Design Pics
Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace licensing Royalty-Free, Rights-Managed, and Budget images across nine branded collections, serving creative professionals and digital publishers worldwide through subscriptions and per-image licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersEdmonton, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Design Pics does
Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace founded in 2001, headquartered in Edmonton, Canada, and operating under the Image Source Group following its merger with Image Source Limited. The company licenses visual content through three core models — Royalty-Free (RF), Rights-Managed (RM), and Budget images — distributed across nine branded collections: Masterfile, Alaska Stock, AgStock, Axiom Photographic, First Light, Pacific Stock, The Irish Image Collection, Disability Images, and the core Design Pics brand. Its underlying platform includes a proprietary AI metadata toolkit that automatically generates keywords and tags for contributor uploads, a photographer portal with drag-and-drop and FTP batch upload, and worldwide distribution through a partner agency and sub-agent network.
The business monetizes via one-time image licenses, annual subscription tiers denominated in British Pounds (ranging from £550 web packs to £2,580+ print-resolution packages), and custom enterprise contracts, with the company retaining 60% of license fees while remitting 40% to contributing photographers. It serves a horizontal customer base of marketing agencies, graphic designers, digital publishers, bloggers, and print media buyers globally, with content accessible via its own e-commerce website and through partner agencies. Operations span Canadian and UK legal entities, with founder Rick Carlson as President, and the company continues active licensing, subscription, and contributor onboarding through its operating website.
Design Pics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Design Pics
- Legal name
- Design Pics Inc.
- Website
- https://designpics.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace licensing Royalty-Free, Rights-Managed, and Budget images across nine branded collections, serving creative professionals and digital publishers worldwide through subscriptions and per-image licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Design Pics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Stock Photography
- NAICS
- Photographic Services (54192), Commercial Photography (541922)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Photography & Still Production (Stills, Product, Lifestyle) (MPAAAMAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Photography & Photo Production (BPAFAIAF)
Keywords
Where Design Pics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edmonton
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Design Pics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Royalty-Free Image Licensing: Images licensed for worldwide, unlimited, perpetual use with one-time fee. Pricing based on file size. Client pays once and can reuse images without additional royalties.
- Rights-Managed Image Licensing: Images licensed for specific use types, priced based on factors such as size, placement, duration, print run, and geographic distribution. Limited, non-exclusive rights.
- Budget Image Licensing: Limited-rights royalty-free model with perpetual non-exclusive worldwide license. Extended licenses available for unlimited print runs, consumer merchandise, unlimited seat licenses, and electronic templates.
- Subscription Plans: Royalty-Free subscription options allowing bulk image use across platforms at reduced per-image cost. Options include Web & Social Media packs, XL, and Unlimited packages with varying resolution and usage rights.
- Contributor Royalty Revenue: Company retains 60% of license fees from accepted images, remitting 40% to contributors. Additional revenue from sub-agent licensing and re-use fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Web & Social Media - 20 Pack at £550 or 50 Pack at £760 (72dpi resolution) |
| Subscription | Annual | Medium Package - 20 Pack at £2,580 (5568x3712px @ 300dpi) or £129 per additional image |
| Subscription | Annual | XL Package - RF Web Size at £580 (72dpi) or RF Medium Size at £950 (300dpi) |
| Subscription | Annual | Unlimited - RF Medium Size (300dpi) at £590-780 |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Plan - Tailored packages for enterprise needs |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Design Pics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace that licenses images under Royalty-Free (RF), Rights-Managed (RM), and Budget licensing models through nine branded collections including Masterfile, Alaska Stock, AgStock, Axiom Photographic, First Light, Pacific Stock, The Irish Image Collection, and Disability Images. The platform distributes content via its own e-commerce website, a photographer contributor portal, and a global network of partner agencies and sub-agents operating under the Image Source Group umbrella. Subscriptions, single-image licenses, and custom enterprise plans are sold for web, social, print, and advertising use.
Product overview
Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace operating as a platform that licenses visual content through multiple image licensing models including Royalty-Free (RF), Rights-Managed (RM), and Budget images. The platform distributes content across multiple branded collections including Masterfile, Alaska Stock, AgStock, Axiom Photographic, First Light, Pacific Stock, The Irish Image Collection, and Disability Images. The company offers AI-powered metadata enhancement for contributor submissions and provides photographer portal access for content submission. Subscription tiers include Web & Social Media packages, XL subscriptions with higher resolution options, and Unlimited plans for bulk licensing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- AgStock: Stock photography collection covering agricultural and farming imagery.
