- The first task of creating a strong Image Asset Library
is to create the images.
The next step is organizing them,
so you can find one when asked.
I find designers get a little uptight
when building an Image Asset Library.
It's as if they are collecting images
for their lifetime monograph.
It's not that.
It's a resource of work you can use, update or ignore.
I have images in my files of envelopes
I designed 10 years ago for an invitation.
I probably won't put that on my website,
or use it on the cover of the Sean Adams Compendium,
but I have it just in case.
The very last step of every project is documentation.
It's not an afterthought, it's the last phase.
Every print based project is saved
as a high quality PDF file.
This allows you to reopen the document in Photoshop
at any time and save it to the correct resolution.
This will save you from opening a file
months or years later and missing linked images or fonts.
Now, open the PDF in Photoshop and save two versions.
The first version is approximately 8 X 10 at 72dpi.
Make the image RGB Color mode.
This is for screen based applications
such as a website.
The second version should be approximately
8 X 10 at 300dpi.
This one is in CMYK Color mode.
This is for print based applications
such as a brochure, book or magazine article.
I find it best to create a file structure
that anyone can understand and is uniform.
Each client is assigned a folder.
Within that folder are individual projects.
Each project has three folders.
One contains the PDF file.
A second contains the 72dpi RGB images.
And the third has the 300dpi CMYK images.
Now, when you need to add a project to your website,
it's ready to go clearly marked.
If a potential client would like to see
some specific types of work,
you can easily pull together a document.
And when an author calls and asks you for work
in a magazine, you can email it immediately.
The fact of life is that magazines and websites
need viewers.
Books require someone to purchase them.
All of these need content.
Lots of it.
High resolution well photographed work
at the correct size looks good
and makes an editor happy
and much more likely to call you
when they're in a jam with a tight deadline.