When we launched Noun Project Photos, contributions to this collection were by invitation only. Over the last few years, we’ve been working with industry-leading photographers to create a meticulously curated collection that includes stunning flat lays, landscapes, furry friends, and abstract visuals. We believe visual language has the power to shape, reinforce, and change perceptions and, as part of this initiative, we’ve been working diligently to build a collection that also features high-quality, authentic images of real people. We are thrilled to say that 90% of the photos in our collection depict individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, making it one of the most diverse collections globally.

Today, we’re excited to announce that photographers worldwide can now submit their photos to Noun Project and earn royalties! Join our global community of creators and make a positive impact, while doing what you love.

Benefits of Joining the Noun Project Creator Community

• Join the Mission
  Our global community of contributors is building the world’s most diverse and comprehensive collection of images. Join us and help set a new precedent for quality, authenticity, diversity, and inclusion in visual media.
• Earn Royalties
  Photo contributors earn royalties from each photo sale on our platform. Noun Project pays approximately $2 million in royalties each year to thousands of creators around the world. Our creators earn a passive income for years to come.
• Grow Your Audience
  Noun Project is used and loved by over 10 million members, including educators, designers, marketers, and entrepreneurs. Contributing to Noun Project means you can help millions of people communicate their ideas visually while getting the recognition you deserve.

What We Look For

Noun Project hand-selects all photos in our collection to ensure that every image is exceptional and useful.

Photos Submitted to Noun Project Should Be:

Diverse, Inclusive, and Natural

In photos that include people, we encourage you to submit images that feature a variety of body types and skin tones, hairstyles, cultural backgrounds, ages, abilities, gender identities, sexualities, and lived experiences. We look for images of everyday people, places, and events from around the world that are recognizable and believable. All images representing people should include model releases.

High Quality, Relevant, and Useful

The photos you submit should be high quality and aesthetically pleasing overall. A high-quality photo has a balanced composition with straight lines, is properly exposed, color-corrected, and shouldn’t use extreme filters. Images of food or objects should be appealing and not messy or cluttered. There should also be no visible references to brands including text and logos, and styling should be appropriate for the subject matter.

Photos that depict timely, relevant, and contemporary topics and events are highly desirable. Noun Project customers often seek images with seasonal themes, photos that showcase the outdoors and animals, as well as images that illustrate a variety of concepts for their projects. In addition, photos with copy space are sought after for their versatility.

Safe for Work and School

Many Noun Project customers work in creative fields and are educators, students, medical professionals, and business owners. Images on Noun Project should be appropriate and safe for all to search.

For more information about what we look for, what makes a great photo, licensing, pricing, and more, please refer to our Photographer Guide.

How to Submit Your Photos

To submit your photos, visit thenounproject.com to create an account. If you already have an account, log in and navigate to our easy-to-use Photo Upload Tool.

The Photo Upload Tool will allow you to upload individual photos or photo shoots containing multiple images from the same session. You can drag and drop images directly into the tool, or select images from your computer.

If you are uploading images as a photo shoot set, please add a name for the set. You will also have the opportunity to edit photo titles and tags, upload property or model releases, select license types, and add a location. Click the “edit” button on your photos to open the editing window and add this information.

Additional Resources

• Calls for Photos
  We regularly release calls for photos to elevate and expand our collection. You can view the latest calls for photos here.
• Photo Planning Guides
  We also have photo shoot planning guides available to help inspire and guide you as you plan your photo shoots. These guides include seasonal themes, observances, and ideas for image creation.
• Photo Tutorials
  Check out our blog for photography tutorials, inspiring interviews with top photographers from around the world, and more!

Sign up for our Photographer Newsletter and get creative inspiration, strategic insights, and exclusive photography resources directly in your inbox.

Submit Your Photos to Noun Project was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Please join Noun Project for a free virtual fireside chat with iconic photographer Carol Highsmith on Thursday, May 19th at 10am PST.

For more than 40 years, Carol Highsmith has been on the adventure of a lifetime — visually documenting America from behind the lens of a camera. From urban neighborhoods to small town scenes, National Parks, vast open space, festivals, and beyond, she has built a collection of more than 72,000 images and donated them all to the Library of Congress as Public Domain and free for everyone to use.

During the event, attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at Carol’s process, career path, and her philosophy around creating images for all.

We’ll be hosting this session live via Zoom. The Zoom link to join will be distributed to all registered attendees.

For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/america-through-the-lens-a-conversation-with-carol-highsmith-tickets-330915907387

You can view more of Carol’s work on Noun Project and read our interview on Carol to learn more.

Interested in joining our community of photographers and contributing to Noun Project? Submit your work here.

Free Virtual Event: Fireside Chat with Carol Highsmith was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learn how Noun Project icons are being used for a variety of creative projects and programs.

Ian Matty is the co-founder and manager of the Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace. Ian has a passion for education, which he developed while working in the derivatives industry as a trader and risk manager. Ian collaborates with students, local community members, national and global partners to develop meaningful activities that provide opportunities for kids to critically think, create, make connections, and most importantly, the ability to make mistakes. Ian and his wife Christina have two creative sons. They love to bake red velvet cake and watch tv shows together.

Hi Ian! Tell us about yourself — how did you get to where you are today?

Twenty-five years ago I was a floor trader in the stock market and became involved with the trader education program, where I learned the importance of technology, programming, and making connections with people. Fast forward to six years ago. My wife Christina and I started an elementary school Chess Club because none existed and kids (including our children) wanted to play. Immediately the teacher in me was awakened.

