Ashley Stewart-Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Homepage and BBC iPlayer, BBC Future Media & Technology.

When finding imagery for iPlayer and our /programme pages, I look for newer, fresher and engaging sources. For the disaster in Haiti, as well as using our usual databases and suppliers, I contacted the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society after seeing their photostream on Flickr.

After sifting through hundreds of harrowing images from the disaster, I was struck by the newer perspective in these images - they give us the view of the scene from the people on the ground, helping those directly affected. Their impact also makes sure that they stand out in among search results - which in turns drives users to The DEC Appeal programmes we are highlighting.

The image we have chosen for the World Tonight on Radio 4 is of Judith Betrand, 10, being attended by a Dominican Red Cross volunteer in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince.

Ashley Stewart-Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Homepage and BBC iPlayer, BBC Future Media & Technology.

This is not the case.

The colour change was a pure coincidence and one that has appeared several times since the weekend, but only spotted and Tweeted last night.

We change the colour palette on the BBC Homepage to tie in with the default picture that appears in the highlights box in the top right hand corner of the UK-facing homepage. When you click separate tabs, the colour palette changes. Last night's was green to pick up on the background of the image we used to showcase Comedy Extra. The colours we choose are also reflected on the international facing homepage which changes its palette when we change ours.

Colour changes on the home page are not made to reflect the news and sport agenda. Should breaking news interrupt our editorial schedule for that area, we default to the colour used by BBC News (Red).

As a user, you can stop this colour rotation by going into the 'Add more to this page' section of the homepage and selecting a permanent default colour of your own. I find the colour changes a little distracting, so I have, with a nod to my Goth past, gone for grey.

Ashley Stewart-Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Homepage and BBC iPlayer, BBC Future Media & Technology

When we come to illustrate dramas which feature popular and loved characters we are posed with a dilemma - we want to give depth and feeling to the drama without personifying the character too much. The mind's eye is a wonderful thing which conjures up its own distinct image of how Arthur Dent in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Ruth Archer from The Archers look - it's not the job of the illustration to give a face to the characters, its job is to nod to their characteristics.

Read the rest of the entry and leave comments on the Radio 4 blog.

Ashley Stewart-Noble is a Senior Content Producer at BBC Future Media & Technology

To break repetition of images, we commission images from a pool of external illustrators. The Third Reich and Roll is a great example of how best to use an illustration:

Illustrator: Neal Fox

In the words of one of my picture editors Dominik Klimowski:

"[I]t mocks an iconic, evil man like Adolf Hitler, illustrating the whole documentary in one simple image. It can, of course, elicit a knee-jerk response which misses the point, but on further observation it is by far the most effective method. What alternative is there with photographs? An archive photo of Hitler would be too serious and out of context, likewise a picture of the narrator Stephen Fry. Some pictures of tape machines may do the trick but then I don't think they'd grab the 'casual clicker' as much as the illustration we have used."

The relationship between the BBC and the illustrators is an open one and often involves several sketches and drafts before the final look and feel is decided upon, These are sketches for Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall and The Duchess of Malfi. Final images are below:

Dominik continues:

"Commissioning illustrators is like having kids; you have great plans for them but in the end you have to let them do what they want and it usually works best that way."

And this relationship has given the iPlayer and the BBC Online homepage some of its most striking imagery while raising the profile of the hidden gems of our output. Here are some of our favourites:

Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall

Illustrator: Neal Fox

The world's funniest man and his part in Hitler's fall from power.

A Brief History of Cunning

Illustrator: Neal Fox

Nixon and Machiavelli, together at last, trying to 'out-fox' each other

The Duchess of Malfi
Illustrator: Steph von Reiswitz
Not many good-guys in this play. Here the mood even extends to the typography. The whole sinister feel of the illustration is enhanced by one of the characters casting his beady eye over the viewer.

A Christmas Carol
Illustrator: Bill Bragg
Another one looking at us. The notorious Scrooge. Bill Bragg, who illustrated this one went back to the original text, and purposefully stripped the story of it's 'Disneyfication'

Edgar Allen Poe: Loving the Raven
Illustrator: Dominik Klimowski
Not really a bogeyman, as with Poe it's all in the mind. Again, melodrama works so much better with illustration than with photography, particularly when a 'generic' image is required to illustrate a whole series.

Fortress Totobag
Illustrator: Swava Harasymowicz
Although not featuring a 'bogeyman', the programme deals with an unpleasant and violent situation. It would be difficult to do with archive photographs without explicitly using recognisable faces. Illustration gets round this problem.

Ashley Stewart-Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Online, BBC Future Media & Technology

Richard Holloway searches for the reality of God's presence in absence.

Our usual fallback for religious programming that we have difficulty finding images for is candles, lots and lots of candles. We occasionally throw in a good sunset too but neither of these approaches seemed right for the description above.

So what did we go for? We mulled over the possibilities of using eerily beautiful space images, we thought about churches, collars, mass prayer, none of which I was comfortable with as none screamed God (or His absence) at me. Then it hit me, why should I try and put a face on the Almighty when Michelangelo had already done it for me in the Sistine Chapel. Whether you believe or not, his rendition of God in the Creation of Adam is the most instantly recognisable face of God and suited this programme nicely.

