University Marketing & Communications will monitor assets to ensure standards are being met.

  • You may be asked to remove duplicate images and merge metadata.
  • Assets that violate copyright laws will be removed without notice.

Quality

  • Photos must be high resolution.
  • Acceptable file formats include TIF and JPEG.

Resources

Saving Images for the Web

Checking a digital photo’s dimensions

Brand

  • Photos must comply with the university’s visual identity.
  • Photos must be related to university business; personal photos are not allowed.

Resources

Photography Brand Guidelines

Safety standards

  • Before uploading images that depict labs or construction sites, please ensure that images have been approved by appropriate PPE staff.

Resources

Questions about safety and PPE?
Visit ehs.wustl.edu or contact ehs@wustl.edu.

File naming

  • Use standardized alpha numeric characters for your asset file names.
  • Do not use words in file names as this will interfere with asset searches; file descriptions can be added to metadata fields.
  • The system does not allow file versioning; if a new version of an existing asset is uploaded, it will be considered a new asset. 

Metadata requirements

  • You are responsible for adding metadata and tagging your own assets.
  • The system requires the following basic metadata fields:
    • Filename
    • Title
    • Description
    • Date created
    • Copyright notice
    • Credit
    • City
    • State
    • Country
  • We encourage you to be consistent with MarComm’s metadata fields; the need for additional fields and categories will be determined in partnership with University Marketing & Communications.

Resources

Pixel Upload Guide (WUSTL Box)

Legal

  • Please ensure WashU owns the copyright or has been granted usage rights for created imagery. WashU must have all rights to use assets. Avoid uploading images with limited rights.
  • Stock assets from other online providers are permitted to be stored in private asset groups but may not be stored in public asset groups.
  • Pixel is not a HIPAA-compliant storage system; images containing personal health information (PHI) are not permitted.
  • Images of minors are not permitted expect where the relevant consent form has been obtained.

Resources

For restricted rights images, please contact Anne Davis Cleary.

Life cycle

  • After five years, assets are removed from Pixel and transferred to the University Libraries archive. There is an option for some assets to remain in Pixel if they are highly used or timeless.

Resources

Questions about the lifecycle of your assets? Contact the University Libraries.