Then we held the first ever Mountain Lakes Makerspace. 35 kids filled into a local restaurant on a Sunday afternoon to learn about robotics. It was an instant success! The Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace grew rapidly as a volunteer organization. I watched kids interact with technology and recognized that they like building, digital art, circuitry, and games. I then tested out a 3D printer and all of a sudden the Makerspace had all of these amazing resources, and we focused on providing opportunities for kids to creatively make connections. I watched kids use robots to make a light show, programming to make funny stories, 3D design to make ornaments, and random Makerspace materials to build a ping pong game.

High School students at the Makerspace have developed and 3D printed improved science lab equipment, adaptive guitar picks, tactile books, accessible marble runs, math resources, DNA models, and a sports allergy alert ring. “Small in scale, large in reach” became our new slogan, because I believe that providing one student an opportunity to approach design from a meaningful, universal perspective can have a far reaching positive impact.

I’m able to bring innovative ideas to life with the support of Mountain Lakes Public Library Director, Jennifer Lynch. A thoughtful supervisor and an organization like the Mountain Lakes Public Library, which is committed to improving its programming, are immeasurable to the success of project-based learning.

How did you originally discover Noun Project?

I discovered Noun Project while I was at my first Build a Better Book conference in Boulder, Colorado in February, 2019. Stacey Forsyth, Director of Build a Better Book mentioned Noun Project and I immediately asked all types of questions about it. After reviewing Noun Project, I was able to take many ideas that had been sketched out, like students creating their own Makerspace camp t-shirts, and bring them to life. The $40 NounPro membership fee was the best money spent. I love seeing kids wear their t-shirts that they made three years ago with their personally-chosen Noun Project icons.

What are some of the projects and activities you’ve made at Project Makerspace using Noun Project icons?

We’ve been inspired to do so many different Noun Project-related activities — a few of them are:

• Icon-a-thons, where students get inspired by Noun Project icons and have a prompt to design their own
• Scratch games online, in which students use icons as characters and scene elements in a simple coded game
• 3D printed projects: chess pieces, rings, tactile books and puzzles or “if-then” card holders. Another fun but simple activity is hosting a “Mustache Day” where kids outline Noun Project mustaches with a 3D pen, or 3D print them to put on a stick and wear.
• Vinyl cut t-shirts, stickers, and bookmarks — especially using a Cricut machine.
• Comic books and coloring pages
• Secret code generators — like wingdings, students can pick their own Noun Project icons to correspond to alphabet letters and write coded messages.

You’ve recently started working with a school called Sound Start for Babies on a “Ling Sound Puzzle.” Could you describe what this is, how you came up with the concept, and how you’re creating it?

Sound Start for Babies is a local school that works with little kids who have hearing loss to provide the child with language, speech, and communication skills. I invited a Sound Start educator to a student-led tactile book presentation in December 2020. Sound Start loved the concept of taking a classic picture book and turning it into a tactile resource. I shared how the Makerspace uses technology to create and they shared the types of activities they work on with their students (ages 6 months to 5 years old). Through this brainstorming session, Sound Start was interested in developing a Ling Sound puzzle.

Ling sounds are primary sounds like “ah”, “sh”, and “s” that are important for little kids to recognize. By combining awesome Noun Project icons with a 3D-designed base, we developed a Ling Sound puzzle. We even developed two sizes, which included one larger size puzzle for a younger visually impaired child. It was really important to work and design together; providing Sound Start with the ability to choose the right icons that represent the Ling sounds. I love this project for many reasons. It (1) highlights the benefits of collaborations, (2) combines technologies, (3) allows educators to create unique educational resources that are inexpensive, and (4) the final product is reproducible with a standard 3D printer.

Why are icons and visual aids important in an educational setting?

Good design has the power to bring amazing improvements to the world. Icons and visual aids are a universal language. Kids process icons quickly, providing a lot of information without a lot of unnecessary or confusing text. Associating icons with additional textured contexts (like a Sound Start educator associating the image of a buzzing bee with the “zzz” sound) provides necessary educational connections.

While working with visually impaired students and their teachers, you realize quickly how important icons and visual aids are. The internet needs to be more accessible — which can be accomplished not only with icons but with adding descriptive alt text to any image you upload.

I also had the pleasure of seeing high school students collaborate between their AP Art and Spanish classes to create a tactile, Spanish — English — Braille — ASL food vocabulary tile board. A blind Spanish teacher wanted a better way to connect with her students on food vocabulary. We worked with the Spanish teacher to develop these 3D-designed food vocabulary cards, which were all inspired by Noun Project designs. Because of my work with Noun Project icons I knew that the art class students could develop unique, tactile icons of food that could connect with both the Spanish teacher and her students. Icons are powerful!

What pieces of advice would you give to educators to help them make lessons or classroom projects more engaging and memorable for students, no matter where they are?

• Provide more opportunity for student creativity. I like to start with a theme (serious or silly) and then focus on helping students make connections. For example, I can use the Noun Project and show a New Jersey or Florida icon and say, “Could you make one of these states into a mustache?” Questions like this help generate a student’s own ideas, which I can then help them develop.
• Allow and encourage students to make mistakes. I love sharing my own personal 3D design “Bag of Failure” with students. Great designs take time and usually a mistake to get you moving in the right direction! Every library and school should have a “Wall of Failure” to remind students that all great ideas have to start somewhere.
• Show them tools (low tech and high tech) that they can use and how they can make seemingly incompatible resources compatible. For example, students managed to turn a photo of the baseball player Aaron Judge into a 3D printed trophy — by tracing the image and experimenting with settings in Inkscape, exporting it as an SVG, importing it into Tinkercad, designing a base, 3D printing it and even putting an electric candle behind it to make it glow, students were able to explore the possibilities and find an unexpected output for something like a common web image.