What I love about this image is that it is a fresco, a painted work that helps break up the rows and rows of presenter headshots which appear particularly for iPlayer Radio (we have to use so many head shots that when displayed on the iPlayer interface the display can have a whiff of a Crimewatch line-up about it. I am, with the picture editors on the bbc.co.uk homepage, commissioning more and more illustrations to bring variety and a bit of depth to our radio imagery - this image (Steph von Reiswitz) for the Talented Mr Ripley on Radio 4 is one of a series we have commissioned for this exact purpose.

Ashley Stewart Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Online, BBC Future Media & Technology.

Our images come from a variety of sources. BBC Pictures supply us with the professionally shot imagery for the BBC's highest marketing priorities, we have our internal archive of images stretching back to the beginning of our broadcasting history (though the majority of this has yet to be digitised) and we use photo agencies.

The BBC has an ongoing commitment to commissioning professional photographers to illustrate its output and that will never change. However, digital cameras and the internet have created a new generation of amateur photographers and the Flickr group is one way for me to harness this amateur potential, enhance the BBC's professional offering and give people the chance to engage with the BBC.

We use the Flickr group to send out requests and notifications - due to the nature of iPlayer, we can't credit images, but I like to let contributors know where their images will be used so they can share the bragging rights and enjoy the small amount of kudos it brings.

After only four months, the pool has passed the 1000 image mark and to date my team have used around 100 images from it to illustrate our sites - a drop in the ocean of the 3000hrs of programming per week that need illustrating.

I've been asked why the Flickr pool is for BBC staff only:

1) I need to ensure that the people submitting images are who they say they are - so if there is a copyright issue I can address it with them directly.

2) I am one man who leads a busy team and I currently don't have as much time as I'd like to open the group out to a wider audience.

Having said that, I am researching ways and means to open the group up to a wider, more public audience, so watch this space.

Images used so far from the pool include:

(click to enlarge)

A Passage to India

Used on this page. Supplied by Kahmac.

Iain Burnside - Venice

Used on this page. Supplied by polkadotsoph.

The Essay

Used on this page. Supplied by phil-jackson.

Ashley Stewart Noble is Senior Content Producer, BBC Online, BBC Future Media & Technology.

Ashley Stewart-Noble

This image is a publicity still from My Zinc Bed starring Uma Thurman and broadcast on 27th August 2008. It has nothing to do with the star and everything to do with composition and lighting which together create a powerful yet sensitive image. It also works with the 'Click to Play' icon which, in this instance, doesn't distract from the image.

John Quintero

This image is from The Congress Library and free for public use. Downloaded from Picture Publicity. It was used to illustrate American Future with Simon Schama, on 24th October 2008. The reason why I like is because is classic, powerful, a simple family portrait that tell a whole story. There is no hope, no future on the expressions of the woman and the child's eyes

Ali Wade

This image was used to illustrate part one of BBC Four's Dance Britannia series, an episode that looks back on the UK ballroom dances of the early 1900s. This image says nothing of the 'moral danger' brought about by dancing through the 'sexualisation of youth', a perception explored in the programme; it is a dignified, graceful photo that captures the romantic essence and sociable spirit of the British dancehall during that time.

Tricia Yourkevich

This image was downloaded from the Flickr Commons site (http://www.flickr.com/commons/) and is free for public usage. The UFO, an illustration that I rendered in Photoshop, was added to the original image later. It was used to illustrate a programme titled "Into the Wolf's Lair" from BBC Radio 7's programme "Slipstream" on November 23, 2008.

The reason I chose this image as my favourite is because I believe it is the image that most represents my personal taste in photography. I enjoy looking at old snapshots and family photos from years gone by (this image was taken in the 1940s) for not only the content, but the quality of the photography. I love the simplicity of old images, how ordinary moments made extraordinary by the date that they were shot and any discolouration, cracks or tears only validates their authenticity. The addition of the UFO adds to this image by giving it a little mystery and fun.

Ashley Stewart Noble is Picture Editor, BBC Online, BBC Future Media & Technology

The team not only work to a high standard, they set the standard for the rest of the BBC to follow. To this end they have produced an image style guide (PDF 4.4MB - we recommend right-clicking and 'Save Target As...')) which details two things:

1) How to take a great picture for the web
2) How to take a great picture for iPlayer

This style guide is now distributed throughout the BBC and has already been used by publicity to ensure we get great shots for radio.

We also run a Flickr pool for BBC Staff to submit their images for use on iPlayer, the bbc.co.uk homepage or the other portals we run here. Due to the nature of iPlayer, we can't credit images, but we let users know where their images will be used so they can share the bragging rights.

The past year has been a phenomenal one for us. The challenge of illustrating network radio was our biggest challenge with 10 stations to illustrate with a new content management system and an exceptionally tight deadline. The result has been a visual success for an aural medium. There are some issues with elements of the interface that obscure our images which need to be ironed out, and they will be, it just takes a little while. Also to be added to my team's achievements is the assistance we gave the Nations and Regions team (images for 40 hours for each of the 40 stations needed sourcing, manipulating, storing and uploading) which gives me confidence that we can meet the next slew of visual challenges the iPlayer will throw at us.

Ashley Stewart-Noble is Senior Content Producer., BBC Online, BBC Future Media & Technology