Design What is a Rendition? Want to learn more about renditions? Here are some explanations, best practices and examples to get you started. March 12, 2025 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 3 min read Rendition is a term that carries multiple meanings and interpretations, depending on the context in which it is used. At its core, rendition refers to the act or result of rendering something, whether it be a performance, interpretation, or translation. Overall, the term “rendition” is complex and multifaceted, with its meaning varying widely depending on the context. A rendition involves the act of rendering something in a particular way, highlighting the diverse applications of this versatile term. But let’s cover the meaning of rendition in terms of DAM and MediaValet. Rendition Meaning and Definition Within MediaValet, you can give users the permission to download a rendition of your original files – no matter if it’s a document, video, or image. Meaning, if you upload a PNG, your user can download that as a JPG, TIFF, EPS and more on-the-fly. Beyond customizing the file type, your user can also download the file in a custom size and in their preferred resolution. You may be wondering, what’s the value in this capability? Why Do Renditions Matter? The answer is two-fold. First, you’re saving storage space. Rather than uploading the same video as an MP4 and an MOV or as the original sized image, as well as a cropped one, you’re only uploading your file once. Second, you’re allowing your user – should you give them the permission to do so – to take control of the download process. Meaning, they no longer have to use a secondary system or tool to crop or convert the file. That also means you’re eliminating the backlog of resizing and reformatting requests for your graphic team because each individual user can take ownership of on-the-fly rendering. Rendition Best Practices When uploading to the DAM with the rendition capabilities in mind, it’s best practice to upload the most flexible file type in the highest resolution. That way, your user can adjust the file type, as needed, and scale down the resolution or file size if they wish. Another best practice to keep in mind is that your team should upload files without reformatting. This is especially relevant in situations where you have photographers in the field taking photos – rather than having them convert the files to a certain format or creating different file type or sized versions, have them upload as is, and have your users download the customized version they want in-app, on-the-fly. Real-World Rendition Examples Here are some ways that MediaValet customers are already using renditions to drive efficiencies: Rendition Example #1: Photographer Collaboration A contract photographer for a local university attends an on-campus event to take photos that the marketing team will use for social media posts and recruitment brochures. The photographer uploads the photos to MediaValet in their standard format, JPEG. Then, the Marketing team uses on-the-fly rendering capabilities to download relevant images as PNGs to use in the brochures and use in-app cropping to resize some images to fit the social media post dimensions. Rendition Example #2: Client Relations In-app cropping has an internal rule to always upload and use PNG graphics, as it’s most flexible with a transparent background. Using MediaValet’s in-app capabilities, the agency can then share out the files as whatever file type their client requests – whether that’s as EPS, JPEG, TIFF or other file types. Rendition Example #3: Media Relations A municipality uploads the highest resolution version of their brand videos to their MediaValet DAM. Often, they get requests from local press and media sources for video content. Using MediaValet’s rendering and sharing abilities, they’re able to share video options in low-resolution for these third-parties to view. Then, the third-parties indicate which videos they’d like to use and the municipality will re-send the selected video in high-definition. Rendition Example #4: Sales Enablement A marketing team at a manufacturing company uploads PPTs to MediaValet with graphics and slides they’ve built for their sales teams’ use. The sales team then self-serves the content straight from the DAM. If they’re happy with the PPT as it is, they can download it as a PDF. However, if the user needs to adjust any content on the slide, they can download the document as an editable PPT so they can make the changes. With MediaValet’s rendering capabilities, your users will instantly be able to download the file they need, when they need it and how they need it – increasing productivity and making their workflow more efficient. And to top that, it ensures your library stays clean and easy-to-use, with a single version of every asset. Contact the MediaValet team today to get started with asset renditions. Want to learn more about MediaValet? Take the self-guided tour here: Take a tour of MediaValet MediaValet is a leader in cloud-based digital asset management that helps organizations manage, organize and share their digital assets, improving productivity and increasing ROI. Related Articles Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more Design Building a House: UX and UI Explained Read more Ready to see what the DAM hype's about? Meet with one of our product experts Book a demo
Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Looking for a conference to attend this year or next? We’ve put together a list of some of the top creative conferences to attend in 2025. January 30, 2025 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 5 min read The digital universe is evolving with astonishing speed. More and more creative teams are becoming accountable for managing the brand, resources and supporting a multitude of digital channels with visual content. One of the best ways of keeping up with the latest trends, best practices, and solutions is selecting a few conferences to attend, and dedicating a few days to intense learning and networking with peers. Here, we’ve put together a list of some of the top creative conferences to attend. Let’s get to the list! North American Creative Conferences Adobe Max October 26–30, 2025 // Los Angeles, CA Being one of the largest creative conferences in North America, Adobe Max hosts 12,000 attendees and offers over 300 sessions, labs, workshops, and more. Whether you attend to perfect your skills, meet your favorite designers, or explore trends in future design, Adobe Max has something for everyone! Join your fellow graphic designers, illustrators, videographers, web and UX designers, photographers, and creative directors by registering to attend the conference! You can subscribe to the Adobe Max newsletter here to be updated on registration and you can check out their previous Adobe Max sessions on-demand here! Note: You can save US$600 when you sign up by April 30, 2025 to be notified when registration opens in May. South by Southwest (SXSW) March 7–15, 2025 // Austin, TX The Austin-based South by Southwest is not just a conference – it’s an extravaganza! Incorporating media, design, technology, and music, this event draws attendees from all over North America and is known for being one of the most influential events of the year. SXSW allows you to learn, explore, and connect in new ways with design. Between the dynamic talk sessions, screenings, showcases and design exhibitions, be prepared to leave inspired. Creative Pro Week June 2 – 6, 2025 // Phoenix AZ, and Online Taking place in Washington DC, CreativePro Week is known as one of the world’s most effective “How-to” conferences, providing sessions about layout, editing, illustration, design, production, and more! No matter if you’re just starting out or are an expert in your craft, this conference will provide the opportunity to improve or learn about design programs, see what trends are coming down the pipe, and build industry connections. Bonus! Creative Pro Week offers virtual conference passes, where you can receive access to all sessions, handouts of speaker presentations, attendee-only chat forums, and more. Note: There is early bird pricing until April 7, 2025, and if you’re a CreativePro member you get even more of a discount. Sign up for membership here. International Design Conference (IDC) September 10–12, 2025 // Austin, TX Organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America, IDC – International Design Conference is a “landmark” event that has been three years in the making. Though dates haven’t yet been announced, it will be taking place in Austin, Texas. At IDC, no matter your design background, you will have the ability to connect with fellow designers and spark discussions around common design challenges and themes. Is your creative team spreading itself thin across the entire organization? In 2025, it doesn’t have to be like that. Mindcamp 2025 dates TBA // Port Elgin, Canada Mindcamp is a top choice for creatives who want to learn! This conference is like a university boot camp as it offers 5 days of courses focused on personal, professional, and organizational creativity. In addition to learning, Mindcamp offers music, dialogue sessions, and fun evening events. Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC) 2025 dates TBA // Seattle, Washington The Seattle Interactive Conference is great for creatives that can’t help but be fascinated by data and technology. SIC explores and celebrates the intersection of technology, creativity, and industry. It puts a spotlight on how data and technology can help creative teams make better, more intentional choices while celebrating the beauty of creative thinking. Each year, about 5000 creatives and 30 keynote speakers join this Seattle-based conference. Circles Conference September 22 – 26, 2025 // Grapevine, TX This three-day Circles Conference is tailored for designers, techies, and creators as it focuses on design, illustration, creative direction, and UX design. With numerous guest speakers and workshops on art/creative direction, web and digital design, user experience, illustration, and more you’ll leave with a fresh spark of passion for your craft. Covering a variety of topics such as finding your creative identity, logo creation, and choosing change-making clients, there are endless learning opportunities. Not only that, this event is based in Grapevine, (just right outside Dallas), and is a breeze to get to! Brand New Conference October 23-24, 2025 // Pittsburgh, PA A deviation from the famous UnderConsideration blog, Brand New Conference focuses on corporate and brand identity. This conference made our list, as you can expect it to be like its blog, which focuses on redesigns and new designs of some of the most influential brands in the world. With guest speakers attending from across the globe, this event will include a variety of sessions offering different perspectives, and experiences from different design environments. Tickets are on sale here. Note: Presale tickets are available until May, 2025. Creative Works May 1 – 3, 2025 // Seattle, Washington Creative Works is perfect for creatives who have the desire to make things better. This conference aims to help you break through barriers, and help you become the designer you have always wanted to be. With a handful of guest speakers who are offering their knowledge, stories of success and failure, and practical tips, you’ll leave inspired and ready to improve your craft. UK and Australia Creative Conferences Future of Branding Week SOLD OUT // London, England Future of Branding Week is the perfect choice for creatives, strategists, or anyone who is passionate about branding. Attend and learn about how leading brands in London are disrupting the industry by using new channels and evolving technologies. With mini-workshops, round-table discussions, studio visits, and more, you’ll be sure to get a taste of some of the most influential agencies in the world. Melbourne Design Week May 15 – 25, 2025 // Melbourne, Australia Melbourne Design Week is Australia’s largest annual international design event and entails innovative and engaging projects are presented over an 11-day program. It covers a range of design mediums including graphic design and offers various workshops, tours, talks, exhibitions, and screenings. Make Your Events This Year Count Planning your own event or conference? Learn how a DAM can enhance your operations. Are you doubling down on events this year? A digital asset management system (DAM) can be extremely valuable for keeping your content organized while planning and executing events. Learn how bb Blanc use their MediaValet DAM to transform their live events and improve their client’s experience. Or, check out this post to see how using a DAM can significantly improve your event planning and boost the overall performance of your events from start to finish. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more Design Building a House: UX and UI Explained Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge
Marketing Project Management and DAM: 4 Reasons Why They’re Better Together Here are 4 reasons that DAM and project management are better together and how to integrate the two to improve your creative workflows. August 19, 2024 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 4 min read As organizations grow and become more complex, it becomes necessary to implement a project management solution to effectively distribute resources and meet deadlines. But, while a project management solution can help to assign tasks and coordinate people, it doesn’t offer an effective way to manage work-in-progress and final files. This often results in files being stored on individual creatives’ desktops or unorganized in disparate storage solutions. This is where digital asset management (DAM) comes in. Recently, digital asset management has developed from a final asset repository to a full content lifecycle management platform. This change in functionality has made it an increasingly viable option for creative teams managing work-in-progress assets and, by extension, making it an increasingly necessary integration into project management solutions. Want to see Wrike and MediaValet in action? In the meantime, this blog post highlights 4 reasons that DAM and project management software, like MediaValet and Wrike, are better together and how integrating the two can improve your creative workflows. 1. Ensure brand consistency A successful creative project is often contingent on the perfect coordination of both people and resources to ensure the project is on-budget, on-brand, and on time. While this can cause complications with even smaller teams, the challenges quickly multiply as teams grow, more complex project workflows , and organizations develop more content. While a project management solution can help you navigate the coordination of people – ensuring work is distributed efficiently – it often lacks the ability to effectively distribute resources – the actual assets you’re using to build any given piece of content. This can cause issues with brand consistency, especially if you have multiple projects under the same campaign. A DAM helps you ensure this brand consistency, giving your project managers instant access to a pick-list of relevant assets and logos that are approved for their project, without having to leave their work management solution. They can then associate these assets with relevant tasks, campaigns, and users to ensure everyone has what they need. When multiple teams working under the same campaign are given access to the same assets it’s easier to ensure everything has a similar look and feel. It gives individual teams more flexibility to select from a bundle of images or graphics, while still ensuring the visuals are on-brand with the overarching campaign. 2. Streamline the review process Few large projects follow a straight path to the finish line. They often have twists and turns, as project scopes change and visuals get submitted for feedback. It’s an ongoing process that needs systems and tools that allow teams to quickly pivot in reaction to changing needs. In a traditional creative workflow, even something as simple as swapping out an image on a digital ad can be a lengthy process. Your graphic designer needs to reach out to their project manager, who then connects with the marketing team to get a new image approved. It’s a process that can often leave a project on hold for anywhere from minutes to hours. When your project management system is connected with a DAM, your creatives can access on-brand assets on their own, without having to reach out to the project manager or learn a new system. It allows them to quickly build content and apply feedback while remaining confident that all their working files are pre-approved. 3. Accelerate time-to-market After a final piece has been reviewed, re-reviewed and, eventually, approved, it’s time to prepare it for distribution. Without a DAM in place, it can be a challenge to ensure that your final assets get to the appropriate people. Often this process is dependent on unorganized, catch-all file management solutions or, even worse, lengthy, multi-email threads to send out large files for distribution. Even when you have both a DAM and a project management solution, when the two don’t communicate, you face similar challenges. This is because, even with a seemingly strong process in place, multi-step processes leave your assets susceptible to human error. You’re reliant on an individual or team to download the final assets from the project management system and upload them to the appropriate storage system. If someone misses a completed project notification or thinks that a different team member has already shared the assets, finals don’t make it to the right people and you miss your deadline. When your project management system is connected with a DAM, distributing your final assets with the right teams is done with a single click within your project manager’s workflow. They can add relevant categories and keywords to ensure that the assets can easily be found and distributed by your marketing, social and digital teams, ensuring you nail your deadlines. 