• Let students show you what they know in an informal setting. Instead of relying on presentations in front of the classroom, provide a less formal setting to let students explore and develop their own unique ideas. For example, several different high school groups developed different approaches to 3D printing projects. One group created a custom finger splint that fits under a baseball mitt, resulting in a fully independent learning experience from other groups — this kind of exploration is only possible outside of the formal “one-size-fits-all” approach to standardizing an activity and its presentation.

Where do you go to find inspiration? Do you have favorite resources for tips, tricks, and new ideas?

My number one source for inspiration is kids. Ideas are generated for me by experiencing Makerspace activities as a student as well as a teacher. Every activity always has some type of beginning theme and structure, which students then take in different directions on their own. From their actions and ideas I learn, make connections to other ideas, and then create new projects.

For example, I thought kids would love to draw their own vector designs for a t-shirt, which we would then print and cut out. But I learned that they didn’t want to draw their own designs as much as they loved searching through Noun Project icons! The process of finding the right design is inspiring to kids, and then they have the freedom to place them and add words to make them their own.

Kids know about connections, but because the Makerspace does not have graded projects, we have more freedom to really let kids explore those connections. Demonstrating how to connect resources is very important too. How do you take a 2D design or image idea and transform it into a 3D printed object? When I teach students how to make connections, instead of worrying about making mistakes, I learn as a teacher too.

The EdTech Twitterverse is filled with awesome educators from all backgrounds; librarians, math teachers, language arts teachers, 3D designers, authors, illustrators, roboticists, etc… There are a ton of great ideas and resources to learn from and utilize in your own activities.

Favorite design resources that can be used in diverse and meaningful ways: Noun Project, Canva, Pixton Edu, Tinkercad, Chemix, DoInk apps, Scratch programming, and Extraordinaires design game.

Oh, and listen to your Twitterverse and local community. You never know what awesome projects it will lead to.

How can educators get more involved by creating their own local Makerspace?

One of the best ways to begin or grow a Makerspace is to collaborate with another individual or organization. Speak with your local library about co-hosting an activity, ask a friend who is an architect to assist with a cardboard building project, or have a discussion with a local garden club about partnering together on an interactive program that connects the earth and robotics. Collaborations build a program’s ideas, improve marketing of your events, and help you discover grants (a couple good grant examples are NJ Makers’ Day or RemakeLearning). Get out and make a connection today!

What’s up next for you?

The Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace is part of a new four year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with Build a Better Book that provides long term meaningful making projects for high school students. My goal is to take our current meaningful high school project program and develop it into a year round informal learning journey. Our goal is to develop meaningful games, activities, books, and resources with visually impaired students.

Noun Project will be a component of this NSF project. Noun Project provides high quality icons that students can use in their tactile designs and provide inspiration and knowledge about the qualities that a good icon should have. It is up to me and my students to transform these icons into accessible mediums.

Follow more of Project Makerspace’s activities by following them on Twitter, Facebook, or the Makerspace Website.

Check out our other Spotlights and Tutorials for more ideas inside and outside the classroom.

Creator Spotlight: Ian Matty of Project Makerspace was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learn how to create visual notes for deeper learning and retention.

Jen Giffen is a Canadian Teacher, Librarian, and EdTech Consultant. She has a Master’s of Education from the University of Toronto and a specialist in Education Technology. She is a Google Innovator, sketchnoter, podcaster, and dad joke aficionado. Jen seeks to ensure learning is authentic and relevant, especially for struggling students.

We caught up with Jen to learn more about her background, what sketchnoting is, why sketchnoting is helpful in educational settings, and how to put it into practice for deeper long-term learning.

Hi Jen! Tell us about yourself — how did you get to where you are today?

Hi! I have been in education for over 20 years. I have been an English Teacher, a Math Teacher, worked in Special Education, Literacy Lead, Digital Literacy Consultant and a teacher Librarian. I have a Master’s in Education and a specialist in education technology. Education has always been a passion of mine and many of my hobbies (like my podcast Shukes and Giff) and my love of education conferences stems from that passion.

Tell us about sketchnoting — what is it and what can you use it for?

Essentially, sketchnoting is visual note-taking. It is turning notes from simple words on a page into something more visually appealing. Sketchnotes might include doodles, colors, and shapes, but really there is no hard and fast rule. It’s not about creating a piece of art. It’s about creating a piece of thinking. It’s about ideas.

Why is it a good idea to sketchnote? What are the cognitive benefits of sketchnoting?

Holy moly, there are SO many reasons to sketchnote (and I’ve linked sources below!):

• It reduces stress and makes you feel good.
  Engaging in any sort of visual expression results in the reward pathway in the brain being activated, which means that you feel good. It can lower stress levels and help you remain healthy, connected to yourself, and connected to the world.
• It improves memory, concentration, and mental processing power.
  Doodling lights up different networks in the brain and engages different information. This can lead to “ah-ha” moments when the solution to a problem you’ve been struggling with suddenly becomes evident. It is not about being a “visual learner;” it is because of the multiple modality — it taps into visual, kinesthetic, and linguistic areas of the brain at the same time making more connections across the brain’s neural network.
  The simplicity of this strategy means it can be used by people with cognitive impairments to enhance memory, including patients with dementia. It makes your memory like a zip file — your working memory can carry more.

• It helps you learn information more quickly and more deeply.
  The fastest way to cram new information into your brain is by drawing it.
  Research suggests that even when laptops are used solely to take notes, they may still be impairing learning because their use results in shallower processing. In order for people to visualize a concept, they have to understand it. It took test subjects a little longer to sketchnote when practicing for a test, but they truly understood the content compared to just memorizing it.
• It improves retention and recall.
  People who drew information remembered almost twice as much (49.5%) as those who wrote it (28%) even if the drawers were not practiced artists.
  In another study, the doodling group performed better on the monitoring task and recalled 29% more information on a surprise memory test.
• It keeps you present.
  Doodling keeps you in a state where your mind can’t wander, and your mind can also reflect or think more deeply about what you’re hearing. It causes you to listen at a different level, and engages the brain’s planning and concentration centers just enough to keep you living in the moment.
  Gains are greater from drawing than from other known mnemonic techniques, such as simply writing notes, viewing images or listening to lectures.
• Finally, it levels the educational playing field.
  Sketchnoting offers multiple entry points for students to access learning, and it helps students who struggle taking traditional notes or simply need a fresh approach to learning. Non-linguistic representations are one of the research-based strategies proven to increase student achievement.

