Introduction

When building online lessons, lecture slides, or course introduction pages, icons and illustrations play an important role. They help make content more visual, easier to understand, and keep learners engaged throughout the learning process.

When creating courses on LMS platforms such as Ourdemy, instructors often need icons and visuals for:

• Course introduction pages
• Individual lesson content
• Lecture slides
• Tutorial videos
• Course sales landing pages

The good news is that you do not need to design everything from scratch. Today, there are many websites offering free icons and illustrations that are easy to use and suitable for both educational and commercial purposes.

1. The Role of Icons and Illustrations in Improving the Online Learning Experience

Using icons and illustrations in online lessons is highly beneficial because they:

• Reduce reading fatigue Lessons that rely only on text can quickly feel overwhelming and tiring for learners.
• Make key ideas easier to grasp Icons and visuals help break information into smaller parts, highlight important points, and allow learners to scan and understand content more efficiently.
• Enhance the visual quality and professionalism of lessons Well-structured visual content creates a more engaging learning experience and encourages active participation.

In practice, when building lessons or course pages on Ourdemy, courses with clear layouts and appropriate visual support often achieve higher completion rates and better learner engagement.

2. Criteria for Choosing Icons and Images for Online Learning Platforms

Before selecting icon and image resources, it is important to prioritize the following criteria:

• ✅ Free for educational and commercial use Assets should come with clear licensing terms to avoid copyright issues.
• ✅ Copyright-safe for online learning platforms Icons and images should be suitable for direct upload and long-term use within an LMS.
• ✅ Easy to integrate into slides, lesson editors, and page builders Common file formats and appropriate resolution ensure smooth content creation.
• ✅ A style that supports learning content Visuals should enhance understanding while maintaining a professional and learner-friendly tone.

These criteria are especially important when publishing content on platforms such as Ourdemy, where courses are intended for long-term use and wide distribution.

3. Free ICON Resources for Educational Content

3.1. Flaticon

Flaticon offers millions of icons across a wide range of categories, making it particularly suitable for educational content.

Best for:

• Lesson titles and section headers
• Checklists, processes, and learning steps
• Course feature and content descriptions

Key strengths:

• A large and diverse icon library
• Multiple design styles
• Easy color customization to match course branding

Use on Ourdemy:

• Icons for lessons and course sections
• Visual markers for learning objectives, notes, or exercises
• Course introduction and overview pages

Note: The free version requires author attribution.

3.2. The Noun Project

The Noun Project provides icons with a minimal and intuitive style, making it ideal for illustrating concepts, terminology, and academic content.

Best for:

• Concept and terminology illustration
• Academic or theoretical content
• Diagrams, logic flows, and processes

Key strengths:

• Clear and intuitive icons, even for beginners
• Multiple formats and styles that integrate well with other materials

Use on Ourdemy:

• Creating PDF resources uploaded to lesson materials
• Designing learning worksheets for landing pages
• Enhancing lecture slides for faster comprehension

By using The Noun Project, instructors can communicate complex ideas more clearly, improving learner understanding and retention.

3.3. Icons8

Icons8 provides icons, illustrations, and images with a consistent and modern design style, making it well suited for lecture slides, tutorial videos, and course introduction pages on Ourdemy.

Best for:

• Modern lecture slides
• Tutorial and explainer videos
• Course introduction pages

Key strengths:

• Icons, illustrations, and images in a unified style
• Easy integration with course UI design
• Some icons support animation, useful for video tutorials

Use on Ourdemy:

• Enhancing lecture slides
• Adding visuals to tutorial videos
• Illustrating text-based lessons

Icons8 helps instructors create professional, visually engaging content without starting from scratch.

4. Free IMAGE Resources for Lesson Illustration

4.1. Unsplash

Unsplash offers high-quality real-life photography, suitable for experiential, skill-based, or mindset-oriented courses.

Best for:

• Lesson opening images
• Slide backgrounds
• Hero images for course pages

Key strengths:

• High-resolution images
• Free for commercial use, no attribution required
• Suitable for both landing pages and lesson content

Use on Ourdemy:

• Course banners
• Lesson cover images
• Blog visuals within the Ourdemy content ecosystem

4.2. Pexels

Pexels provides both free images and videos, making it ideal for video-based courses on Ourdemy.

Best for:

• Skill-based or academic illustrations
• Technology, marketing, and creative topics
• Short video clips for tutorials and demonstrations

Use on Ourdemy:

• Course intro videos
• Transition clips between lessons
• Visual support for video lectures

Additional benefit: All content on Pexels is free and does not require attribution.

4.3. Freepik

If you are designing course description pages or lesson introductions on Ourdemy, Freepik is a strong option.

Best for:

• Infographics
• Vector illustrations
• Lecture slides

Use on Ourdemy:

• “Who this course is for” sections
• Course cover visuals
• Chapter introduction images

Note: The free version typically requires attribution. Paid plans offer more flexible commercial usage.

5. Pre-Designed ILLUSTRATIONS Ideal for Online Courses

5.1. unDraw

unDraw offers minimalist and easy-to-understand illustrations that work well for online learning interfaces.

Best for:

• Abstract concept visualization
• Course introduction pages
• Course sales landing pages

Key strengths:

• Completely free
• Customizable colors to match course branding
• Clean, modern design style

Use on Ourdemy:

• Course introduction pages
• Learning guidance sections
• Theory-based lessons needing light visual support

5.2. Storyset

Storyset provides lively, customizable illustrations with optional animation effects, ideal for illustrating learning scenarios and interactive content.

Best for:

• Learning scenarios and situations
• Skill-based and soft-skill lessons
• Animated tutorial videos

Use on Ourdemy:

• Creating multi-format learning content (text, slides, video)
• Making lessons more engaging and easier to understand

6. Tips for Using Icons and Images Effectively in Lessons

When building courses on online learning platforms such as Ourdemy, keep the following best practices in mind:

• Use icons to separate and structure content sections
• Maintain a consistent visual style for lesson cover images
• Avoid overusing too many visuals in a single lesson
• Prioritize visuals that support understanding, not decoration

Conclusion

Using free icons and illustrations provides practical benefits for instructors creating online courses:

• Professional course presentation through consistent visual elements
• Clear and memorable content structure, helping learners focus on key ideas
• Improved learning experience and completion rates through engaging visual support

By thoughtfully combining free visual resources with Ourdemy’s lesson system and page builder, instructors can create high-quality, visually clear, and professional courses—without advanced design skills.

This approach allows educators to focus on content quality, enhance learner experience, and save significant time and effort throughout the course creation process.