- Alaska Stock
- Axiom Photographic
- First Light
- Masterfile
- Pacific Stock
- The Irish Image Collection
- Disability Images
Products and services
- Royalty-Free (RF) Image Licensing
- Rights-Managed (RM) Image Licensing
- Budget Image Licensing
- Royalty-Free Subscription Plans
Companies that use Design Pics
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Design Pics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature3 records
Design Pics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Image Source LimitedcoreImage Source Limited is the parent company after merging with Design Pics Inc. It operates trading as Connect Images, Masterfile, Disability Images, Alaska Stock, Irish Images, Ag Stock, Axiom Photographic, and First Light. Design Pics content is now part of the Image Source Group portfolio with joint contributor terms and unified platform operations.
- Partner AgenciescoreNetwork of stock photography distribution partners and sub-agents that license Design Pics and Image Source Group content to end clients globally. The company licenses content through sub-distributors and sub-agents for broader market reach.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Design Pics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pond5: Stock media marketplace for imagery, video, and audio (now part of Shutterstock) licensing contributor-uploaded content across creative use cases, comparable to Design Pics as a stock content marketplace with similar licensing models.
- Alamy: Stock photography marketplace with a large contributor base licensing editorial and creative imagery globally, comparable to Design Pics as a stock image licensing platform with rights-managed and royalty-free offerings.
- Adobe Stock: Stock photography, video, illustration, and template marketplace embedded within Adobe Creative Cloud, providing direct stock image licensing to marketing and creative users, closely comparable to Design Pics' offerings.
- Shutterstock: Largest independent stock photography, footage, and music marketplace licensing imagery through subscription and per-image models, directly competing with Design Pics in the RF/RM licensing space across creative segments.
- Depositphotos: Subscription-based stock photography and video marketplace serving SMBs and agencies with royalty-free imagery, directly comparable to Design Pics' subscription-tier pricing structure and buyer segments.
- Getty Images: Premium stock photography and editorial imagery marketplace licensing rights-managed and royalty-free images globally to creative professionals and enterprises, the industry-leading direct competitor to Design Pics.
- Stocksy: Premium royalty-free stock photography cooperative offering curated imagery with higher contributor royalties, comparable to Design Pics as a curated stock photography marketplace with distinct photographer-friendly positioning.
- iStock: Royalty-free stock photography and illustration marketplace operated by Getty Images, offering budget-friendly and premium stock imagery to SMBs and agencies, a direct competitor in the Budget/RF segment where Design Pics also operates.
- Dreamstime: Royalty-free stock photography and editorial image marketplace with both subscription and on-demand licensing, directly comparable to Design Pics in pricing model and SMB-to-agency buyer segments.
Emerging players
- 500px: Photography community and licensing platform connecting photographers with buyers, comparable to Design Pics as a stock photography platform using a community-led contributor acquisition model and AI-assisted content workflows.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Design Pics social profiles
Digital presenceDesign Pics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Design Pics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Design Pics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Design Pics M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Design Pics
What does Design Pics do?
Design Pics is a stock photography marketplace that licenses images under Royalty-Free (RF), Rights-Managed (RM), and Budget licensing models through nine branded collections including Masterfile, Alaska Stock, AgStock, Axiom Photographic, First Light, Pacific Stock, The Irish Image Collection, and Disability Images. The platform distributes content via its own e-commerce website, a photographer contributor portal, and a global network of partner agencies and sub-agents operating under the Image Source Group umbrella. Subscriptions, single-image licenses, and custom enterprise plans are sold for web, social, print, and advertising use.
Is Design Pics a public or private company?
Design Pics is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Design Pics founded?
Design Pics was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Design Pics based?
Design Pics is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Design Pics make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Royalty-Free Image Licensing is the primary driver. The others are rights-Managed Image Licensing, budget Image Licensing, subscription Plans and contributor Royalty Revenue.
Who are Design Pics's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pond5, Alamy, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Depositphotos, Getty Images, Stocksy, iStock and Dreamstime. 500px is listed as an emerging player.
Does Design Pics have an API?
No public API is recorded for Design Pics.
What industry is Design Pics in?
Design Pics's product category is Stock Photography. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAMAI, Photography & Still Production (Stills, Product, Lifestyle), with a secondary code of BPAFAIAF, Photography & Photo Production. Its NAICS code is 54192 and its SIC code is 7330.