What are some tips and tricks to get started with Sketchnoting?

First of all, you can sketchnote in digital or analog, which is really a personal preference. When I first started it was simply with some pencil crayons, or what you call colored pencils in the US, and a notebook with blank paper. As I began to sketch more I invested in some fancy or markers and a nicer notebook.

When I switched it to digital sketchnoting a couple of years ago I had an iPad and then Apple pencil. To sketchnote digitally there are a variety of programs to use. A lot of sketchnoters use Procreate; I like Tayasui Sketches because I think the interface is quite simple and I like that there’s a free version for students to use because not everyone can afford to pay for an app. (Most of the paid apps run $10–15.)

What goals and objectives should people have in mind?

Remember: sketchnoting is for the creator, not the masses. As long as you understand your own sketchnote based on the discussion order, that is what matters. You could have 10 people sketchnoting in the same talk, for example, and each sketchnote is going to look different. That’s the beauty of it. The process is so personal.

What kinds of symbols, illustrations, headings/typefaces, and other graphic elements are helpful (or even essential)? What are the elements of sketchnoting?

There are a whole bunch of different ways you can break down the elements of sketchnoting but this is likely my favorite. First you need to consider the hierarchy and organization of the sketch. This is achieved by the use of frames, bullets, arrows, and dividers. Then one would use Doodles of people and icons as metaphors.

Symbolism is huge in sketchnoting. All those little doodles help create meaning.

Next is font. Even handwriting can be considered a font. Font can also set a tone and can help offset important ideas or titles and subtitles.

Finally, and this one is probably the most optional, are colors. I’ve done a ton that are just black and white, but I’m moving more towards having two accent colors. I like visual appeal. Really though, sketchnoting is what you make it. I know some sketchnoters who don’t include doodles at all and just have really nice handwriting and frames and arrows. At the end of the day it’s what makes sense for the note taker.

What can people do to better organize their visual space?

Organization of a sketchnote might be the single most challenging aspect of sketchnoting. If you sketchnote live and analog, you definitely run the risk of having empty spaces. In these situations I always like to chat with someone else who read the article or watched the video or attended the talk and I ask them what their takeaways are. Without fail someone offers me something that I didn’t include and I can fill the space with that. Sketchnoting digitally is a little bit easier because I can move and resize things. Lately, most of my sketchnoting has not only been digital, and I do it in two steps. I listen to the talk (or read an article) and then start the sketch so I have the basic idea of what the layout might be so I can maximize space.

What types of sketchnote formats can people use? (timelines, flow charts, other knowledge organizers, etc)

Mike Rohde, the king of Sketchnoting in my opinion, includes this graphic in his book. While there are no hard-and-fast rules as to how one might lay out a sketchnote, these are the most common patterns. I tend to do a lot of radial sketchnotes but sometimes one of the other patterns suits the theme or topic better.

How can people sort out the most important ideas to sketch out?

Listening for keywords is a good start. At the beginning of any talk I find the speaker will say something like “I’m going to let you know about three things” and that verbal cue gives me a good idea I want to listen for. Generally anything that would sound good as a sound bite is good for a sketchnote. Also, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to capture absolutely everything, you will be amazed at how much of the details you will remember with just a couple of words and a doodle.

How did you originally discover Noun Project and how does it currently come into play with your Sketchnoting practice?

I remember when I discovered Noun Project I thought I’d hit the jackpot. I was never much of a doodler. Because of this, I think I find it more difficult to break objects down to simple parts. When I think of a coffee maker, for example, I can only picture a life-like representation of it and, since I’m not an artist, I find it hard to draw. Noun Project is integral to my sketchnoting practice. I actually saved the website to my home screen so that whenever I’m sketching I just need to have my phone nearby to look up easy-to-draw icons. That way, when I’m stuck only being able to visualize the lifelike object, Noun Project helps me come up with ideas for easy, quick doodles to create.

What advice would you give to fellow educators who want to start integrating Sketchnoting in their classes or other activities?

I get asked this all the time and it wasn’t until a few months ago that I finally made a list of the steps I think that are required and then, of course, turned it into a sketchnote.

I think people need to start at a real basic level practicing Doodles using Dave Gray’s visual alphabet. Then I would do some daily practice with doodling. I would start with concrete icon doodles — things like light bulb, cat, and spaceship, and then move on to doodling abstract ideas like freedom, education, and love. I also recommend that teachers try to include concrete and abstract ideas related to the course of study.

Then I would introduce the elements of sketchnoting as described above. I might give students a note that has already been taken and then ask them to turn it into a sketchnote, adding elements of hierarchy and metaphors. This scaffolding activity would lead to students doing some two-step sketchnoting where they might watch or read something, take traditional notes, and then turn those notes into sketchnotes. I would then have students watch videos and pause and sketch as they go. Ultimately they would end up sketchnoting something live. I think it’s important to note, however, that there is no need to do true live sketchnoting. Two-step sketchnoting is just as effective and a lot less stressful for many people.

Where do you go to find inspiration? Do you have favorite resources for tips, tricks, and new ideas?