4. Extend the life of your content Too often, final assets are forgotten moments after the campaign is completed, left untagged in a file management solution or on a manager’s hard drive. In this case, even if a team did want to use them in the future, they’d have no effective way to find them. When your final assets are pushed to a DAM, they’re properly categorized and keyworded for discovery in the future, even after years have passed and employees have turned over. Past campaigns can be accessed and attached to projects as inspiration or templates, extending their use and saving your creatives’ time. Connecting Project Management and DAM MediaValet has partnered with Wrike to bring together the best of digital asset management and project management, maximizing the impact of your assets across projects. Ready to get started? Book a demo below! Related Articles Marketing Top Challenges in Marketing Operations & How to Overcome Them Read more Marketing What is Image Management? 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Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Here are three requests slowing down your creative team, and quick & easy fixes you can use to address them. July 17, 2024 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 4 min read The world is becoming increasingly visual – across industries, geographic locations, and platforms. To this end, it’s no surprise that marketing, sales, and other departments have turned to high-quality, visual content to attract attention and achieve business goals. In fact, visuals can increase someone’s desire to read a piece of content by 80%.While it’s undeniable that original, visual content can contribute to tangible business results, the creation of this content can put a considerable burden on the creative department. With increased pressure to continuously release creative, well-designed visuals, it’s more important than ever to ensure this team can put its hours towards initiatives that move the needle. This means reducing any unnecessary administrative and tedious tasks.While easier said than done, there are a few kinds of requests that are slowing down your creative team considerably – that are quick and easy to fix! Here are three we frequently hear about, and how they can be addressed with a digital asset management system (DAM).Assets RequestsWhere’s our most recent logo? Do you mind resending me the social images for our spring campaign? Which sales brochure is the most up-to-date? These are the kinds of questions your creative teams get almost daily.When other teams don’t have access to your company’s most up-to-date campaign and brand assets, your creatives get bogged down with requests for logos, images, videos, and more. While this usually only takes a quick 5 minutes, the minutes can quickly add up – not to mention the break in their creative flow.The fix: Aggregating your assets into a single, centralized library is the first step to reducing these kinds of requests. Small organizations, working with only a few assets, often get by using a file-sharing system, like Dropbox. Larger organizations, however, require a more advanced solution, like a digital asset management system, which can provide additional search and permission capabilities.Some DAMs, like MediaValet, also offer the ability to make Branded Portals for frequently requested content. Using portals, creative teams can make branded, well-organized “micro-sites” for logos, campaign-specific assets, and more. They can then share the portals with departments or partners, using a public or password-protected link.Reformatting & ResizingEven when people do have access to assets, all too often they’re in the wrong format. Collaborative departments, like marketing, often need to send logos, print materials, digital ads, etc. to partners, tradeshow organizers, and other stakeholders – each in a specific size and format. While there are online converters and workarounds, many don’t work well or adhere to the organization’s security policies.When this is the case, creatives are often the ones that take the brunt of these requests. In addition to slowing down your team, this can also risk the relationship between your marketing and creative teams. The creative team will be frustrated that they constantly need to make these small updates, while the marketing team will be frustrated that their project is bottlenecked by the request.The fix: Teams outside of the creative department need to be enabled to reformat the organization’s brand assets, quickly and on-the-fly. With a digital asset management system, users can convert JPGs to PNGs, word documents to PDFs, Mp4s to MOVs, and more – all in any resolution they need! Never again will creatives need to waste their time on these small changes.For certain use cases, cropping capabilities can also help reduce requests considerably. With an easy-to-use cropping solution, teams are able to make quick dimension and size changes without needing to ask a designer for help. For example, social media teams can quickly crop a single image to meet the optimal dimensions for each social channel.Small UpdatesAll too often, the creative team is relied on to make insignificant updates to pieces of content. Whether it’s updating the contact information on a business card or changing a logo on a brochure, a significant amount of a creative’s time can be spent on activities that don’t drive much business value.More often than not, these requests come because the other individual lacks the technology that’s needed to make the changes themselves. And with good reason – creative software can run anywhere from $10 – $30 per month. Multiply that by every person in the office, and it becomes very pricey. This challenge also increases tenfold for people that don’t have a high level of design expertise and education. While it’s not a perfect solution, it makes more financial and efficient sense to keep this software for the creative team.The fix: Teams need the ability to make simple changes to branded content, without relying on the creative team. Templating software, enables creative teams to provide other teams with customizable templates – all without putting a significant dent in your budget. These templates don’t require any design expertise and are incredibly easy to use.What’s more, templating software can connect directly to your DAM, making creative asset management so much simpler. Your users can make quick edits to approved digital assets without needing to leave the platforms they use already. For example, a salesperson can access a brochure in your DAM, and quickly edit the contact information to their own – all without leaving their DAM!Get Started with MediaValet TemplatingMediaValet Templating, powered by Marq allows teams to create customizable and easy-to-use templates for their team. Users can easily access templates on-demand, within MediaValet, and make changes without asking for designer support. Learn more about the new integration here. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more Design Building a House: UX and UI Explained Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge
Marketing How to Create and Amplify Brand Guidelines in Your Organization Brand guidelines are an essential part of effective brand management. Discover the steps and tools needed to amplify your brand guidelines in 2024. May 30, 2024 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 6 min read Maintaining a consistent and recognizable brand identity becomes increasingly challenging as organizations expand their reach across numerous online channels. These days, every website update, tweet, and ad can impact your brand’s perception, making it more crucial than ever to keep your brand guidelines tight and well-defined. Effective brand guidelines are the backbone of your brand’s identity, ensuring that every piece of content, from marketing materials to customer interactions, reflects your core values and visual aesthetics. However, as your organization grows and diversifies its online presence, these guidelines must be meticulously managed and amplified to maintain consistency and coherence. But how do you lasso every employee, and every department to ensure that each instance of your brand is on point and in line? With an easy-to-use, central, and accessible library for all assets. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s first cover some of the more foundational aspects of amplifying brand guidelines. In this post we’ll cover: What are brand guidelines Brand guidelines essentials How to create & amplify brand guidelines Leveraging dam for brand guideline management How ACAMS harnesses DAM to amplify global brand guidelines What are Brand Guidelines? Brand guidelines are one of the most crucial aspects of any brand. Everybody should apply the rules to maintain consistency and recognition, including those regarding the use and placement of logos, colour palettes, typography, and voice. In its simplest form, brand guidelines can be a downloadable folder with a curated set of brand assets and rules. However, when taken one step further, they can act as the single source of truth for your entire brand and connect your stakeholders directly with the up-to-date logos, fonts, photos, and more needed to represent your organization successfully. Brand Guideline Essentials Effective guidelines ensure a brand is consistently represented across all platforms and communications. These guidelines serve as a comprehensive manual that directs everyone involved in creating, promoting, and maintaining the brand. When done right, brand guidelines help protect the brand’s integrity, making it instantly recognizable and trustworthy. The following are the key components that make up robust brand guidelines: There are 3 essential asset types to include in your brand guidelines: Logos: Your logo is the most critical component of your brand. Using an outdated one adds confusion, reduced trust, and lost sales in the worst circumstances. It’s essential to ensure your brand guidelines share your various logos and communicate which to use in any given circumstance, as well as proper placement. For most organizations, it’s common to have dozens of logos with different colour schemes, sizes, and formats, depending on: Placement, Background colour, Channel, Medium (printed or online), And more. Colour Palettes: Another necessary asset type to include in your brand is colours – the primary, secondary, and accent colours that represent your organization and spark brand recognition. These are especially helpful to share with those who create public-facing collateral, such as sales presentations, brochures, and advertisements. When adding colours to your brand guidelines, include the HEX, RGB, and CMYK values for each colour to ensure your stakeholders are on-brand across the website, print, online, and other initiatives. Also, make it clear which colours can be matched together and where they can be used to prevent any off-brand colour placements. Fonts: The final element that’s critical to your brand is your fonts. While sometimes not instantly identifiable to the naked eye, it can be jarring for customers to see a font that’s “off.” Like the other two components, in addition to providing each font, it’s important to provide context when using the fonts and, when relevant, what sizes to use. If using an entire font family, separate them (into Light, Regular, Bold, Italics, etc.) to create a clear distinction in their use cases and prevent unnecessary access to off-brand font types. Practical Steps to Create and Amplify Brand Guidelines Creating comprehensive and accessible brand guidelines is a collaborative and strategic endeavor that involves multiple stakeholders. This process requires careful planning, inclusive input from various departments, and a structured approach to ensure the guidelines are practical, widely accepted, and effectively implemented across the organization. Stakeholder Engagement Inclusive Input Gathering: Engage representatives from various departments, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and product development. Each department interacts with the brand differently and can provide unique insights into how the brand is perceived and implemented. This ensures that the guidelines are well-rounded and cater to the needs of all parts of the organization. Workshops and Brainstorming Sessions: Conduct workshops and brainstorming sessions with these stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives and foster a sense of ownership and commitment to the brand guidelines. Documentation Comprehensive Brand Elements: Document all branding elements, including logo usage, color palettes, typography, imagery, tone of voice, and messaging. Each element should have specific instructions on proper and improper usage. User-Friendly Format: Ensure that the guidelines are accessible and easy to understand. Use visuals, examples, and concise explanations to illustrate key points. A well-organized digital document or interactive online portal can make navigation and updates easier. Consistency in Communication: Include guidelines for maintaining consistency across different communication channels. Specify how the brand is represented in social media posts, advertisements, email campaigns, and customer service interactions. Training and Onboarding Comprehensive Training Programs: Develop training programs to educate employees about the brand guidelines. These programs should be tailored to different organizational roles, ensuring everyone understands their responsibilities in maintaining brand consistency. Accessible Resources: Create a centralized repository where employees can easily access the brand guidelines and related resources, such as templates, logo files, and approved imagery. Organizations can apply these steps to create and amplify brand guidelines that maintain consistency and adapt to the dynamic nature of a growing digital landscape. The next step is to implement the right technology to amplify brand guidelines. Leveraging DAM to Amplify Brand Guidelines Implementing a robust DAM system to store and manage all brand assets. This ensures that everyone has access to the most up-to-date and approved versions of brand elements. Organizations can utilize DAM features that streamline the enforcement of brand guidelines. These tools can help monitor and manage brand usage across various platforms, reducing the risk of inconsistencies. Leveraging a DAM system like MediaValet can significantly streamline the creation, management, and distribution of brand guidelines. MediaValet, for example, offers tools that facilitate the organization and sharing of digital assets that adhere to these guidelines, enhancing both accessibility and consistency. Brand Portals: MediaValet’s Branded Portals enable you to take your brand guidelines to the next level, sharing your brand essentials with stakeholders at scale. With Branded Portals, users can easily preview and download logos, brand colours, approved photos, corporate headshots and more – even fonts can be previewed directly in the portal! Branded Portals can also be updated on the spot, which means if a new logo needs to be shared or an outdated headshot needs to be removed, your organization can continue to access your brand kit using the same link every time. CDN Linking, Expiry Dates, and Custom Permissions: These features can help manage how and where content is distributed, ensuring that only current and approved versions are in use. CDN Links simplify asset sharing, enable quicker load times, and reduce bandwidth costs. Expiry dates enable administrators of the DAM to apply end dates to asset usage ensuring outdated or unlicensed assets are not used. Custom permissions allow DAM administrators to curate access allowances across user groups ensuring that only correct brand assets are visible. DAM Templates: Implementing DAM templates can drastically enhance your team’s efficiency without compromising on brand consistency. By providing a repository (in the DAM) of customizable, pre-approved, on-brand templates (with the templating solution) your creative teams can produce adaptable, brand consistent materials swiftly, addressing each department’s unique needs. By integrating a DAM, companies can maintain a strong and consistent brand presence, both internally and in their external communications. How ACAMS Manages Global Brand Guidelines with MediaValet ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists), turned toMediaValet to overhaul its brand management processes. Using the DAM to centralize their digital assets ACAMS achieved more consistent brand guidelines and improved their global brand coherence. With MediaValet, we’re able to have a single source of truth for our assets and have accountability and responsibility from our team members to go in and update assets.” Interested in how ACAMS have achieved a cohesive, global brand with their MediaValet DAM? Check out the ACAMS case study here! The significance of brand guidelines cannot be overstated. They are not just a set of rules but a foundation for building a recognizable and respected brand. As shown through various examples and technological supports, effectively implemented and managed brand guidelines are key to maintaining brand integrity. If you’re interested in improving your organization’s access to and use of your brand guidelines, reach out to our expert reps at MediaValet and find out how we can enhance your branding efforts. Related Articles Marketing Top Challenges in Marketing Operations & How to Overcome Them Read more Marketing What is Image Management? A Quick Guide Read more Marketing How DAM Helps Marketers Improve Content Marketing Strategy Read more Marketing 60+ Digital Marketing Statistics to Know in 2025 Read more Ready to see what the DAM hype's about? Meet with one of our product experts Book a demo
