Finding Free but Effective Web Graphics
photo provided by www.jacreative.net under a Creative Commons license.
Compelling local imagery is crucial to capturing a web visitor’s attention. Indeed, many designers will start with the images and then design the website (theme, font, colors, layout, etc..) around them. The problem with obtaining quality photographs is that they are expensive. Images can can cost anywhere from a few dollars to the hundreds.
So how can I display the following image of Charlotte without paying a dime or worrying about copyright infringement? (hint: read the caption below the picture).
Using the Creative Commons
A Creative Commons (CC) license means that the original artist has decided to share their work with the world. This does not mean that the media is free from copyright. If you decide to utilize CC licensed work, you must read about the different licenses to make sure you don’t break any laws.
For example, some CC licenses prohibit the use of the media for commercial use and almost all of them require that you give credit back to the original artist.
Finding Creative Commons Licensed Media
Two easy ways exist to search for CC material:
- Flickr.com – You need an account but it is free (and useful). Flickr’s advanced search has a CC option near the bottom.
- search.creativecommons.org – The official site for CC offers a search, too but it isn’t as clean as Flickr’s.
Another great place for free images is StockXchange – www.sxc.hu. Many of the images they display will actually be from their pay service (StockXpert.com) but you can still find nice pictures in the free results.
Happy image hunting!