I love to follow certain hashtags like #sketchnoting and #visualnotetaking, etc. on social media to see what others are creating. Of course, as a librarian, I would be remiss if I didn’t include a book list. Here are some of my favorites:

1. The Sketchnote Handbook Video: the illustrated guide to visual note taking by Mike Rohde
2. How to Sketchnote: A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students by Sylvia Duckworth
3. The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently by Sunni Brown
4. My Pencil Made Me Do It by Carrie Baughcum
5. Ink and Ideas: Sketchnotes for Engagement, Comprehension, and Thinking by Tanny McGregor

Finally, like anything new, starting out in sketchnoting can seem overwhelming and difficult. Take small steps when you begin. Most importantly, don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.

You can join follow Jen on her website, Twitter and Instagram for more Sketchnoting and Ed-Tech wisdom, or even peer into her public Google Drive of sketchnotes for more visual examples.

Follow our Spotlights and Tutorials for more inspiration!

An Introduction to Sketchnoting with Jen Giffen was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learn three basic color schemes based on color theory to take your photos to the next level.

As photographers, we have many tools at our disposal to make great photographs, including compositional guidelines like the rule of thirds, leading lines, and effective framing. Being intentional with color choices by using color theory is another great way to strengthen the composition in your images. Color theory is a set of principles and guidelines used to create harmonious color combinations that are pleasing to the eye.

At the heart of color theory is the color wheel, created by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1660’s. The color wheel is a convenient tool to help you visualize the relationship and harmony between colors.

Harmonious color schemes are established combinations based on colors’ positions on the wheel. In this article, we’ll introduce three basic color schemes to use when creating images: complementary, analogous, and monochrome.

Here, we’ll be referencing the RYB color system in which red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors.

1. Complementary Colors

For an easy complementary color palette to create the highest and boldest contrast, choose two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. Using complementary colors in photos will result in images that pop off the page or screen. Complementary colors in the RYB system are:

• Yellow and Purple
• Red and Green
• Blue and Orange

A variation on this approach is to use triadic colors. Triadic colors are three colors with an equal distance between them. This color combo will result in images that are quite vibrant and full of contrast. To successfully use triadic colors in your composition, chose one color to dominate and two colors for accent.

Examples of triadic complementary colors are:

• Red, Yellow, and Blue
• Purple, Green, and Orange

2. Analogous Colors

Analogous colors are the colors that appear next to one another on the color wheel. Without the strong contrast of complementary colors, analogous colors can have a more calming effect.

Examples of two-color analogous options are:

• Blue and Purple
• Green and Blue
• Yellow and Green
• Orange and Yellow
• Purple and Red

Analogous color schemes can be also be created using three colors next to or nearby each other on the color wheel. To successfully implement three analogous colors, choose one as the dominant color and the other two for accents. Designers often follow the 60/30/10 rule, meaning that the dominant color takes up 60% of the space, a secondary color takes up 30% and the accent color takes up the remaining10%.

Examples of three-color analogous schemes are:

• Orange, Yellow and Green
• Red, Orange and Yellow
• Blue, Violet and Red-Violet

3. Monochrome Color Scheme

Variations in tones and shade of solely one color create a monochromatic color scheme. Using a monochromatic color scheme results in a calm and serene image. It creates an opportunity for the viewer to focus on composition or texture in the image.

Use these three basic color schemes based on color theory and the color wheel as your guide to take your images to the next level.

Interested in joining our community of photographers and contributing to Noun Project? Submit your work here.

*Original color wheel graphic from Wikimedia Commons: CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 ; additional lines & triangles icons from Noun Project

3 Simple Color Schemes to Make Your Photos Pop was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learn how to photograph and capture authentic moments of connection, inspired by the Greek words for love.

“Love” is a word that we use to describe our affection and attachment toward the people in our lives. The types of feelings we have for our parents, partners, friends and children are quite different from each other. How can one single word accurately describe the variety of contexts in which we love?

The Ancient Greeks recognized that there are many different types of love and had words to describe each kind:

• Philia — intimate, authentic friendship
• Ludus — playful, flirtatious love
• Storge — unconditional, family love
• Philautia — self-love
• Pragma — enduring, long-term love
• Agápe — empathetic, universal love

There is no one-size-fits-all technique to photographing genuine connections and true emotions in people. However, using these 6 Greek words for love as a guide, you’ll create authentic, emotive photos of your subjects and the types of love in your love-photoshoot.

While each kind of love has its own unique distinctions, as a photographer you can set yourself up for success for the shoot by:

• Choosing a comfortable setting for your subjects
• Setting up your shot before shooting (location, lighting, composition, etc.)
• Being ready with prompts to guide your subjects
• Watching for the magical, decisive moments to press the shutter when you see your subjects feeling unguarded

With all of types of love, the most emotive and authentic photos will happen when your subjects feel relaxed and at ease.

1. Philia: intimate, authentic friendship

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”
 — Oprah

Philia describes the type of love that comes from a deep, loyal and intimate friendship. Philia is an authentic, kind and soulful connection between friends.

Photographing Philia:
When capturing close friends, make sure that they’re in an environment or engaged in an activity in which they share joy, feel bonded and connected in their friendship.

Prompt ideas for close friends:

• Ask one friend to tell the other their silliest private joke, using only their face, hands and bodies.
• Position the friends with their arms round each other’s shoulders, looking away from the camera. Ask them to think about a time when the other friend was truly supportive of a hardship — and to think of that time with gratitude, knowing that they had the other’s support. When you see that the friends are truly feeling the moment, start snapping the camera.

2. Ludus: playful, flirtatious love

“I have found men who didn’t know how to kiss. I’ve always found time to teach them.”
― Mae West

Ludus is a playful, fun and flirty love. It describes the elation one feels in the early stages of a relationship: laughing, teasing, and feeling giddy around each other. Ludus is about embracing the excitement of love’s early moments.

