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Material Research: Recommended Websites

Guide explaining the different types of materials and manufacturers.

Manufacturers & Suppliers

Where to Get What - From CCS Academic Facilities, this list provides links to product manufacturers for a wide range of materials.

designboom product library - Everything from room acoustics to materials by room type.

Michigan Design Center - MDC is a showroom that provides pictures and links to all their suppliers.

Inventables - Acrylic; circuit board blanks; Corian; machinable wax & foam; metal; plastic; stamping; wood & MDF.

modulor - Plastics; wood; metal; paper & cardboard; textiles.

Covestro - 3D printing; adhesives; coatings; composites; elastomers; films; foams; plastics; thermoplastic polyurethane.

Podcasts

Stylus: Future Thinking - This podcast from the trend forecasting company Stylus focuses on market research and upcoming trends.

Materialism - From the University of Utah, this podcast explores the past, present, and future of materials science.

Change Lab - Although this podcast from the ArtCenter College of Design is no longer producing new episodes, it has an extensive backlog of interviews with leading artists about the ideas fueling their work and how the creative process can be a catalyst for change.

CW Talks: Composites Podcast - From Composites World, this podcast focuses on the people and technologies shaping the world of composites.

STEM Learning Materials Podcast - Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the UK, this podcast looks at materials science questions in an accessible and informative way (free account required).

General Material Websites

Harvard University Materials Collection Primer - This primer has four categories - Composition, Form, Properties, and Processes - using terminology from design, materials science, and the construction industry.

Textile Museum of Canada - The Textile Museum of Canada’s collection consists of more than 15,000 objects including a salmon skin suit from China; 2,000 year old Nazca fragments from Peru; and a hooked rug by artist Florence Ryder (Standing Buffalo Reserve, Saskatchewan) that incorporates traditional Sioux designs. The collection can be searched by category, material, technique, or date.

Materials and Design Journal - This site features original research reports, review articles, and express communications covering the studies of structure and properties of inorganic and organic materials, advances in synthesis, processing, characterisation and testing, design of materials and engineering systems, and applications.

Explain That Stuff! - These articles on materials are written by a science and technology writer and cover everything from chemical composition of materials to their history and how they are used today.

The Henry Ford: Design and Making (videos) - These short videos from the Henry Ford feature interviews on a variety of topics, from historic innovators to the use of certain materials in new ways.

News & Innovations

Material ConneXion: Materials Matter - These videos from Material ConneXion feature discussions of innovative ways of creating materials.

New Products Blog - From Rubber News, this blog showcases innovations in the rubber industry.

Material Stories - Material Stories seeks to bridge the gap between the materials industry and world of design by sharing news and publication reviews.

College for Creative Studies website