Graphic Design Training Tip: Organize to Save Your Life

The File Junkyard

Has your screen ever looked like this? Did it take you almost 10 minutes to figure out where an image was. Organization and keeping things properly labeled and placed is a very crucial process that everybody needs, especially graphic designers. We constantly work with different types of files, programs, etc, and for those who freelance and have multiple clients, you need to start organizing or else your screen will look junky and cluttered.

Reasons why our stuff isn't organized

The only two reasons why I could see people not being organized is if they have never learned the process or are simply put, lazy. There are many people out there that are not tech-savy so the thought of organizing files and stuff would make them cringe. Then again for lazy people, the same thing applies haha. Some people cringe at the thought of cleaning and just moving things, period. It's sad but it's the truth.

How to organize your stuff

Hype yourself up like a sports fan during the playoffs and tell yourself, "Yes I can!" Then you need to brainstorm how you are going to keep your files organized and the labels that will categorize them. Those labels will go on folders and other storage directories.

For this tutorial, we will be using folders and this technique applies to everyone in general, but for this part we are primarily looking at the files related to graphic design. Now, in order to begin to organize your work, you need to categorize your work as something similar to the list below:

• Freelance Work
• Personal Work
• Miscellaneous Work

In each of those folders, you need to make sub folders that are labeled with the year. After that make a sub-sub folder and name it as the name or title of the client. So an example could be, freelance work> march 2014> client name shown below.

• Freelance Work

• March 2014 (sub-folder)

• Client Name (sub-sub folder)

• Personal Work
• Miscellaneous Work

After you get your folders set up, then it's time to move all of your files to the appropriate places in those folders. Depending on how cluttered your screen is and the size of the files will determine how much time you spend cleaning and organizing your desktop screen. Take breaks if you need to, but come right back if you do. A lot of people do it for five minutes and then take a break and quit right after that.
























After that, your screen should begin to change and look sort of like the example above. Have fun organizing and take care!