Photographing Ludus:
When photographing a newer couple, go to a location where they feel most playful and fun together. This could be a cafe, favorite art museum, their house or a favorite park.

Prompt ideas for couples:

• Ask one person to tell the other how beautiful they are by looking at the other and only using their eyes to communicate.
• Ask one person in the couple to tell the other what the first thing was that they noticed about the other person and how it made them feel. Have them tell the other person by whispering in their ear.

Hot tip: always shoot both during and after the prompt. Many times the best images come from the moment just after the couple has completed the prompt.

3. Storge: unconditional, familial love

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
 — Mother Teresa

Storge is a natural affection and commitment shared by family members. It’s the protective, primal and unconditional love that we feel for our families.

Photographing storge:

• Ask the family to fake laugh. This inevitably leads to real laughter as they listen and react to each other’s pretend laughter.
• When photographing the whole family, ask them to group hug while looking at the camera.
• If a formal pose for the whole family is desired, make sure to stagger the family by height and size. Place taller people in the back, have some sit in chairs in the middle. Kids can stand in front, sit on people’s laps or be held in the arms of the people in back.
• Break the family up into smaller groups. If there are siblings, ask one of them to read a book to the other or teach the other how to draw or paint, for example. If one of the siblings is a baby or toddler, ask the older one to give them a kiss. A classic never fails!

4. Philautia: self-love

If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?
 — RuPaul

Philautia is love of yourself. It is self-compassion and being comfortable in your own skin. Engendering love for yourself can grow by taking the time to do things that make you happy, healthy and centered. Some people find this through making healthy choices in exercise and diet and setting aside quiet time to read or meditate.

Photographing philautia:
Photograph your subject engaging in activities that nourish them. This could be while taking a walk in the woods, doing yoga, reading in their bedroom or cooking healthy meals in their kitchen.

Prompt ideas for photographing one person:

• Go on a walk or hike with your subject, ask them to take a few moments to themselves to quietly look around and take in the beauty of their surroundings.
• Ask your subject to close their eyes and recall a time where they felt grateful, calm and present in their own skin. When you sense that they’re immersed in these feelings, quietly take a few shots while their eyes are closed. Let them know that when they themselves feel fully immersed to open their eyes and look at the camera. You’ll capture beautiful moments of peace and calm.

5. Pragma: committed, enduring love

“Commitment is an act, not a word.”
– Jean-Paul-Sartre

Pragma is the love between romantic partners which is based on commitment, patience, and endeavoring to enhance the relationship over time. Pragma describes an enduring, mature love that grows in healthy, long-term relationships.

Photographing pragma:
Partners who have been together for several or many years tend to be very comfortable with each other — and they know which locations and activities support their bond as a couple. Their home is a great location for photographing this type of couple, as they have likely buil this home together through time and with love.

Prompts for long-term couples:

• Ask the couple to show how much they love each other by engaging in an activity where they will be physically close. This could be activities such as slow dancing, touching each other’s face while looking at each other, cooking together or simply kissing.
• Position the partners close to each other and have them look into each other’s eyes. Ask one of them to think of their favorite thing about the other and to communicate it using only their eyes. Ask them to lean in for a kiss or an intimate hug when they sense that the other person is feeling the moment.

6. Agápe: empathetic, universal love

“Love is such a powerful force. It’s there for everyone to embrace-that kind of unconditional love for all of humankind. That is the kind of love that impels people to go into the community and try to change conditions for others, to take risks for what they believe in.”
 — Corretta Scott King

Agápe is love that is empathetic to humanity itself, to nature and to both friends and strangers. It is a love that is altruistic, compassionate and in which people help others without wanting anything in return.

Photographing agápe:
As agápe is driven more by a feeling than an action, capturing it in photos generally involves much less of a set-up than with our previous types of love.

Ideas where you could capture and photograph agápe in action are at a pride rally, of volunteers at a food bank, and of people who dedicate their lives to others such as nurses or teachers. To capture the feeling of agápe toward the earth, you could go to an organic farm or animal rescue and photograph people interacting with the location.

Photographing with the Greek words for love as your guide and inspiration, you’re practically guaranteed to create magical, authentic photos of the connection between your subjects.

Interested in joining our community of photographers and contributing to Noun Project? Submit your work here.

How to Capture Magical Moments of Love Through the Lens was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How to Succeed in the Stock Photo Industry: 15 Simple & Effective Tips

We asked some of our top photographers at Noun Project to share their best advice and tips about working in the stock photography industry. From finding inspiration for shoots to practical business advice, check out these gems on how to start and succeed in stock from Denis Kuvaiev, Simone Hutsch, Avel Shah and Mudassir Ali.

Denis Kuvaiev

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“Make your work enjoyable! If you choose a topic that you know well, you’ll work hard and this will bring you a lot of joy!”

What’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given you in regards to photography?

The best piece of advice that I’ve received in regards to photography was from one very experienced photographer: make 10,000 photos and the next one will be a masterpiece. And this is really the truth — when you work hard and create lots of photos, you will eventually have some real masterpieces!

What top 3 business tips would you give to someone who is interested in working in stock?

1. Work hard and don’t wait for the money to come in quickly from stock. The money will come when you have a lot of photos and also when you understand your content and photographic voice.
2. Choose a topic that is close to you. If you are interested in sports, for example, focus on sports photography.
3. Make your work enjoyable! If you choose a topic that you know well, you’ll work hard and this will bring you a lot of joy! Most people who earn money from their work is because they have a lot of fun at their job. Enjoy your work and everything will come!

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in photography?

In addition to my previous answers, I want to add one more important thing for people who are just starting out: you need to completely immerse yourself in the work of photography. A photographer, at every glance, already sees a frame of a photograph and is always on the lookout for a good subject. Always keep your camera with you and look for your masterpiece — and it will come sooner or later!

