4

I'm a graphic design student who has done some paid work in a small way. I've figured out some basic asset management about organizing client files. What I haven't figured out is how to store assets for future use. For example, I'm always seeing assets that blogs or sites like Creative Market etc offer for free download for a short time. I don't have a system for storing these assets for the future, in a way that:

  1. I will be able to remember it when I need it (ie storing all my assets in some kind of way that is easy to browse).
  2. I can track what the usage rights are
  3. I can track in what projects I've used an asset.
0

2 Answers 2

1

What I found is that these are only relevant in the short to medium term. Like, I used to collect buttons and UI sets in PSD a few years ago, spent alot of time renaming and categorizing the stuff. If I look at those folders today, everything is outdated and pretty much useless, so ended up deleting most of that.

What I now do is keep a few bookmarks of the latest stuff like 2 good icon websites, 2 good free PSD websites, plus there's always behance where you find all this stuff in the latest form. When I need something like in the next 2 seconds, I never look at my local archive, just go online and look it up via these bookmarks.

1

If any external resources are used, other than stock photography, they are stored along side client files for a project. I am not one to reuse the same external resources over and over and over for different clients, except for stock photography in some instances.

For stock photos, I store them in a separate alphabetical directory with subdirectories for the source of the photo i.e.:

-Animals
  - Birds
      Eagle_DT-00000000.psd
      Eagle_IS-0000000000.psd
  - Cats
      Housecat_Grey_DT-000000001.psd
      Housecat_Grey_IS-000000008.psd
      Housecat_White_DT-000000041.psd
- Buildings
  - Homes
      Craftsman_Blue_DT-000000041.psd
      Craftsman_Grey_DT-000000041.psd
      Tutor_Green-IS-000000008.psd
      Victorian_Yellow_DT-000000041.psd
  - Skylines
      Chicgo_IS-000000008.psd
      Chicago_Night_IS-000000041.psd
      NewYork_IS-000000008.psd
      NewYork_DT-000000041.psd
      Miami_IS-000000008.psd
      London_DT-000000041.psd

File titles are altered... [ myDescriptiveTitle_sourceAbbreviation-imageNumber ] I can then go to the source web site, and search for the image number if I need the license again.

And note that for Stock photos, most services will allow you to view you account and download again if needed. So, often there may not be a need to store raw images locally. However, it's exceptionally rare I use a stock photo in it's downloaded form without editing it.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.