Buzz
Would you like to search for open-license icon images that are universally understood and can freely illustrate your content without infringing anyone's copyright? This article will guide you on how to access a collection of at least 500,000 such icon images.
Steps
Introducing the tool
Access the tool. To access the Noun Project search tool, visit: https://thenounproject.com/.
- 'Upgrade' menu: This content will be detailed later in the article.
- '...' menu: Clicking here opens another menu right below. In this article, the focus is on clicking the 'Legal' link in the menu bar below to access the Noun Project's legal page.
Learn about Noun Project's icon image licenses
The 'Legal' page of Noun Project.
- 3. OBTAINING CONTENT THROUGH SERVICES. "You may use icon images in compliance with the licenses and restrictions set by the user who uploaded the icon to the Service. If the icon is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution License, you may pay the License Fee set in advance through the Services to use the icon without attribution, but must comply with all other terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. We retain the right to change the License Fees at any time at our discretion without prior notice. A list of pricing options and fees ('License Fees') is available at https://thenounproject.com/pricing".
- Thus, it can be seen that:
- Many icon images are open-licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, or in Vietnamese, Giấy phép Creative Commons Ghi công, abbreviated as CC BY version 3.0 in the specific case of Noun Project.
- This is the most lenient of the 6 standard Creative Commons licenses. With this license attached to an icon image, you can freely use it for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you credit the author of the icon as intended, in accordance with the spirit of the CC BY license.
- When using this CC BY license, you must also provide a link back to the original.
Search for icon images in English, not in Vietnamese
Search for icon images.Englishflower image
Vietnameseflower image
Search results after querying.Englishflower imageflower graphicvisualpicturesgalleriessymbols
Vietnameseflower graphicflower imageflower visualEnglishNOVietnamese
Search phrase suggestion feature
Search phrase suggestions.cursor
pointer fingerSearch for pointer finger
Chọn theo gợi ý cụm từ tìm kiếm.pointer fingerpointerdigitFingerprintLocation markersgalleriessymbols
Check the license for each icon image
Choose the icon image you prefer. Suppose you search with the phrase ‘pointer finger’ (pointing with a finger) as mentioned above, and you like the icon named ‘Up’ (finger pointing upward), click on it to select. Before downloading, you should verify its license. Here’s how to do it:
- Click on the Creative Commons link on the left. This will take you to the Creative Commons license page for the selected icon image. In this specific case, as explained in the Legal section of Noun Project above, the chosen icon image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution version 3.0 US (CC BY 3.0 US).
What you need to do.CC BY 3.0 US
Select the format and license type to download the icon image
Select the icon image you want to download. Click on the small rectangular box labeled Download, and you will see it split into two options, allowing you to choose the format to download the icon image in:
There are 2 formats to choose from: PNG and SVG. Let's assume PNG is the format you wish to use. Click on it. The next screen will allow you to select the license type for the icon image you want to download.
There are 2 types of licenses to choose from: Royalty Free and Creative Commons. You need to choose one of these two license types. Click on the ? symbol at the end of the text What’s the difference? located below the license options to view an explanation of these license types.
Explanation of the 2 license types.
Download the selected icon image.Royalty-Free LicenseRoyalty-Free LicenseUpgrade
Creative Commons LicenseCreative Commons License
Advice
- For images licensed under the open CC BY 3.0 US license like those from Noun Project, you may freely use them with proper attribution as mentioned in the 'Source and Citation' section below.
- There are other websites and search methods available to download images that are either open-license or in the public domain, freely available on the Internet for use.
- Many websites do not support search in Vietnamese, meaning you'll need to search in English instead. However, some sites like Google Images allow searching in Vietnamese.
