Organizing Your Files

Staying Organized with Your Files

While nothing can replace a clear and informative file name when it come to making your files easy to find and well organized, file folders can provide an added level of organization by grouping your files by topic.

If you have a well organized filing cabinet, chances are you won't have much difficulty setting up a similar filing system on your hard drive, as the basic organizational principles hold true. In the event your filing cabinet could be better organized, you'll likely run into the same problems with organizing the files on your hard drive. Here are some pointer to help steer you in the right direction:

1. Think of how you will search for your files, then create a category list from it. Since the ultimate goal is to help you find your files, it makes sense to work backwards when you're setting up your folder names.

2. While nested folders can add a little more organization within the folders, having too many levels can become cumbersome. If possible, try to keep it to two or three levels.

3. Give the folders clear and concise names. Avoid names like "miscellaneous" or "general;" the more specific you are, the less searching you'll do.

Staying Organized with your projects

For all of your projects in your design course you will most likely need to doument the progression of your work.

1. Be prepared to scan your thumbnail sketches. Label the scans for each project in keep them in a project folder.

2. Make sure to save and name appropriately all of the progressive versions and variations of your work so you can add them to the final composite project file. (Take a look at the directory to the right how the Metamorphisis folder contains all of the project files.)

3. With this clean organization you will always be able to put your hands on your most recent files and be organized with all of your backup work and final files.