Lesson 5
Visual Resources
In this lesson, we will share some resources to help you in your quest to successfully join visuals and instructional design. You will be able to locate resources and utilize a variety of images in your designs. Follow along through the content below. All activities are due by the end of the week.
WATCH
READ
These are some of my favorite go-to resources for free images. Some require attribution, so be sure to check the rules on the website from which you obtain them.
-
Freepik.com (vector images and photos)
-
AdobeStock also has some free ones!
-
Vecteezy.com (for vector images)
-
Slidescarnival.com (for PowerPoint and Google Slides templates)
A Note About Copyright
Just because you can snag an image out of a google search does not mean it's legally yours to use. Artists and photographers create those images and photos. They own the rights to their use, deserve credit and/or compensation, or else they have paid to use them (such is the case with stock photos). Just like copying words that are not yours is plagiarism, copying images that are not yours is copyright infringement. As an artist, (or user of visuals), we must be aware of the rules so we don't get into trouble and inadvertently become a pirate by stealing someone's art. Maybe that's more of a cat burglar than a pirate, but art thief nonetheless!
If you use visuals as an "inspiration" to create your own, you can be inspired by a visual and use some aspects of it, but your version must be changed at least 70% from the original or else it would be considered copyright infringement. If you held both images (your version and the original) next to each other, they would have to look 70% different from each other. If they look too similar, it's copyright infringement.
Keep these things in mind as you go about gathering your visuals. If you are in the bad habit of just doing a google search and grabbing whatever pops up, it may not hurt for educational purposes (think K-12), BUT if you're a professional ID selling your training in the corporate landscape, you need to know where your images come from and that you are legally allowed to use them in your work, and know whether the image you're dropping in requires attribution or not.
DISCUSS
Take a few minutes to discuss with your classmates your favorite resources and feel free to add any resources you've discovered that aren't listed here! Post your initial response and respond to at least two of your classmates' comments. You will be graded on the thoughtfulness and relevance of your response.
YOUR TURN
Try out these games below to test your visual eye and design skills!
In this first game, choose your level (junior, middle-weight, senior) and shoot only the serif font! (Serifs have thick and thin parts, and little flares off the ends like this: A Font with Serifs.
Times New Roman is a Serif font. Sans serif is like this font you're reading now where there are not any flares or thick and thin places. Everything is the same width across the shape of the letter.
Arial is a sans-serif font.
If the game does not load below, go to the main site, here.
In the game below, you will test your color matching skills and the game gets harder as it progresses! If the game fails to load below, go to the main site, here.
Summary
In summary, as you begin your journey of better visuals in your instructional design, remember that if you didn't create it yourself, you could become a pirate if you don't have legal rights to the image. Be sure to share your resources in the comments section above so we can all learn from each other and continue building our list of resources! Your response in the comments, as well as the response to two classmates is due by the end of the week. See you next week!
Don't be a pirate!