Charity Express's Jen Cook shows you where to find good images and fonts, how to brainstorm interesting images, and the specs required by sites like Facebook.

1. Visual Resourcing Guide
for Non-Profits
november 2013
charityexpress.com

2. Image Sourcing
General Tips
use your own images
Having a photographically-inclined colleague or friend take photos is best when you can
manage to do so - you will have more control of the content, won’t have to worry about
useage rights, and can tailor the content as you like. Obtain a model release form for anyone whose image appears in your photos, however (you can find templates online). You
can also try contacting local student photographers to see if they might be willing to work
with you.
brainstorm some search words
Start with a 5-minute brainstorm or word cloud exercise to help generate some potential
search terms that might help you find more interesting images.
create a bank of images
Finding images can be time-consuming! Grab images as you go and keep them organized
in a folder, even if you won’t use them right away.
pay attention to useage rights
When using images from the internet, be aware of the source and what the creator’s stipulations are for using the image, since you are re-publishing the image. Pulling any image
off of Google is, at best, poor etiquette, and at worst, could result in legal action.
read the image for subtext
Just as you would choose your words carefully, use the same awareness when choosing
images. Images can be loaded with historical meaning, emotion, and subtext both positive
and negative. Taking a minute to step back and ask yourself who is in the image, and how
are they being represented is worthwhile to avoid inadvertently reinforcing stereotypes,
offending your audience, or even offending those you are trying to help.
go with your gut
You know your cause and organization better than anyone. If something just feels right, go
with it! The more practice you get the quicker and more confident you will be with finding
images.
Stay specific
Nothing is less effective than an overused, general image. Focussing on specific aspects
of your organization, cause, or message helps you avoid overly general images that end
up meaning very little.
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013

3. Image Sourcing
Sources:
free
Public domain or Creative Commons sources. Creative Commons is a licensing structure
that has many tiers and each image will have its own specifications. Often these images
are free to use in a non-commercial context in exchange for crediting the photographer.
Below is a list of sites to get started, but be aware that the sites do not guarantee all of the
images are copyright free, and there may be some legalities such as model and property
releases that could still be your responsibility. Check the fine print before proceeding!
morguefile.com/archive
Archive of photographs contributed by photographers for use in creative projects, though
are not in public domain.
compfight.com
A Flickr search tool that filters your Flickr search to Creative Commons-licensed images.
Different licensing filters (ie. non-profit, commercial, etc) on the left hand side help you sort
through which are acceptable to use for what purposes.
flickr.com/commons
A catalog of public photo archives from institutions around the world, including NASA,
Library of Congress, and various cultural archives with “no known copyright restrictions”.
pixabay.com
Free account lets you search photographer-uploaded images.
commons.wikimedia.org
Worldwide media file repository licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/ShareAlike License.
paid
There are lots of pay-for-use sites out there that are often quite affordable for low-res (web
only) use. Some of these sites even have a “free” or “sale” section as well. These sites
are often the easiest option in finding high quality images quickly, and you don’t have to
attribute the photographer. There are often limitations on how many times you can use the
image, or duration, so check the licenses before buying. Below are a handful that are good
places to start for not-too-stock-imagey photos and artwork.
veer.com
alamy.com
istockphoto.com
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013

4. Finding Fonts
General Tips
keep it simple
If you’ve got more than 2-3 fonts on your page, you’ve probably got too many
readability
Readability is key - distressed or embelleshed fonts won’t scale down well and may have
problems with readability across print and web platforms. A good size range for body copy
(paragraphs) is usually between 10-12 points, depending on the font. Older audiences may
need a slightly larger size, but for long blocks of text anything more than 16pt will begin to
tire the eyes.
flexibility
Choosing a font family that has different weights (bold, italic, semibold) as your main font
will give you lots of flexibility for subtitles, etc. Then pair it with a display font to add more
character.
heirarchy
Contrasting fonts against each other (using size, style, or weight) helps the eye jump from
point to point on the page. Think about where you want emphasis to be to help organize
the information into scannable pieces.
system fonts
Every computer comes with a set of fonts - some common ones for Mac and PC are Times
New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Arial, Helvetica, and Futura. These font families are generally quite robust and have various weights (bold, italic, light).
it’s all in the name
It’s not a hard and fast rule, but when considering whether or not to use a font, look to the
name of the font to get a better idea of the appropriate useage for it. “Champagne and
Limousines” is probably trying to get across a feeling of luxury. “Comic Sans” is meant to
be a comic book font. “Varsity” is probably inspired by a college football team.
Sources:
free
paid
fontsquirrel.com
losttype.com
fontfabric.com
dafont.com
fontshop.com
fontspring.com
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013

5. Finding Fonts
Kinds of Fonts
Here is a very general guideline to just a few of the categories of fonts out there;
Garamond
Trebuchet
Times New Roman
Helvetica
Georgia
Verdana
serif
sans serif
Serifs are the little “feet” at the end of the
characters if you look close (“n” is a good
example to look at). Serif fonts are generally the easiest to read when used for long
paragraphs.
Simply means, without the serifs. There are
many many subcategories of sans serifs,
but generally they are more modern-looking, can be used for long bits of text, and
are good when paired with serif fonts and
used as headers.
BLANCH
ROSEwood
Marker Felt
Edwardian Script
Sofia
Lavenderia
display
script
Display fonts are often the most decorative
kind of font. These are good for headers
and large-scale uses but should never be
used for long bits of text.
Script fonts simulate handwriting, but are
usually quite regular and readable, though
not suitable for long bits of text.
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013

6. Further Info
This document only scratches the surface of some of the principles you might find useful
when creating images. Below are a few places to start if you want to learn more.
Typography
ilovetypography.com
typographyserved.com
typeinspire.com
thinkingwithtype.com
fontsinuse.com
Sizing Images for Facebook
General Facebook dimensions (cover photo, profile pic, etc)
http://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/images-photos-facebook-sizes-dimensions-types
In-depth differences in how Facebook sizes photos uploaded to Business page vs. Personal timelines.
http://inlinevision.com/blog/choosing-best-image-size-facebook-photo-posts/#download
Finding your Facebook Audience
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013

7. Image Spec Guide
Web
resolution
72 ppi (pixels per inch): This is the resolution that most screens are capable of rendering.
This is what is generally referred to as “low-res”.
1MB or less: Most images should be quite small in filesize so as not to cause loading time
problems.
colour space
RGB: Images on screens are rendered as a mix of red, green, and blue, known as an additive colour space. This is due to the way light is projected from the screen.
file formats
.png, .jpeg, .tiff, low-res PDF
Print
resolution
300 ppi (pixels per inch): Anything lower will compromise the image clarity when printed.
This is generally referred to as “hi-res”.
colour space
CMYK: Printers (desktop and commercial) print using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks
in layers, known as a subtractive colour space. The CMYK colour space is somewhat more
limited than RGB, very bright colours such as neons won’t print in the CMYK space, and
would require special inks known as spot colours.
file formats
.jpeg, .tiff, hi-res PDF
Visual Resourcing Guide – Fall 2013