Denis Kuvaiev, currently based in Salamanca, Spain started his professional photography work in 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Denis’ work features beautiful, cheerful photos of his daughter Maria who is a global ambassador for Down syndrome. Read more about Denis, Maria and inclusive photography here.

Avel Shah

avlien

“Don’t worry so much about having the latest gear. Work with what you have and upgrade when you can.”

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in photography?

1. Don’t worry so much about having the latest gear. Work with what you have and upgrade when you can.
2. To improve your skills and signature, try shooting different styles, in varied lighting (at night, harsh sun, golden hour, flash, studio, etc.) and at different angles.
3. Shoot as much as possible.

What top 3 business tips would you give to someone who is interested in working in stock?

1. Produce modern, diverse photography not traditional “stocky” images.
2. Be prepared to wait for a return on your stock images. Generally, they won’t sell overnight so you need to be patient.
3. Research trending topics, colours and themes that content buyers are looking for.

What editing and/or workflow tips can you share?

Get into the habit of organizing your images and have a system that makes it easy to find images from a specific time. Using Capture One’s powerful editing software I’m easily able to edit and organize my work by month or project.

Avel Shah is a London based photographer and aspiring creative director with a passion for visual storytelling and capturing authentic moments. Read more about Avel and his process here.

Simone Hutsch

heysupersimi

“Make a plan of what to do and when. Having a structure I can follow makes me less stressed about timing and deadlines.”

How do you decide on what content you’d like to shoot?

I often ride through the city on my bicycle and keep my eyes open, which keeps my creativity flowing. I come across lots of types of buildings and I try to imagine in what style I could edit them in photos. I ask myself: what have I not done yet? What could I do differently next time? Once I get stuck on an idea, I can’t stop thinking about it and I just have to do it.

In almost every case, I first decide on editing styles and potential buildings. It’s good to have a plan.

What editing and/or workflow tips can you share?

I guess this is very stereotypically German, but I like to be organized. I like to make a plan of what to do and when to do it. Having a structure makes me less stressed about timing and deadlines.

I always work consistently on my projects. I break big projects up into small chunks, taking a little step every day. This allows me to take a little pressure off of the scope. This also gives me the opportunity to look at my work the next day with fresh eyes. If I still like it the next morning, it’s good. This process also makes it easier to see what I can improve on.

Lastly, I try to work when I’m most productive, which for me is in the very early mornings or late at night before bed. Find out how, when, and where you’re most productive and use that time to your advantage.

How do you practice and improve your skills as a photographer?

This goes back to the first question. I am constantly thinking about what I can do differently and improve. What would be a challenge? What am I scared of trying? I want to put myself in a position where I feel slightly uncomfortable, where my skills can manage 90% of the project and the remaining 10% would require learning something new.

Volume of work is also a factor in improving my skills. I’d rather go out there and produce something every day, every week, or every month. Set a goal on this but don’t think too much about if this is the best you can do. That mindset would hold me back from even starting. Thinking of producing something good and that I like keeps me motivated and fearless.

The whole process is about employing ‘trial and error’ as many times as possible. Each shoot will teach you something new, even if it’s a small lesson.

Simone Hutsch is a passionate graphic designer and self-taught architecture photographer from Berlin, Germany, currently living in London, UK.

Read more about Simone and her process here.

Mudassir Ali

“Don’t chase the gear, chase the light.”

What’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given you in regards to photography?

Don’t chase the gear, chase the light. With good lighting you can overcome all the shortcomings of any gear.

How do you decide on what to shoot?

I’ve been quite obsessed with aerial photography which means my options are already limited. I prioritise drone-friendly locations which happen to be the ocean where I live. If I am going to a new location, I try to find inspiration via Instagram to decide where to go.

What business tips would you give to someone who is interested in working in stock?

Post a variety of content and see what sells. This helps give you direction for later shoots.

What editing and/or workflow tips can you share?

Never delete your original RAW photos even if you don’t like them. You never know what editing trick you’ll later learn that could suddenly improve the photos you hadn’t chosen previously.

How do you practice and improve your skills as a photographer?

Be your best critic and have super high standards, even if your work is not up to the mark.

I draw inspiration from movie shots actually. They’re well composed and well color graded.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in photography?

Don’t get overwhelmed by seeing other photographers’ work. Most people are into this for so many years and some even for decades. Just take it one day at a time, try different things and don’t get too niche too soon. Let that happen organically.

Mudassir is an aerial landscape photographer by the weekend and a Web Frontend Engineer by the week at Canva. He is often found on the eastern beaches of Sydney, Australia. Check out Mudassir’s images on Noun Project and follow him on Instagram for more.

Interested in joining our community of photographers and contributing to Noun Project? Submit your work here. Check out more interviews with inspiring photographers on our blog.

How to Succeed in the Stock Photo Industry: 15 Tips from Top Photographers was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For the first time in its history, PANTONE has created a brand new color for the 2022 Color of the Year: PANTONE 17–3938 Very Peri, a vibrant periwinkle blue with violet red undertones.

“As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of PANTONE 17–3938 Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue color family, encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, PANTONE 17–3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages creativity and imaginative expressions.”
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

After an intense period of isolation, our perspectives and landscapes have shifted dramatically. Boundaries between the physical and digital worlds are collapsing with technological advances in virtual reality, NFTs and the emerging metaverse. With the complexity of a blend of red violet with blue highlights, Very Peri is symbol of global transition. Very Peri asks us to embrace this altered landscape of possibilities, exploring a new vision and welcoming the changes before us. Very Peri emphasizes dynamism, creativity, imagination and places the future ahead in a new light.

