As a designer, having the right tools makes it easier to turn ideas into designs. Here are 12 user profile avatar sites you can use to design your next project.

If you’re creating UI mockups, prototypes, or other digital design projects, using photos of real people’s faces as avatars will add a sense of realism and believability to your work. However, finding the right images can be a challenge. While stock image libraries are a popular option, the photos there are often too posed and stiff to feel like they’re of real people.

Thankfully, there are more than a few websites that specialize in providing natural, candid photos of people’s faces that you can use as avatars in your design projects. In this post, we’ll highlight several of these sites and explore the benefits of using them.

There are several use cases for using photos of real people’s faces in design projects beyond prototyping, testimonials, persona, or avatar types when creating customer profiles, and user profiles. Some examples include:

1. Marketing materials: Photos of real people can be used in marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, and social media posts to add a sense of authenticity and relatability.
2. Website design: Using real photos of people on a website can create a more personal and welcoming feel, and can also help to build trust with visitors.
3. Product design: Photos of real people using a product can be used in product design to help users envision themselves using the product.
4. Training materials: Photos of real people can be used in training materials to create a more realistic and relatable learning experience.
5. Case studies: Photos of real people can be used in case studies to showcase the impact that a product or service has had on real people.
6. User interface: Using real people’s faces as avatars on user interface can help to create a more realistic and personalized experience for the user.

Here’s a list of some great sites that allow for free downloads and use of high-quality photos of real people for your design projects:

AI Generated People Images

• ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com is a website that utilizes cutting-edge AI technology to generate realistic images of human faces. The website uses a generative adversarial network (GAN) to create new and unique images of people every time the page is refreshed. The images generated by the website are highly realistic, making it difficult to distinguish them from real photos of people.
  • The site is free to use, and the images generated can be downloaded for personal or commercial use.
• Generated.Photos is another website that offers a vast collection of AI-generated images of people for use in various design projects. The website generates high-resolution, realistic images of people in a variety of poses and settings. The images are also created using GAN and are unique every time the page is refreshed.
  • Generate.Photos offers a free trial and their pricing starts at $16.58 a month when you pay for a year in advance. There is also an option to purchase individual photos for $9 each.
• Pravatar.cc is a website that provides a wide variety of AI-generated avatars of people. The website uses a generative adversarial network (GAN) to create new and unique images of people every time the page is refreshed.
  The avatars generated by the website are highly realistic and diverse, making it easy to find the perfect image for any project. The site is free to use, and the avatars generated can be downloaded in various sizes and resolutions. Pravatar is a great resource for anyone looking for unique and realistic avatars of people to use in their design projects, such as user interface, marketing materials, and more. It’s a great tool for creating diverse and realistic avatars of people in a fast way, without the need of finding real-life people to photograph. As with any AI-generated avatars, it’s important to follow the terms and conditions of the site and use them in an ethical way. Pravatar is similar to DummyImages.com where you can customize your URL to create variations of the images. Here’s a Pravatar link that will randomize images at 200 px: https://i.pravatar.cc/200

Real People Photos

• Userstock.io is a website that provides a unique collection of real photos of people captured in candid, natural moments. The website features a diverse range of images of people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. The images are authentic, natural, and are shot by a community of photographers who contribute to the site. Users can filter through the images by keywords, tags, and categories, making it easy to find the perfect image for their project. The images are available for download in high-resolution and are suitable for various types of projects such as avatars, mockups, prototypes, marketing materials and more. Userstock.io provides a great resource for designers and businesses looking for realistic and diverse images of people to use in their projects, while also supporting the photographers who contribute to the site.
  
• UI Faces (uifaces.co) is a website that provides a curated collection of real photos of people for use in user interface design projects. The website features a diverse range of images of people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, captured in candid and natural moments. The website allows users to filter through the images by gender, age, and emotion, making it easy to find the perfect image for their project. The images are available for download in high-resolution and are suitable for various types of projects such as avatars, mockups, prototypes, and more. UI Faces is a great resource for designers and businesses looking for realistic and diverse images of people to use in their user interface projects, while also supporting the photographers who contribute to the site.Another great feature of UI Faces is that it offers Adobe XD, Sketch, and Figma plugins. These plugins allow you to easily access the images from the UI Faces library directly within your Sketch or Figma design software, making it even more convenient to use the images in your projects. The plugins allow you to search, filter, and import the images without the need to leave your design software. This makes it easy to quickly find the perfect image to use as an avatar, or in any other capacity, in your design projects.
  
