OnAsia Digital Keywords National Gallery of London Collection

CreativePro Staff

As it prepares to launch an upgrade of its online picture service this May, the National Gallery’s Picture Library in London has announced that it worked with Bangkok-based keywording company OnAsia Digital (www.onasiadigital.com) to index its imagery. The project involved adding comprehensive keyword sets to digital reproductions of some of the world’s most famous works of art.
 
“For the past two years the National Gallery has been individually photographing paintings from the permanent collection, in order to achieve the highest possible degree of accuracy, as specified by Gallery experts,” explained Belinda Ross, Manager of the National Gallery Picture Library.
 
“Working on such a unique collection of images for a prestigious client like the National Gallery’s Picture Library service highlights our ability to adapt to specialized subject matter. It was actually a fascinating project for us. Our team learned a great deal about art history while working on these pictures,” said Yvan Cohen, a Co-Founder and Director of OnAsia Digital.
 
OnAsia Digital is emerging as one of the leading providers of keywording services. The company spent four years developing an image metadata management system and has built a hierarchically structured term thesaurus (controlled vocabulary) that is 25,000 terms strong. A team of in-house keyworders selects terms to associate with an image from OnAsia Digital’s controlled vocabulary, which includes alternate forms, UK/US variations, synonyms and even common misspellings.
 
“Our database of terms is being enriched all the time. Working for the National Gallery’s Picture Library allowed us to expand very specific areas of our controlled vocabulary. Adding new terms is ongoing. It’s this continuous process of enrichment that allows us to effectively index such a broad range of imagery,” said Mr. Cohen.
 
Taking its service a step further, OnAsia Digital is currently developing a desktop version of its system along with access to its thesaurus of terms. This will allow clients who would rather not outsource to manage the keywording process in-house while benefiting from an easy-to-use and well-structured professional keywording tool.
 
The company says it plans to showcase its keywording technology at upcoming industry events throughout 2006 in Europe and the United States.
 
To find out more about OnAsia Digital’s service visit: www.onasiadigital.com
 
About OnAsia Digital
OnAsia Digital is a leading provider of digital image services including keywording, scanning, retouching, color-correction and clipping-paths. The agency, based in Bangkok, Thailand, has provided services for more than 200,000 images to respected photo libraries, photographers, museums and NGOs from around the world.
 
About OnAsia
OnAsia is the leading resource for Asian imagery and feature stories. Over 100,000 keyworded images are available for instant download in hi-res formats up to 12X18 inches at 300DPI. The agency also provides assignment services throughout Asia with its network of over 100 top editorial and corporate photographers.