It’s been two years since the site’s been redesigned, but all of a sudden the editor wants to change the masthead. It would be your responsibility, but you’ve only come on board a year ago. Do you have the original PS files? Are they easy to find? Are they easily identifiable? For situations like this, it’s our job as designers to make sure the answers to all those questions are ‘yes’. We have to think of the designer who will be there after us, and always try to make his/her life easier.

Staying Current

One of my pet peeves when starting a new job is opening up a previous employee’s ‘final’ PS file and having it be different from the actual site. I understand the evolving nature of websites, but I’m talking about different colors or a different masthead. In an effort to avoid sticking someone else with that problem, I always try to keep the PS files up-to-date. Has the masthead changed since launching the site? Make the change in the ‘final’ PS file and keep the old version in a different folder. I like to group my revisions into folders called “Round 1”, “Round 2”, etc. Not only does this tell you what the latest version is, but it also allows you to jump back when the marketing guy decides he actually liked the version from two weeks ago better.

Make Use of Notes

Get to know the note tool in Photoshop—it can be really handy when you know others will be accessing the file. Not only can you document areas that have changed, but you can add reminders to yourself about what was changed and why.

Keep a Central Log of Stock Photos

If you use any stock photos on your sites, create a log that holds the filename, copyright info, where it was downloaded, and what it will be used for. This can be invaluable for a future designer who needs to know where to find similar images or has to produce copyright information.

Write a Site User Manual

At my current job, we use a proprietary, ever-evolving CMS tool. As with any CMS, there are oftentimes a few different ways to achieve the same result. Although it may seem obvious to you why something was done a certain way, for someone else down the road, it might not be as apparent. Why not, as you’re building pages, write a quick explanation of how sections work and why it was done that way. Include how to update along with any filenames that are related. A document like this can come in handy for both content managers and future designers.

Convention

Use the same folder struture for all projects. This is mine:

We all know how difficult it can be starting a new job, but with a little extra time and preparation, you can make a fellow designer’s start much smoother and enjoyable.