One way to add meaning to your poster is to use images. It is easy to find images on the web but you should use them legally and ethically. Photos and art are usually copyrighted materials just like books or movies.
You can legally use images in five ways:
Always give credit to the creator and the source of the image when you use someone else's work.
The sources below contain a wide variety of free photographs and images. However, some are not free to reuse. Check the information included with any image you are interested in reusing. You will usually see it on the page where you download the image.
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:
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.
To finding free and public domain images:
You can check the reuse restrictions on an image by clicking it 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. 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
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.
It is good practice to identify yourself as an affiliate of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and use UCCS official logos for any poster you create while you are a student at UCCS.
Do not create your own logo or guess the right colors! This holds true with most universities, but check with your individual institution to see what their logo requirements are.
You can find Information about UCCS' official color values and image files of the logo on the university website: