Digital asset management for creative agencies

InfoCamp Seattle 2010

Presented by Tracy Guza

tguza@hotmail.com

Things to consider

How much stuff do I want to organize? (size, volume)

What kind of files do I have? (JPG, PDF, TIF, Raw, etc.)

How do I want to access my stuff? (web based or internal)

How many people will be using these assets?

Selecting a DAM platform

Consider users and assets Consider budget Consider future growth

Picasa, Extensis Portfolio, Adobe Scene 7

Preparation

File naming conventions Maximum 31 characters Descriptive Identify client, collection, creator Unique identifier (sequential numbering) Date

Preparation Continued

Image quality Is format consistency important? How is my resolution? Do I need to collect any images from other

sources?

Next steps

Basic organization Metadata Data dictionaries Controlled vocabulary

Basic organization

Batch renaming Gather in one place on server Create folders and subfolders

Metadata

Existing standard or create your own Consider the type of content Modify an existing standard Dublin Core example:

http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/

Data dictionary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_dictionary

Essentially, think about your elements and how you will populate the content fields.

Project management

Discovery/Design What, how, who Develop schedule, budget

Implementation The actual work

Evaluation Test and refine

Maintenance

Controlled vocabulary

Consistency Findability Ease of maintenance and user experience Existing, modified, custom? Example:

http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/aat/