This morning as I created a new folder on my computer for a new client. I was organizing all my subfolders and thinking, wow, every folder on my hard drive looks pretty much like this, and because of that, I know exactly where everything is. Kind of a self-affirming moment, really. And then I got to thinking about why I do it that way and when I started that.

I’ve worked several places: packaging company, graphics firm, school, etc. Each place had great practices in place when I got there, and each place had room for my ideas on how to improve things. I left each place a little better AND I left each place a little better (read that a few times, alternating emphases).

The graphics firm actually had a script you could click that would auto-create new project folders. It was flipping awesome. Con. Sis. Tent. Loved it.

Another place I worked had ZERO organization, and I was given 4 (FOUR) separate TB drives to organize. Files with names like “heycheckitout.ai” and “usethisattheend.jpg”. Thousands and thousands (possibly a million, not kidding) of files to sort through and organize. (Note to self: Keep your love of organizing to yourself next time.)

For your OCD pleasure, here is my folder-naming convention. It’s a combination of a few systems I’ve worked with, and a little of my own love of content management.

Client Name>Year-Month_Project>Received, Work_Files, Notes, Backups

Received is not organized. I need a place to dump the images, ideas, questions clients send me. I can tell by the date when it was sent, so I don’t rename the files. Should they refer to something as “IMG-00056-22.jpg”, I need to know exactly where that is. If necessary, I’ll make date folders to sort them, but I’d prefer not to bury things that deeply.

Work_Files is hyper-organized. Inside this folder are two folders: _old and images. I name projects, again, in a way that makes sense to me, so in Work_Files, you might find “2010-BusinessCard_v3.ai” and the corresponding proof. Old versions go under _old, and any linked images go in, well, images. That way when I open Work_Files, what I’m looking at is the current version and the most recently sent proof. Also, I save versions. Many, many versions. My policy is that if it would take me more than 15 minutes to un-do what I’m doing, it becomes a new version. Plus, the glory and joy that comes when the client says, “eh, I liked it better the other way”, and whipping out that specific version is matchless.

Notes. NOTES! I highly recommend having a notes folder/file. If you’re anything like me, despite your keen intellect and rock-solid, steel-trap memory, YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER IT, no matter what it is. The importance of the thing is directly and conversely proportionate to the likelihood that you will remember it. I’m serious. So just jot it down. Some of these files say things like “10-4-2008: Moved button Home to the left of  Contact. Increased margin by 5px on left.” Ever searched through your emails for “what was I thinking when I did that?” Yeah, don’t do that. Just write it down.

Backups is essential, especially if you’re working on a website. If you don’t know what goes in this folder, come to my office so I can lecture you about how important it is to have duplicates of everything in several different places. Imagine this (and this has happened to me): a client emails you in the middle of the night, completely panicked. She was “playing around with her site and saw a bunch of extra files and decided to do some housekeeping on the server.” And deleted every image on her e-commerce site. Yep. Whaddya do? Oh! Right. Replace them and bid her a good night, after cautioning her about “creative housekeeping” in the future. BACK. UP.

There are extraneous circumstances that warrant different folder schemes and naming conventions, but generally, that’s my structure. Organize in a way that makes sense to you. If you’re at a firm or on a team, have discussions about what makes sense to everyone. You will spend less time discussing it and doing it right than you would trying to find something at the 11th hour when you really need it. This is one of the only times I would condone committee meetings. (Sorry, Switchfoot, but time is money.) When I pull another artist in for a big project, the FIRST thing I do is familiarize them with the way I’ve organized the files, and ask that they follow suit. Call it OCD, call it someone who values sleep over late-night file-hunting.

How do you do it? What is your tried-and-true MO?