About the Public Health Visual Commons

Why the Visual Commons exists

The visuals most widely used to represent public health only tell part of the story. They often overrepresent clinical and medical settings, can feel “too staged”, and often fail to represent the diversity of our workforces or the people we serve. Public health happens in neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities, but those moments are often missing from the images we have available to us. The Public Health Visual Commons works to change that by providing free, easily downloaded visuals that more accurately depict public health practice.

What the Visual Commons offers

The Public Health Visual Commons is a shared and collaborative visual library for public health. You can download images to use in your work and share your own photos so others can use them. It’s not a stock photo site, but a commons—something the field creates and builds together.

Who should use the Visual Commons

The Public Health Visual Commons is designed for anyone doing public health work who needs images or has images to share. If you’re a part of governmental public health agencies, public health organizations, and community-based organizations and need visuals to tell the story of your work, you’re a part of the commons. All images are released under Creative Commons licensing for free and unrestricted use within the field.