DAM Knowledge How to Make DAM Work for Creative Asset Management For a DAM to truly work for creative asset management, it needs to address five requirements that are unique to creative teams. April 23, 2024 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 5 min read Professional creative teams today are producing way more content than ever before. In fact, the stats might surprise you – creative teams create about 90% of the world’s total data. And the need for content is showing no signs of slowing down. That’s why a creative asset management system is a crucial aspect to your tech stack.The need for content is coming hard and fast, and showing no signs of slowing down. Modern creative teams are under immense pressure to create – and quickly. So much so that it’s negatively impacting their ability to “create” effectively.According to InSource, 60% of creative professionals serve more than 20 stakeholders or employees within their organization. Dealing with such a high number of stakeholders means even tighter deadlines – when all creatives really need is the proper time frame to do their jobs well.The unrealistic delivery times for creatives has hindered the quality of work they can produce when adhering to these kinds of deadlines which is why efficient creative asset management is essential.What is Creative Asset Management?Creative asset management is a system or approach designed to organize, store, manage, distribute, and analyze creative assets in a centralized manner.These digital assets typically include media files such as images, videos, audio, graphics, and other creative content used in marketing, advertising, and other creative processes.In fact, creative asset management is generally interchangeable with digital asset management.Dispersed Creative Teams Need Creative Asset ManagementNot only are creatives pumping out more content at a faster rate, they’re also trying to do so while working across various locations and time zones. 63% of companies have someone on their team working remotely, and this is only going to increase with the movement towards a hybrid workforce. These demands have created two major challenges:Managing, organizing and tracking all files within the creative process.Creative teams are in a unique position where they need seamless, ongoing access to the increasing amount of WIP, source and final files being worked on across an entire team.Doing so in a way that improves productivity and continuity.Despite the distribution of teams, they still need to be able to collaborate on projects as though they’re physically in the same building.What are the Key Components of Creative Asset Management?Creative asset management involves several key processes, including storing, accessing, managing, and distributing assets. Let’s break down each process to understand its role in creative asset management.Central StorageCreative asset storage involves keeping digital assets in a centralized location for easy retrieval and management. A creative asset management system typically provides cloud-based storage, allowing teams to store various types of assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and documents. Proper organization, such as a clear folder structure, ensures assets are easy to find and access when needed.Easy AccessWith a creative asset management system in place, users can access assets from any location with an internet connection. Access controls are often implemented to ensure security and restrict access to authorized users only. This process ensures that the right people can access the assets they need without compromising data security.Effective ManagementEffective asset management involves overseeing the entire lifecycle of creative assets. This process includes organizing, cataloging, and updating assets as needed. Creative asset management tools enable version control, allowing teams to track changes and maintain a detailed history of asset edits. Additionally, collaborative features like real-time commenting and automated workflows streamline the management process.Seamless DistributionSeamless distribution of creative assets involves sharing with internal teams or external stakeholders. Creative asset management systems provide various sharing methods, such as custom links or user permissions, allowing users to control how others interact with their assets. Sharing options can include download, view-only, or editing permissions. These controls ensure that assets are shared securely and that all users work with the correct versions.Solutions for Creative Asset ManagementTo address the challenges of creative asset management, both marketing and creative teams can turn to a wide range of solutions, from project management systems, to file sharing solutions. But even with these platforms in place, they still have no true visibility into work-in-progress (WIP) assets and typically only see the assets when they’re ready for approval. This causes a huge gap in the range of vision on active projects and can result in significant delays, a loss of critical information and difficulty tracking the most up-to-date versions of assets.For a creative asset management system to truly work for creatives, the solution needs to address challenges that are unique to creative teams. Specifically, it needs to meet the following five requirements:Maintain Creative SpeedContinuously Sync Creative FilesMaintain Creative WorkflowImprove Asset DiscoverabilityTrack and Manage WIP1. Maintain Creative SpeedSpeed is absolutely critical for creative teams. Working with cloud-based assets can be a challenge for high-volume creatives because it introduces a lag-time; relies on an internet connection; and causes frustration as the time delay adds up. A DAM solution needs to address these challenges and can’t slow down a creative’s production time or, ultimately, they’ll find a workaround.2. Continuously Sync Creative FilesFor a DAM to work for creatives, there needs to be a two-way, continual connection between their desktops and the DAM, without adding the extra load of uploading and re-uploading files all day. Project continuity can be a challenge for teams, especially when they cross time zones. Design files should continually be updating in the DAM—no matter where the creative working on it is in the world. The two-way, continual connection provides continuity needed for creative professionals to do their jobs and ensures that projects can continue easily, even when someone is out of the office.3. Maintain Creative WorkflowA DAM needs to feel just as easy for creatives as working with their desktop—as they already have their set creative workflows in place. If a DAM adds extra steps and, even worse, requires someone to log into another tool to download, upload or access files, adoption will likely be low and creatives will turn to their own desktop files instead.4. Improve Asset DiscoverabilityOne of the key features of a DAM is the advanced search capabilities it provides. Permission-based categories, along with advanced search capabilities and filters, AI-generated tags, and detailed information on the asset, needs to be implemented thoughtfully – with the creative team in mind. The DAM needs to enable creatives to find their design assets—logos, stock photos, templates – easier than working from their desktop. This means that despite not logging into the DAM directly (such as from a desktop application), they still need access to the same search functionality of the DAM.5. Track and Manage WIPWhile work-in-progress files need to be trackable, creative teams often don’t want to expose their work to end-users until it’s ready for distribution. Within a DAM, creatives should be able to see the entire process from ideation to distribution – the assets considered, inspiration, alternative versions, comments, etc. – while keeping these creative categories private from other departments. When the creative space is kept separate from the rest of the DAM, it becomes a safe place for creatives to work together on projects, even when the teams are globally dispersed. Permission-based settings also enable creative leaders to see progress without having to request updates from each individual creative.When a digital asset management solution is integrated with creative software and project management systems, it can truly address a creative team’s asset woes. When integrated with CI HUB, MediaValet is the perfect solution for creative asset management.CI HUB and MediaValet IntegrationOur solution to creative asset management? Connecting creative operations software and DAM like CI HUB and MediaValet.The MediaValet and CI HUB integration combines the benefits of working from a local server or remote computer with those of the Cloud, helping your creative teams secure and manage their creative files while accelerating their creative process. With CI HUB, you can:Automatically synchronize and back up your creative team’s local project files in the cloud – 24/7.Track and view all source and work-in-progress files – no matter where your teams are located.Accelerate and secure your creative process without adding extra steps or changing workflows.CI HUB ensures the continuity of your creative assets, projects, campaigns and processes. If these functionalities sound like something your creative team could benefit from, learn more about CI HUB here!. Related Articles DAM Knowledge Understanding DAM User Roles Read more DAM Knowledge Leveraging Microsoft Azure for Enhanced Digital Asset Management Read more DAM Knowledge Unlocking the Value of DAM: A Deep Dive into ROI & Business Impact Read more DAM Knowledge 5 Key Features Every DAM for Healthcare Must Have Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge
Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Here are six key benefits to implementing a digital asset management solution to manage your raw, final and archived video footage. June 1, 2021 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 3 min read With the overwhelming amount of video content now being produced by marketing and creative departments across many industries, there’s been substantial growth in demand for secure ways to manage these assets. Due to their size and complexity, videos are typically more challenging to store, categorize and share than other digital assets. This can significantly restrict the return on investment (ROI) organizations can gain, simply because they can’t be found or used efficiently. Keeping in mind the amount of time and money it takes to produce these kinds of marketing pieces, this represents a major gap.Many organizations are leaning into digital asset management (DAM) solutions to get a handle on their video assets. DAM solutions help organizations manage, organize and share large amounts of video content, plus other kinds of digital assets. A DAM helps improve the discoverability of videos significantly, adding additional metadata such as categories, keywords, auto-tags and automatic transcripts and translation. It immensely improves the productivity of marketing and creative teams that are working with video content.There are six key benefits of using a digital asset management system for your video assets:Centralized location,Enhanced discoverability,Streamlined video sharing,Automated transcription and translation,Reduced video duplicates, andControlled access.1. Centralized LocationHaving all video assets in one, cloud-based location means that anyone in the organization can access them, no matter where in the world they’re working. This means that geographically dispersed teams and the many people now working from home don’t have to worry about accessibility or accidentally using out-of-date files. No more time spent looking through various shared folders, personal computers, or servers for raw, final and archived footage – your teams will love you for this!2. Enhanced DiscoverabilityA digital asset management system improves the discoverability of your video assets, enhancing them with searchable keywords, embedded metadata (camera type, file size, etc.), custom attributes (videographer name, shooting location, etc.) and more. Video Intelligence capabilities also automatically add timestamped metadata for objects, on-screen text, people, topics and more.3. Streamlined Video SharingDon’t worry about using WeTransfer, Dropbox, or having emails bounce ever again, as there are no restrictions on file size when sharing from the DAM. Users are able to send full videos—no matter the size—conveniently via email, web galleries and Branded Portals.4. Automated Transcription and TranslationPowered by Video Intelligence, auto-generated transcriptions add another layer of searchable metadata to your videos. Quickly navigate to a specific scene or line of script with automatic transcripts created within the DAM. They can also be translated into 57 different languages and downloaded into a variety of file formats compatible with YouTube, Vimeo, and more.5. Reduced Video DuplicatesHaving duplicate video files copied across multiple folders can take up significant room on servers or individual users’ computers. When using a DAM solution for video assets, the file is only uploaded once, then tagged to multiple categories—freeing up space while ensuring proper storage and organization.6. Controlled AccessContrary to the user experience with cloud-based storage solutions like Dropbox or Google Drive, a DAM doesn’t take an “all or nothing” approach. DAM administrators can set up user permissions and categories specific to each department or individual’s use cases. You will have control over who can access specific folders, as well as who can download, share and delete your valuable video assets. This helps not only from a control perspective, but overall ease-of-use and searchability for your users, avoiding overwhelming people with access to too many files, or people moving files to improper locations.Is it Time for a DAM?The time and money it takes any organization to produce video assets is worthy of a well-thought-out solution for storing and using them. A DAM solution that offers comprehensive, sophisticated video asset management capabilities is a must for any organization working with video content, as marketing trends show those needs will only keep growing. Learn more about MediaValet as a DAM solution for your company, starting with video, and get set up for success managing all your digital assets.MediaValet is a leader in cloud-based digital asset management that helps organizations manage, organize and share their digital assets, improving productivity and increasing ROI. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design Building a House: UX and UI Explained Read more Ready to see what the DAM hype's about? Meet with one of our product experts Book a demo
Design Building a House: UX and UI Explained Here’s a helpful analogy, around building a house, to use when explaining the difference between UX design and UI design. March 12, 2021 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 2 min read If you dabble in both UX and UI, you might have heard this familiar question: “What’s the difference between UX and UI?”It’s an interesting question and one that can be difficult to explain in technical terms. I find one of the easiest ways to explain the difference is to use a real-life example.Let’s Build a House: UX and UI ExplainedHere’s an analogy that I found to be effective when explaining the difference between UX design and UI design.Understanding the ResidentsLet’s pretend that you’re building a house for someone. The first step is to figure out the basics. How many floors? How many bedrooms? Backyard? Basement?The answers to these questions will vary a lot, depending on who will live in the house. If you’re a family of 4 with dogs, the ideal house may look different than if you’re an older couple with an avid gardening hobby.In product design, this is where the role of a User Experience (UX) designer or a UX researcher starts. UX designers need to learn about who the users are in order to provide solutions and experiences that the users will find beneficial and easy to use.Laying Out the BlueprintsAfter you’ve answered these questions, you can start drawing up blueprints of the house. Blueprints show the layout of the house, as well as where you expect things to be. They show where the walls will be, what the electrical plan is and how the water pipes will be laid out.Going over the blueprint ensures that everyone is on the same page. You might even find that what you imagined the house to be is completely different than what the owners want. You may learn more about the people that will live in the house and find new constraints.When you start with a blueprint, iterating is much faster and cheaper. Not only is building the actual house more time consuming and costly, you’d also be in big trouble if changes needed to be made!This is the same for design. UX Designers often start with low-fidelity wireframes. These could be pen or paper sketches or simple black and white mockups to show the layout and elements. It’s important to get feedback at this stage, so you don’t run into costly reiterations in production.Implementing the Final TouchesOnce the house is on the way, you can start working on the look and feel of the house. You can create mood boards or collect inspiration on what you want the interior design of the house to be. At this point, there should be little or no changes to the foundations of the house, like knocking down the wall or deciding where the bathroom should be.In product design, that’s where a User Interface (UI) designer comes in. UI Designers put the skin on the wireframes. They take care of the aesthetics, including font, color and illustrations. Once the design is at this stage, big changes like changing the layout should be minimal.Working TogetherIn theory, the UX designer oversees figuring out more about the user and setting up the foundation, while the UI designers oversee the look and feel. In actuality, UX and UI designers often work closely together to bring the final product to fruition. Having insights into users will help UI designers make aesthetic decisions and understanding the intended look and feel. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge
