Unpacking Creative Commons

It’s important to take licensing into consideration when interacting with creative works online. Luckily, there’s Creative Commons—a nonprofit organization that offers free licenses to creators, allowing them to specify how others can use their work. These licenses range from CC0, which allows unrestricted public use, to more restrictive options that require attribution or prohibit commercial use.

For example, this image below of a Japanese garden:

This type of license isn’t public domain and if I want to share this image I must credit the creator. On top of that, if I were to make any adjustments to the photo I must make that apparent, which in this case I did not.

Creative Commons promotes inclusive access to creative works, aligning closely with the principles of Universal Design. This framework emphasizes designing products and environments that are accessible to all people, regardless of ability. Whether it’s a park, classroom, or website, Universal Design ensures that everyone can participate equally.

Both Creative Commons and Universal Design promote inclusion and accessibility. One is within the digital world, while the other is physical.