Below you can find a list of reasons why your resources may have not been selected to be published at Freepik:
- Limited commercial value
- Aesthetic and technical issues
- Similar submissions
- Composition
- Wrongly used typography
- Outdated
- Language wrongly used
- Grammar and spelling errors
- Duplicate
- Plagiarism
- Trademark/copyright
- Ethical policies
- Do not include attribution
- Invalid file
- Send to Flaticon
- Send as .psd file
- Send as photo (.jpg)
- Lack of coherence
- Live trace
- "Image not included" label
- Image included in .eps
- Color palette
- Group in a set
- Preview and EPS not related
- Unwanted elements in the artboard
- Non-editable text
1. Limited commercial value
We determine the commercial appeal of a specific file taking into account the downloads and profitability data collected throughout time. Therefore, your content will be rejected if we consider it will not reach the minimum number of downloads to be profitable.
2. Aesthetic and technical issues
Files that do not meet the aesthetic or technical standards established by the company will be rejected
If your content is rejected for this reason, it means that it has not the required technical nor aesthetic quality. Therefore, we will not accept your content even though you improve aspects such as composition, color, typography...
3. Similar submissions
Your content will be rejected because it has minimal differences from other resources sent in the same submission or is quite similar to other files previously submitted by the same author.
- Changing color: we will not accept color changes to add variation in simple designs such as flat logos or business cards. However, if this change of color implies redesigning the illustration or making it more complex, it will be accepted (polygonal images, logos with gradients, etc.).
- Recycling elements: if most of the elements of your design are recycled, your content will be rejected due to similar submissions. In addition, reusing elements from other designs is allowed as long as these elements are of your own; otherwise, it will be considered plagiarism.
4. Composition
The design does not comply with the basic composition rules. In order for a resource to have good composition, all elements must be put together coherently. Make sure they are correctly arranged in the artboard and have adequate size. Content with a poor arrangement of elements or with an unbalanced composition will be rejected
5. Wrongly used typography
The font is not consistent with the resource. Your files may be rejected due to the following issues:
- Functionality: the font you used is not visually appealing nor harmonious. Please, bear in mind that fonts must be legible and consistent with the resource’s style and functionality.
- Composition: the text composition is poor. Make sure the text box is properly aligned regarding the column’s width and the font’s weight.
- Characters set: the typography must contain at least the characters that you are working with and these must be correctly used (punctuation, symbols, mathematical signs and diacritics).
- Lettering: if your design includes lettering, this must be well-composed and be consistent with the final composition. It is essential that the typography is outlined; otherwise, the lettering will be lost after downloading the resource as it does not contain the typography.
In case typography is the main element in your composition. We highly recommend that you include a link to the site where you downloaded it or, at least, specify its name. Fonts must be free and for free commercial use. We suggest you use Fontsquirrel site for downloading fonts.
6. Outdated
Vectors that are not valid at the time they are received (for example, "Happy New Year 2018"). If your design refers to a holiday that has already passed, but it does not include the specific date, it will be accepted. However, we highly suggest you send images in advance (two months is the ideal timing) so that users can retrieve your resources and, thus, you can obtain higher profitability.
7. Language wrongly used
The language used is not allowed. Please note that we only accept text properly written in English. Make sure the text has no mistakes, is related to the resource and is correctly integrated into the image that comprises it. Also, ensure it does not conflict with our ethical policies, except for relevant specific festivities, where a brief text in the local language is accepted.
8. Grammar and spelling errors
If your designs contain spelling or grammar errors, they will also be rejected.
9. Duplicate
This reason refers to duplicated or repeated designs, meaning that we will not accept resources that have been already sent, whether they are published or not.
Please note: repeatedly sending the same resources does not increase the chances of publication.
- Individual elements vs. sets: if the same items are sent separately and also included in a pack, we are likely to choose the pack.
10. Plagiarism
All artwork you send must be original and of your own. Thus, if you send us designs that imitate other resources or reuse elements of another author, we will reject your content. We do not accept designs using vector elements from other resources already published in Freepik, whether they belong to the same author or to a different one.
Therefore, all plagiarized content will be rejected. Right after detecting that your content infringes copyright, your contributor account will be blocked permanently.
- Reuse of elements: including in your content elements from other authors, however minimal, is also considered plagiarism. We do not accept designs containing elements already published by Freepik or by other contributors. We will also reject content that reuses CC0 resources.
