and its innovative ethos of research-informed stewardship attract researchers and students from around the world. Its staff provoke debate and curate a dynamic and collaborative programme that links content, enquiry and practice. Principles of inclusivity and diversity underpin a collecting policy which ensures the holdings of the Design Archives inform the writing and representation of histories from various perspectives, embracing women as well as men, lesser known designers alongside the well known, and the organisations that represented them from the regional to the international. Importantly, those who visit the Design Archives are not only historians, but include artists, photographers, curators, information professionals and designers.

Design Archives

Sir Misha Black Award

2018