• DiverseUI.com provides a curated collection of real photos of diverse people for use in user interface design projects. The website features a diverse range of images of people of different ages, genders, ethnicities, and abilities, captured in candid and natural moments. The website allows users to filter through the images by diverse criteria, making it easy to find the perfect image for their project. The images are available for download in high-resolution and are suitable for various types of projects such as avatars, mockups, prototypes, and more. DiverseUI.com is a great resource for designers and businesses looking for realistic and diverse images of people to use in their user interface projects, while also promoting inclusivity and representation.
  • DiverseUI is free to use and offers a plugin you can use in Sketch.
• RandomUser.me also provides a wide variety of realistic and diverse user data including names, addresses, photos, and other personal information.
  The website uses a random user generator to create unique and diverse data sets that can be used for testing and prototyping in various design projects. The data generated is completely randomized and is not based on real people, it can be used to populate forms, design profiles, and other design elements. RandomUser.me is a great for anyone looking for realistic and diverse photos to use in their projects without having to rely on real photos for their projects.

Stock Photos of People

• There’s Unsplash, a website that offers a huge collection of free, high-resolution photos. The majority of the images on Unsplash are of people in candid, natural poses, making them perfect for use as avatars.
• Another great option is Pexels, which also provides a wide variety of free, high-resolution photos. The people featured in the photos on Pexels are diverse and are often captured in candid, natural moments. Photo by Pixabay
• PeopleImages is a stock image site that focuses on providing high-quality photos of people. The site offers a wide variety of images of people from different backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities, and many of the images are shot in natural, candid poses. PeopleImages charges around $33 for their photos.

AI Generated Cartoon Images

• TheseToonsDoNotExist.com is a website that utilizes cutting-edge AI technology to generate unique and realistic cartoon illustrations of people. The website uses a generative adversarial network (GAN) to create new and unique images of people every time the page is refreshed. The illustrations generated by the website are highly realistic, making it difficult to distinguish them from real-life cartoon illustrations.

Vector Style People Images

• OpenPeeps.com is a website that offers a unique collection of free, open-source illustrations of people, created by a community of artists. The website features a diverse range of illustrations of people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. The illustrations are designed to be used as avatars, characters or personas in various design projects such as websites, mobile apps, marketing materials, and more. The illustrations are available in various formats, including vector and PNG, which makes them easy to use and adjust to different sizes. OpenPeeps.com is a great resource for designers and businesses looking for diverse and customizable illustrations of people to use in their projects, while also supporting the artists who contribute to the site.

Character Initials Avatars

• UI-Avatars.com is a website that provides a wide variety of customizable, abstract avatars that can be used in design projects. The website allows users to generate unique avatars by inputting a name, email or any other string of letters and numbers. The avatars generated are unique, abstract and geometric based on the input provided, and are available in various sizes and resolutions. UI-Avatars.com is a great resource for anyone looking for unique and customizable avatars to use in their design projects, such as user interface, marketing materials, and more. It’s a great tool for creating diverse and abstract avatars that can be easily customized to fit any project. As with any AI-generated avatars, it’s important to follow the terms and conditions of the site and use them in an ethical way.Example URL (use the ampersand symbol between each request:
  https://ui-avatars.com/api/?name=Phelan+Riessen&background=random&size=100

A word of warning, never use a photo for fake testimonials.

It’s important to note that using real photos of people as avatars in design projects is one thing, but using them for fake testimonials is another. It is not only unethical, but it can also be illegal. Misrepresenting someone else’s image or likeness for the purpose of promoting a product or service can lead to serious legal issues.

Additionally, it also undermines trust and credibility of your company, as well as damaging relationships with customers and the public. Therefore, it’s crucial to always obtain the proper consent and permission from the individuals whose photos you plan to use, and to use them only in appropriate and legal ways.

When it comes to testimonials, use only the real ones and never fabricate them. It’s better to have a few real testimonials than many fake ones, as it will help you establish trust and credibility with your customers.

Speed Up Your Design Process

As a designer, having a set of readily available tools can simplify the design process and make it more efficient. Using photos of real people’s faces as avatars in UI mockups, prototypes, and other digital design projects can add a sense of realism and believability to your work.

I hope the resources above will help you design faster and more efficiently. Happy designing!