Design The Top Creative Operations Trends Here are the 3 biggest trends we’ve seen in creative operations this year and how you can address them in 2021. November 18, 2020 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 7 min read If this last year has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected – and adapt quickly. As leaders in creative operations, it’s critical to invest in the success of your team, with a big focus on dexterity and agility—ensuring that they can do their jobs effectively from anywhere and in any circumstance. Understandably, the first step is taking a long, hard look at the current state of your creative operations.What are Creative Operations?Creative operations provide structure to the creative process within an organization, with the goal of increasing productivity, allowing teams to create content faster, and generally drive the business’ bottom line.Why are Creative Operations Important?According to MediaValet partner, iO Integration, creative operations cover four key responsibilities:Formally defining and optimizing processes for creative production.Identifying and evaluating gaps in technology to improve workflows.Optimizing people, processes and technology involved with creative work.Using metrics and KPIs to track and analyze operations.The importance of these responsibilities is three-fold: Ensuring that everyone is on the same page for roles and responsibilities, tying measurable outcomes and indicators to the work that the creative team does and continually tailoring workflows so the team can run smoothly.The Top Challenges for Creative TeamsWhile all of these points sound great on paper, the reality is troublesome. Despite the perceived improvement in operations, a study from InMotionNow found that creative teams are still experiencing challenges with:the amount of work they’re being asked to complete, and,the speed at which they’re expected to complete projects.Take a moment to think about your own creative team and consider how much you’re asking them to complete—and how much time you’re giving them to complete these projects. There’s a good chance that your team is also experiencing this challenge.Another study from AdAge also found that 75% of people don’t think they’re living up to their creative potential.People need to feel valued, and that they’re successful at what they do. Yet, unfortunately, all signs point to creative professionals feeling overwhelmed and under-utilized. What’s clear is that despite the perception of having proper, well-run creative operations in place, there’s still a lot of work to be done to truly optimize creative processes.Looking at the Bigger PictureWhat we’ve found from conversations with various organizations, as well as industry research, is that creative operations can often be very reactionary—trying to fix individual problems, rather than taking a step back to evaluate the whole picture to better optimize for the future.With organizations working at such an incredible pace, the easy option is to implement a solution to address the immediate need, often at the department level. Unfortunately, all this tends to do is shift the problem or cause further disconnect and communication silos, making it harder for everyone to get on the same page.Taking the time to properly evaluate your processes and incorporate the entire picture can be a massive project. To even get started, you need to have a deep understanding of your team, your market, and upcoming trends that you’ll need to address. From our experience working with creative teams across multiple industries, we’ve been able to gain a third-party view of the creative process, and identify trends across industries, locations and organization sizes. The three biggest trends we’ve seen are:Remote work will remain a realityTechnology will be re-evaluatedRoom will be made for creativityLet’s dive into each in more detail.Trend #1 – Remote Work Will Remain a RealityThe shift that we’ve seen, in part because of the pandemic, but also due to other factors, is that distributed teams are becoming much more feasible for the average organization. Prior to 2020, around 60% of companies had at least one person on their team working remotely. Now that employees have adapted more to working from home, most have shared that they’d prefer to keep working remotely, at least part-time. As a result, we’re seeing more and more organizations announcing flexible remote-work policies.The past six months have proven that creative teams can work remotely while staying productive and connected. Some teams are even getting creative and adding coffee breaks or water cooler chats into their daily schedules via phone or Zoom, to hold on to that social aspect.Next Steps for Creative OperationsFrom the perspective of creative operations, what this shift really means is that it’s time to take steps to ensure that your team is fully set up. Don’t simply implement temporary solutions, but ones that adapt to these changes as if you’ll work remotely forever. The key question to ask is: what does a sustainable work-from-home environment look like for your team? You’ll need to answer:Do you have the proper infrastructure in place?Are employees set up for individual success from home?Have the appropriate boundaries been set?Companies had to react quickly to the events of 2020 – making sure they had the right technology set-up to ensure everyone can be successful at home. But, along with making sure the right technology is in place, it’s equally as important to make sure your team is set up for success at home, both mentally and physically. A group office is easily standardized—everyone is working in the same environment with similar desks, chairs, etc. When you’re suddenly thrust into a situation where your home becomes your work area, the environment becomes variable. Some might have an at-home office, but many are working at the kitchen table – sometimes with their kids playing right next to them. Not everyone is operating in the same way. It’s critical to evaluate how you can support these individuals, with equipment and processes that consider this variability.Establishing boundaries between work and home can also be beneficial to make sure your team can break away from work, when needed. Create a clear routine with a distinction between work and home, to keep your team focused and energized.Trend #2 – Technology will be Re-EvaluatedThe next trend we anticipate is that technology will be seriously re-evaluated in 2021. This past year was very reactionary in regards to the technology that many companies brought in, and a lot of businesses were quick to purchase department-level technology. But, now we’re seeing that teams are taking a step back and looking at what they really need as a business – and where they can save money through consolidation.The nature of the last year also led to fast-tracked implementation plans. The immediate need was for organizations to get up and running quickly, so that they could continue working. Now, leading into 2021, many of those fast-tracked implementations will need to be re-evaluated and expanded, where required.Next Steps for Creative TeamsA re-evaluation doesn’t always mean a rip and replace. It can be a change in use or a review of best practices. The whole implementation process has evolved, and what may have been a whiteboard discussion in a meeting room is now on Zoom or Teams; training is different, and the roll-out doesn’t look the same, either. Consider how you’ll approach this, and how you’ll create that infectious culture that’s key in ensuring adoption of your platforms.Another important thing to keep in mind is that at an organization-level, they may be looking to make cuts. In our industry, we often see technology, in particular, department-level technology, get replaced with something cheaper or more widely-used because the department has trouble explaining the investment. For the pieces of technology that you do love and want to keep, now is the time to prepare to prove ROI.Our recommendation is to evaluate how your technology can provide value in other departments. For example, while a DAM is built with marketing and creative teams in mind, many other departments can get value from it, too. We’ve seen it used by on-site sales teams in real estate to showcase past projects, by operations to manage relationships with franchisees, and