As a visual writer, finding the right image to use is always important. Because there are a ton of photographers and graphic artists that generously upload photos for free and fair use using Creative Commons licenses, there is a lot of material out there.  But it can be difficult to sort through free and licensed images.  Because, while the images are free, it’s always important to properly credit the source.

All photo-sharing websites publish licensing information. But a newcomer in the image search universe makes it incredibly easy to use the photo with the due attribution.

Sprixi is a free image search engine. Using Sprixi is just a three step process – Search, Choose and Use. Sprixi sorts all images into topics. You can browse the topics in graphics or text using the Browse link placed right at the foot of the page.

Enter your search query and Sprixi takes over. What you get is a double framed window with the images on one scrollable pane. Choose any image from the results and view it in larger dimensions on the View pane.

The View pane provides usage and credit information about the image with a rollover of the mouse.

Usefulness – Sprixi learns and tries to sort all images by usefulness i.e. relevancy. Images are rated according to use, downloads, the ratings added from the yes/maybe/no buttons etc. Images are weighted more by the ratings given by registered users. Images can also be flagged for inappropriateness.

Image Size – Touch the bar chart like colored indicators and you can choose a specific size.

About this image provides complete information on the creator and the license.

The last step is to select your choice image and click on the corner placed Use tab. Sprixi gives you two options for fair use -

The Image with credit option comes with the attribution inked in fine print while the Image without credit asks you to manually provide that link. A Copy button makes it easy to copy-paste the image attribution link.

Look at the same images below to note the difference between the two options.

The image with the assigned license (the first option) is useful for cases where the image credit source is not explicitly mentioned. Images which are smaller in size may need an explicit credit link.

How Does Sprixi Source The Images?

Sprixi uses the Flickr API (but the service is not officially endorsed by Flickr). According to the FAQ, Sprixi is presently sourcing images from its own collection, Flickr and OpenClipArt. It also has a leaning towards public domain and commercial-friendly Creative Commons licenses.

Image search is no longer about Google and Bing. Services like Sprixi are re-working the usual with their unusual take. As I mentioned before, getting an image online is easy – what’s overlooked is giving the creator his or her rightful reward. Sprixi makes it a more deliberate affair.

Sprixi seems to be a win for both content creators who need images, and image creators who want a larger audience.