- Inspiration: we will also consider plagiarism the recreation of designs inspired by other authors’ resources. Using the content of other authors as a basis for creating a new design is not allowed, even though it includes original elements of your own.
- Live Trace: if you submit live traced resources, make sure you can prove you are the author of the image (watercolor, brush strokes, illustrations, etc.). In all cases, the original image you used for live-tracing your resource must be 100% of your own.
11. Trademark / Copyright
Images that contain registered trademarks are not allowed. Example of trademarks: Adobe, Amazon, Nintendo... However, the use of social network icons is allowed.
Celebrities and fictional characters are not allowed due to image rights. Example of not allowed characters are politicians, famous superheroes or Disney characters.
However, we may accept historical figures and characters from tales.
12. Ethical Policies
This rejection reason refers to resources that contain or encourage inappropriate behavior. For example, violent, sexual, or pornographic content will be rejected. We do not accept images that may, in some way, offend or affect the user’s feelings.
13. Do not include attribution
Make sure your images do not contain any signature, watermark or any other mark that identifies the author of the resource. Also, signatures or comments related to Freepik (for example, "designed by Freepik") will not be accepted.
14. Invalid file
The .eps file or the preview present loading errors and the content cannot be viewed.
15. Send to Flaticon
We believe that Flaticon is a more suitable platform to send these icons. Once submitted, the Flaticon team will review your resources to determine if they meet the requirements for publication. We will not accept content already published in Flaticon.
16. Send as .psd file
We consider it more useful as a .psd. In this case, you just have to upload the .psd file together with its corresponding preview so that it can be reviewed and selected. Once submitted, our team will review your content to determine if it meets the requirements for publication.
17. Send as photo (.jpg)
We consider it more useful as a photo. In this case, you just have to upload the .jpg file together with its corresponding preview so that it can be reviewed and selected. Once submitted, our team will review your content to determine if it meets the requirements for publication.
18. Lack of coherence
- The design’s elements are inconsistent due to the presence of different styles or aesthetic criteria.
- The composition does not make sense.
19. Live Trace
we will not accept traced photographs. When using the Live Trace feature with watercolors or textures, please bear in mind the following specifications:
- We will reject traced resources will little detail or those where the tracing effect is quite apparent.
- All traced images poorly executed will be rejected even though the Live Trace is not the main element or you use it as a background (a wooden background, for instance).
- If you live-trace a design, you must be able to prove that you are the author of the original file (watercolors, brush strokes, illustrations, etc.). In all cases, the original file you used for the Live Trace must be 100% of your own.
You can find more information about the correct process to apply the trace feature in our blog.
20."Image not included" label
- The preview file contains an image that is not included in the EPS file. You must add the label “image not included” to specify it is not included in your resource. Make sure the label is legible and visible.
- Your content can also be rejected if you inserted the label “image not included” in the preview file, but it is illegible and unclear.
- The text "image not included" has been wrongly added since the preview of the design does not contain any images.
21. Image included in .eps
Images containing non-vector elements in the .eps file (photographs) are not allowed. Photographs can only be used in the preview design and must include the label “image not included” in a visible and legible place.
Photos used in the preview must be of your own and 100% original, or free for commercial use. In case you are the author of the photo, you need to prove that you own the copyright. If you cannot access free images for commercial use, you can use photos from our site submitted by the user Freepik. If that is the case, remember to include the image only in the preview file and to add the label “image not included”.
22. Color palette
The color palette used in the composition does not match with the resource’s theme. Your content can be also rejected because the colors employed are obsolete or not harmonious.
23. Group in a set
Your resource’s composition is simple. In order for your file to be accepted, we recommend that you group it in a set with other similar illustrations to add complexity to the composition. For example, we will not accept a logo as its composition is too simple. However, if your group it in a set of four logos, we would accept it.
24. Preview and EPS not related
- The EPS and preview files differ completely (they are two different illustrations) or partially (both are the same illustration but present different elements, the color, for instance).
- We will reject your content if you use a mockup in the preview to make it visually appealing for users but the mockup does not appear in the EPS. Please note that previews can contain vectorial elements to make it more compelling as long as they are also included in the EPS file and are of your own. This way, we will avoid confusion and the bad experience of the user who downloads the resource.
25. Unwanted elements in the artboard
When you left unwanted elements in the artboard that are not part of the illustration (reference images, nodes, separate parts of the illustration, etc.)
26. Non-editable text
The text included in the resource is outlined or rasterized, and it cannot be customized.