Inclusive Teaching: Diverse Images for Teaching

Do your students see themselves in the visual materials you use in class? You can contribute to an inclusive class climate by including diverse images of people in the content you create and share. Whether you’re designing your syllabus, handouts, slide decks, or simply adding icons to web content, you can easily expand representation to include a wider range of folx using these resources.

Creative Commons licenses are denoted by CC – for more information about each license, click through to the Creative Commons site.

• AllGo – Free plus-size stock photos - https://canweallgo.com/plus-size-stock-photos (Free, attribution recommended)
• Black Illustrations – Large collection of both free and premium illustrations featuring black characters https://www.blackillustrations.com (Free and $)
• CreateHER Stock Freebies - Free and premium images of women of color - https://createherstock.com/free-stock-photos/ (Non-exclusive license)
• Disabled and Here Collection – Photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) - https://affecttheverb.com/collection (Free, CC BY)
• Disability:IN – Disability inclusive stock photography - https://disabilityin.org/resource/disability-stock-photography (Free, CC BY-ND)
• Gender Spectrum Collection - Gender-inclusive images that include topics like technology, relationships, and health https://genderphotos.vice.com/  (Free, CC BY-NC-ND)   
• The Greats - Free illustrations from great artists to change the world https://www.thegreats.co (Free, CC-BY-NC-SA)
• Images of Empowerment - A free library of images celebrating women’s lives and their work in 11 countries around the world - https://www.imagesofempowerment.org (Free, CC BY-NC)
• Jopwell Collection - community photos from the career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals - https://jopwell.pixieset.com/thejopwellcollection/ (Free, attribution required)
• Jopwell Latinx Photo Collection - features Latinx millennials in the workplace - jopwellcollection.jopwell.com/jopwell_latinxcollection/ (Free, attribution required)
• nappy - Photo library of Black and brown https://www.nappy.co/ (Free, CC0)
• Noun Project - An inclusive, diverse collection of art-quality photos - https://thenounproject.com/photos/ (Free, CC BY-NC-ND)
• PICNOI - Stock photo library of diverse multi-racial images https://picnoi.com/  (Free, CC-BY)
• Women of Color in Tech -  free images for technology educators that feature women of color in the discipline - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/ (Free, CC-BY)

Also:

Humans - https://www.humaaans.com/
Humaaans is a free library to mix-&-match illustrations of people. You can customize their positions, clothing, colors, and hairstyle to create some cool scenes. You can add backgrounds and use the power of libraries to make it your own. Available on: Sketch, InVision Studio, Adobe XD, and Figma

Bibliography

Jones , Trevor, et al. “Best Practices for Inclusive and Diverse Photography in Higher Education.” Best Practices for Inclusive and Diverse Photography in Higher Education, UPAA, https://www.ucda.com/best-practices-for-inclusive-and-diverse-photography-in-higher-education

Authenticity is key when including diverse images in classroom materials. This article offers important tips to keep in mind, including representing various types of diversity, avoiding stereotypes, and delivering accurate student body portrayals.

Online Resources

Read more about icons, representation, and inclusion in this post from the IconFinder blog: The Issue of Diversity in Icon Design.