Whether you’re working on a Powerpoint presentation, course document, Canvas module or SoftChalk lesson, symbols and icons are a great way to enhance your content. You can do a quick web search and find hundreds of images to choose from, but a standard search won’t necessarily tell you the copyright status of the items in your search results. That’s where Open Symbols can save you time.
Open Symbols: open-licensed communication symbols for everyone
Open Symbols is a web site that allows you to search over 57,000 open-licensed images in 8 different image repositories. The icons and symbols you can find on Open Symbols are open-licensed images, meaning their owners have designated them for re-use by others at no charge, using Creative Commons or other similar licenses. In general, all you need to do is give credit when you use the image.
By entering a search term or simply browsing through the different image archives, you can find high quality images that are free to use, with or without modification. When you view an individual image, the necessary attribution information is ready to copy/paste. You’ll also see an Edit Symbol button that will allow you to make minor customizations and save the edited image. Open Symbols definitely makes it easy to find and modify beautiful icons and symbols, and to quickly and accurately credit the image creator.
Try your own quick search at https://www.opensymbols.org/. Enhance your own materials, or share the resource with your students!