Behold is a phenomenal resource that “attempts to catalogue CC images with quality comparable to that of professional image archives such as Getty Images or Corbis, by using the social structure of Flickr and image content analysis”.

The ultimate aim of Behold is to offer graphic designers and artists access to high quality images that they can freely use, a goal that is accomplished through the use of CC licences. Very simply, users can define whether or not they want their results to be “free to use”, creating an array of new options that would not have been so conveniently realized prior.

Flickr’s rich repository of open content is not only inspiring in terms of the sheer amount of photos available, but even more so in terms for its ability to allow interesting and innovative resources, such as Behold, to be built. Even more promising is the wider trend to incorporate CC-licensing into new content directories as they are built, a movement that can only lead to even greater cultural amenities.