What are Stocksy's values and principles?

We believe creative expression and innovation are vital drivers of a forward-thinking culture. As a progressive stock media agency, Stocksy aims to support creative production at every scale with a collection that offers authentically diverse and artistically uncompromised work.

Our content policy challenges us to consistently innovate and consider the way that people, ideas, and cultures are represented in the collection. Stocksy has always valued artistic integrity and technical excellence. As we grow, we also commit to building a collection that prioritizes authentic perspectives, fresh interpretations of contemporary concepts, and corrects for under-represented voices.

To realize these principles, our collection should accomplish five central goals:

1. It is recognized as best-in-class for quality, inclusivity, and innovation
2. It remains vital and engaged with the present, reflecting the diversity, complexity, and unfolding patterns of contemporary visual culture
3. It innovates to correct for biases and under-represented perspectives
4. It is representative of the global audiences we serve
5. It supports a platform where creative professionals come to succeed in their projects

To achieve our goals, Stocksy United is committed to:

• Bringing in high-caliber artists with fair pay, promoting a more profitable and sustainable model for stock content creators.
• Valuing quality (creativity, originality, and technical excellence) over quantity when growing the collection
• Broadening and deepening our collection with portfolios by diverse creators. This means a sustained investment in artist recruitment (Call to Artists or CTA) as well as artist development initiatives, such as creative briefs, educational materials, one-on-one mentorship, and direct contributor feedback.
• Fostering an environment that encourages openness and a willingness to change. We must be responsive to the issues of the present and responsible for decisions of the past.
• Ensuring that the processes that shape our collection are inclusive and evolving. Specifically, we acknowledge:
• That editing isn’t a perfect science and that we must maintain an open-minded and collaborative approach to curation and collection review.
• That the acceptance, retention, and weighting of assets must be informed and challenged by diverse perspectives.
• That our quality standards and style guidelines are instructed by collaborative and ongoing discussion.
• Respecting intellectual and creative freedom while reserving the right to decline or remove content that does not meet our current standards or is determined to be inappropriate or offensive. This may include, for example, representations that objectify, stereotype, or exploit their subject.
• Remaining dedicated to an ongoing system of checks and balances to ensure that we are making considered decisions about content that may be viewed as offensive or problematic, such as:
• ethnic tokenism and/or exclusion
• prejudicial concepts or ideas
• political messaging
• sexist representation
• cultural appropriation
• religious discrimination
• sexualized content
• Seeking counsel on best practices concerning the representation of people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations and expressions, abilities, and gender identities. We will provide guidelines for appropriate keywording and review how assets are labeled and displayed.
• Investing in collection evaluation, trend analysis, and market research to remain competitive. It is vital that we stay informed on the realities and opportunities of the stock content market, adjacent industries, and broader global forces, and use this intelligence to help our members succeed at Stocksy.

In sum, Stocksy seeks to raise the expectations of stock media with skilled, inspired, and inclusive content. By ensuring the integrity of the resources and opportunities available to the entire creative class, we hope to better serve their process and ability to do meaningful work.