Explore images that celebrate The 2022 Color of the Year, Very Peri, on Noun Project

Find more images inspired by Very Peri on Noun Project.

For more inspiration from Noun Project, please visit our blog.

Celebrating PANTONE’s 2022 Color of the Year was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Get inspired for your next project with Noun Project’s favorite winter color palettes.

As a photographer or a designer, when planning and preparing for your visual project a great technique to create mood and cohesiveness is to consider how specific colors will work together. Harmonious colors create a satisfying, appealing, attractive visual for the viewer.

From frosty pinks to subdued grays, Noun Project’s favorite winter color schemes are here to inspire your projects this season.

Sparkly Cheer

Step away from the traditional colors of the season and into cheery tones that inspire lighthearted merrymaking. Inspired by rosé champagne and iridescent baubles, this sparkly palette is sure to spark up any festive celebration.

Throwback Mood

Nostalgic-inspired visuals are making a huge comeback this winter and into 2022. Give your photos and projects a muted ‘50s color scheme with this updated throwback palette.

The Classics

While we think of reds and greens to be representative of the Christmas holiday, this wintry palette traces back centuries to the Celtic and Roman cultures. Green holly bushes with red berries were typically used to celebrate the winter solstice. This classic color palette has proven its staying power throughout a multitude of countries and over hundreds of years.

Embrace Cozy

Hygge is a Danish term defined as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” While there is no direct translation in English, “cozy” comes in close. Hygge is associated with relaxation, indulgence, and gratitude, which encapsulates a winter mood. To infuse cozy and calm moods into your projects, try out this subdued palette of hygge colors, from umber to thundercloud grey.

Introspection

Dark, muted shades of blue and gray create a winter palette that reminds us to slow down and make time for introspection. Inspire calm, restoration and contemplation with this color scheme inspired by an overcast sky and wintry beach.

For more inspirational photography posts, check out our blog .

Interested in joining our community of photographers and contributing to Noun Project? Submit your work here.

Winter Color Palette Inspiration was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Denis Sazhin is a designer and icon creator currently residing in New York City. His expressive, animated pet icons are a crowd favorite on Noun Project, and his work extends into animation and motion graphics as well. We caught up with Denis to learn more about his background, his approach to design, and his tips for fellow creators.

Hi Denis! Tell us a little about yourself — how did you get to where you are today?

Most of the time I describe myself as a graphic designer, illustrator and animator. If I want to be more accurate and pet-friendly, I say “a cat artist.” If I want to sound like I nicked my bio from some recruiter’s website I go with “award-winning, result-driven passionate professional.” (No, I never use that. Doesn’t go well with “cat artist.”)

How did I get where I am today… Let’s say trial and error. I am not exactly the kind of person who had their path set up for years ahead; it was more like doing something and checking with myself how I felt about it.

I started as a software developer, transformed into a web designer, tried myself as an illustrator, then discovered the niche field of icon design, where I stayed for a good number of years. Then I got interested in character design and animation, and I’m now looking forward to new challenges.

You’ve worked on projects from simple icon design, to stickers and even motion graphics and animation — what are your favorite types of projects and mediums to work in?

The ones you named are my favorite indeed. Because I have been an independent designer for decades, I was lucky to be able to pick the types of projects that I liked the most.

I wish I could dedicate more time to the animation projects, though; I have always been fascinated by all the fun possibilities and creative freedom it allows.

I also used to run an Instagram account called @cat.cartoon.life where I would post a picture every day with a text description below. At first I wrote those descriptions by hand, but I later designed my own typeface called Meowers. It’s a handwritten-style typeface that helped streamline my content creation, and there are even a couple unique cat glyphs in there as well– I designed it to generate a cat face for (^.^) and cat paw for ==o3, and things like that.

How did you become interested in designing icons, and what is your design process like?

What I like about designing icons is how logic and creativity work together. You have two challenges here: coming up with a nice and clear idea or metaphor, and then making it beautiful in the simplest possible way.

Usually, I start with a metaphor and it looks really boring from the outside: I’m just sitting with my eyes closed, while my mind acts like a lottery bowl shuffling possible ideas until the lucky winner pops up. If I am not able to come up with a metaphor this way, I create a mood board with similar icons/images, and it helps to fuel the brain.

Once the metaphor is set, I do some sketches and figure out the cleanest and the simplest way to depict the idea. Then I choose the color scheme and the style based on the look and feel of the app/website/etc, so the icons become an integral part of the design.

What do you think is key to capturing a sense of character and making a design come to life?

For me, it’s being able to relate to the character. That’s why there are so many cats among my designs: I feel them, I love them, I relate to them.

What tips would you give to fellow graphic designers or icon creators to help them elevate their designs?

Less is more.

If you can’t justify something — don’t do it.

Look at your old designs and see how they can be improved.

Be fun.

What’s one of your most memorable examples of a designer, work of art, or campaign that influenced you or changed the way you think?

The first name that jumps into my mind is (Spanish architect) Antoni Gaudi. To me, his work is pure magic.

Are there any particular designers you like to follow today, or other resources you turn to for inspiration?

Noun Project, of course, is always up there — it’s a huge help for developing ideas and metaphors, and seeing how other designers have solved certain problems.

Dribbble — one of my favorite resources for inspiration and getting familiar with the work of other designers.

There are also some artists that I follow here and there, for example Aaron Blaise or Goro Fujita… my following habits are mainly based on what looks like random picks of brilliant artists.

What would be your dream project to work on?

I admire Pixar animations. That would be the one, if I’m allowed to dream.

What’s up next for you?

Que sera, sera :)

To see more of Denis’ creations, visit his Noun Project profile, Dribbble, Behance, or Instagram.

Check out more creator spotlights here.

Creator Spotlight: Denis Sazhin was originally published in Noun Project on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.