One way to add meaning to your poster is to use images.
It is good practice that you identify yourself as an affiliate of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and use UCCS official logos for any poster created while you are a student at UCCS. Do not create your own logo! This holds true with most universities, but check with your individual institution to see what their logo requirements are.
As with any sources for a research project, you must properly cite your images. Below are several quick guides to aid you in citing your sources.
FreeImages is a fantastic resource.
For photos that are free to use, select Free Files after completing a search.
If you are doing a project on local or university history, check with the university library and public library archives to see if there are any historical photographs that are relevant to your poster.
Note: Documents and photographs from the UCCS Archives must be credited with "Courtesy, UCCS Archives, Kraemer Family Library, University of Colorado Colorado Springs" in the publication or display that they are used in.
Accessing ARTstor Free Images:
ARTstor provides free use of images for noncommercial, scholarly and academic purposes through the Image for Academic Publishing (IAP) initiative.
In order to find images that are free to use add the keyword "IAP" to your search.
For example, if you are looking for images of works created by Leonardo Da Vinci you would search "Da Vinci IAP"
You can find more information about the IAP initiative here.
Google Image Search is quick and easy to use, and more often than not you can find the image you're looking for without too much effort. However, because it searches for image names and contextual words on the basis of popularity, results tend to be uneven.
How to Find Free or Public Domain Images:
1. Do an initial search in the search box, similar to how you would search Google.
2. Under the search box on the results page, locate the Search Tools option.
3. When you click Search Tools and additional line of options will appear.
4. In order to narrow your search to images that you can reuse, click Usage Rights, which will display a drop down of options.
5. You can only choose one option at a time, but each option will define a specific circumstance for reuse, choose the one that is appropriate to your activity.
Flickr is an online photo management and sharing software which hosts the personal collections of its users and public archives. While many of the images are high-resolution and unaltered the quality will vary depending on the creator. You do not have to create an account to use flickr, just look for the search box in the top right hand corner to start.
Flickr is also home to "The Commons," which includes the collections of over 45 institutions, including NASA, the Imperial War Museum, and the New York Public Library.
Finding Free and Public Domain Images:
1. Do a search for images that you would like to find in the search box.
2. Beneath the black heading bar there is an option to choose the license type, using the License drop down.
3. To narrow your results to only those that you can reuse, choose the Creative Commons option.
With the Creative Commons option you can also choose if you would like to find images that can be reused for commercial purposes or that can be modified.
4. You can check the Copyright restrictions on images, by clicking on an image and locating the copyright symbols to the bottom right of the image. The Some rights reserved link will take you to an explanation of how you may use the image.
The same search techniques will work in both flickr and The Commons to find free and public domain images.
Determining the Copyright for images from the internet can be tricky. Here are some resources to learn more about the topic.
Content which has a Creative Commons license is free to download, adapt, distribute, and transmit without having to ask permission. Depending on the license, however, there may be certain conditions: you may only be able to use the content for educational purposes, you may have to give attribution, etc. (Licensing characteristics can be found to the left of this box). Because licenses vary, always be sure to check the exact terms of the license before using an image.
Attribution: others can use the work however they like, so long as they give credit
No Derivative Work: other can copy, display, or perform your work, but it must be verbatim
Non-Commercial: other can use your work, but for non-commercial purposes only
Share Alike: others can distribute derivative works, but only under the same terms as the original license