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Freebies Of The Week: British Museum Drops 1.9M Images, Free Shutterstock Packs…
By Mikelle Leow, 04 May 2020
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Image via pxl.store / Shutterstock.com
Now that you’re easing into a new normal, it’s a good time to pamper yourself with some goodies. And what better way than to get yourself some gifts you can actually use?
As part of our freebies collection, DesignTAXI is rounding up a handful of complimentary creative resources each week to inspire you and help keep you productive during this downtime. This week, enjoy nearly two million images from the British museum, photos and virtual backgrounds from Shutterstock, cybersecurity courses, and more.
If you need a leg up in expressing how you’ve been feeling during this uncertain period, you might want to check out our lineup from the previous week, which includes over 300 relatable emojis for creative professionals.
1.9 million high-res images from the British Museum
You can never run out of inspiration, now that the British Museum has just released almost two million images to its online collection spanning the history of six continents in the past two million years. For those who don’t have the time to dive too deeply into the library, it is even sectioned into a few noteworthy themes, such as “Desire, love and identity,” “Death and memory,” “Americas,” and “China,” so you can skim through some of the museum’s stellar exhibits.
The virtually endless photos and artifact images are available to download, use and remix under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license, making them free for personal use.
Today we’re excited to launch a major revamp of our Collection online! 🏛📲
— British Museum (@britishmuseum) April 28, 2020
We’ve been working extra hard to bring you this update early so you can #MuseumFromHome even better than before.
Access the collection digitally wherever you are: https://t.co/a2CPohwarP pic.twitter.com/py0ppV4ktV
The Hero Generator
There’s no need to painstakingly code your website header anymore. The Hero Generator, created by self-professed “lazy programmer” and VP of web project automating platform Sarah Edo, lets you tweak your hero image visually with a number of parameters and then generates a working code for you. You can edit the way its vignette looks, change the size and color of the button in your header, and so on.
‘Righteous’ typeface
For a personal flair to your projects, illustrator Asep Rendi of Arendxstudio has created a free hand-drawn script typeface called ‘Righteous’ that will fit wonderfully in branding and marketing projects, social media posts, stationery and more. The free font family arrives with numerals and punctuation, multilingual support, ligatures, and alternates, and is free for personal and desktop commercial use.
Image via Pixelsurplus
Canon’s new software turns your camera into a high-quality webcam
Screenshot via Canon
Your Canon camera is now giving you more bang for your buck. To support the growing necessity for video calls, the camera maker has released a free EOS Webcam Utility Beta software which quickly doubles Canon gadgets that don’t support clean HDMI—basically cameras that aren’t in Canon’s newest lineup—as high-quality webcams. The makeshift computer cameras promise sharper images than built-in webcams, and the best thing is you don’t have to purchase new hardware or software to make this possible. Download it here.
Shutterstock’s free resources
Screenshot via Shutterstock
Royalty-free resource giant Shutterstock has debuted a free collection of images, videos and music to enhance your brand’s voice for COVID-19 messaging. The packs aren’t all coronavirus- or WFH-themed, though. They also include assets for general purposes like scenic travel shots and food footage. There’s also a pack of free virtual backgrounds to keep your Zoom call experiences fresh and spirited.
Separately, Shutterstock’s tracks and sound effects company PremiumBeat also shared three animated logo reveals you can use for free.
Upskill with free cybersecurity courses
Screenshot via Fortinet
Fortinet, a firm specializing in cybersecurity products and services, has rolled out no-cost, self-paced cybersecurity courses for all skill levels to make your time at home fruitful as well as help you upskill for new job opportunities.
The curriculums cover three levels comprising awareness training for beginners, technical training for IT professionals, and advanced training for those already in the security field. Classes formerly exclusive to Fortinet’s partners are also now open to everyone.
Healthcare icons
Remind the people around you to stay healthy in the most optimistic way with this adorable pack of 50 healthcare icons. The collection encompasses graphics depicting exercise, drinking up, healthy eating, washing your hands, and going for checkups. The icons are free for personal and commercial use as long as you attribute their creator.
Google Meet
Previously only available for G Suite members, Google Meet, the tech giant’s answer to Zoom, is now free until 30 September 2020. The app lets you launch video conferences of up to 100 members for a maximum of 60 minutes. Until 30 September, though, video calls will enjoy unlimited durations.
Coloring posters inspired by Studio Ghibli and Wes Anderson films
If you’re a film buff, you’re bound to appreciate these coloring posters by artist Jordan Bolton, which feature Easter eggs from iconic Wes Anderson and Studio Ghibli movies. See if you can recognize all the objects shown in the artworks, and if not, now’s the perfect time to rewatch your favorite films.
There’s no such thing as too few goodies, so check here for more freebies we’ve rounded up for creative souls.
[via various sources, cover image via pxl.store / Shutterstock.com]
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