even architect teams to manage 3D models. The more organization-wide your solutions seem, the more easily you’ll be able to justify keeping them.Trend #3 – Room Will be Made for CreativityRemember – creatives are already not feeling like they’re living up to their potential. This is now being compounded by the increasing demand for personalized, highly visual content – leaving designers squeezed for time.As part of creative operations, you need to find ways to empower your creatives and give them wiggle room to do their job. Without space for creativity, and, let’s be honest, a second to breathe, your creative team is at risk of burnout, which, in turn, puts your organization at risk. Where there’s burnout, there’s often turnover, volatility, and disconnected workers. Creative leaders who realize the importance of these issues and find ways to increase bandwidth to make room for creativity, exploration and risk will achieve a significant advantage over competitors in 2021.Next Steps for Creative TeamsCreating room for creativity is an interesting undertaking, it’s harder to quantify and even harder to justify, but as creative operations leaders, there are ways to give your creative team incremental wins that give them their time back, without needing to overhaul your workflows.Firstly, a large amount of free time can be found just in automating repetitive tasks. This usually comes from administrative tasks, like sending files to other departments or uploading final designs to a file-share system. This type of busy-work takes up a significant portion of the day that could be spent being creative. Finding solutions helps reduce the burden of these tasks and can help free up creative time for more exploration and discovery.Another opportunity comes from providing more breathing room with deadlines. This is definitely easier said than done, and often stems from having uncomfortable conversations with other teams in order to set boundaries and expectations.The final opportunity comes from simplifying your creatives’ technology stack. This doesn’t mean to overhaul the technologies you already use, but rather see if there are technologies that can be hidden or consolidated using integrations. In an IDC survey, over 80% of business leaders agreed that problems often happen because their systems don’t talk to each other. When solutions are integrated, it enables your team to work out of fewer applications, while still staying linked to the other tools they need to be productive and connected.Another value-add of integration comes from enhancing your workflow. In the same IDC survey, 43% of employees said they needed to copy-and-paste information across multiple platforms. When all your applications connect and speak to each other, tasks can be streamlined or automated, saving time from having to duplicate efforts across platforms, and reducing room for error.Prioritize the ExperienceThere’s undeniably a shift that’s occurred across all industries to prioritize experience. Think about industry leaders like Tesla, Apple or Amazon—they all design with the intent to maximize customer experience. Consider how you can apply this to creative operations:What kind of experience are you creating for your employees?How are you using technology to enable dynamic experiences for your team?Creating a workflow is a design challenge just like anything else, so design with intent and design with experience in mind. As we look to 2021 and beyond, technology is going to be a huge enabler of these experiences. We need to choose technologies that will provide a seamless experience and lean into the way creatives are working, and the way you want them to work.Re-Evaluate Your Creative OperationsIf we consider these three trends, it’s clear that there’s an opportunity here to take this time to prioritize and lean into the idea of experience. Most people have accepted that things are shifting and changing, and that there’s a movement happening. It’s the perfect opportunity to re-look at your team’s workflow and adapt.It’s no longer acceptable to rely on systems that can only be accessed while physically inside an office building. Work is a place you log into, not somewhere you go. We need to be able to access everything, anywhere, all the time. Creative operations now need to allow employees to be flexible. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge
Design DAM for Graphic Designers: Getting Your Creatives On-Board Understand what your creatives look for in a digital asset management system and the steps to take to get them on-board with your initiative. March 6, 2019 Jeffrey Bates Creative Director 3 min read One of the most prevalent problems with a DAM initiative is adoption by creative teams.Despite the number of problems that a DAM solves for an organization, it introduces new processes that creatives have to get used to. As a result, many creatives choose to host their assets on their desktops, laptops, and drives, which introduces risks to projects.It’s a conundrum that many business leaders have to deal with: How do you keep creatives happy while investing in the necessary technical infrastructure for the company?Creative departments, whether they’re in-house or external agencies, first and foremost focus on efficiency. Understanding how they work, individually and as a team, is detrimental to finding a DAM that will be accepted and adopted by the team.While every team has different expectations from the eventual end product, every successful creative implementation subscribes to these core fundamentals:Minimize perceived changeChange can be disruptive to any team, but especially for those that already perform under tight timelines and volume pressure. The goal is to deliver a solution that provides benefits but still follows existing workflows as closely as possible. Work with someone on the creative team to outline the daily tasks and the processes involved, then build use cases and trial examples to be used as the basis for vendor and solution evaluations.Understand possible bottlenecksOne of the benefits of documenting a creative’s use cases is understanding the entire asset lifecycle and potential bottlenecks. For a high-volume production process, a small delay in completing a task can get multiplied and push deadlines by hours, or even days. Some of the most common areas affected by technology for high-volume creative teams are:Delays in receiving working files – gaining access to raw footage from photo and video shoots can be a challenge and, if overlooked, can cause multi-day delays.Bottlenecks in collaboration – when creative teams are interdependent on each other, small delays, like approvals or sending an asset, can easily add up and extend timelines.Disruption of SLAs – when the support team can’t be accessed around the clock to resolve issues affecting required levels of production, projects can come to a halt.Find a championFinding the right champion can make or break a project.A great champion is someone who’s experienced the pain that can be resolved by the solution: their files were lost, their deadlines weren’t met due to collaboration issues, they waste hours searching for images, and so on. If your solution can resolve that challenge, they’ll be more likely to support it, because they’ve felt the pain firsthand.On another hand, a champion can also be found in a team member that often volunteers ideas on process improvement, shows greater technological aptitude, and uses apps to improve their work and day-to-day life. They will typically be early adopters of new solutions and once they start seeing benefits, can share with the team and help the others along to adopt the new process.Get the team on boardEvaluate new systems with the goal of finding ones that will have minimal disruption to the current creative workflow. Demonstrate to your creative team why the change is necessary and explain the extent of the changes or disruptions to their processes. Keep an open mind and be patient. You won’t convince everyone overnight, but persistence pays off. Have a handful of supporters that you train beforehand to lead the transition, and once you’ve proven that the technology is valid, start with a small-scale deployment within a core team and then expand to other teams and regions.Set a scheduleTransitioning an entire team to new software all at once can run the risk of putting production way behind. Set a schedule to train teams in stages, and make sure people know when their training will begin. By doing this, you’ll learn what works, keep your implementation agile and allow the people who are trained first to hype the system. Set a deadline for the transition, but be flexible. Even the most realistic rollouts can be pushed back by unexpected roadblocks.Thriving in Creative ChaosWhile this post gives you a sneak peek into the world of your creatives, it just scratches the surface. To do a deep dive into the minds of your creative team and what they look for in their business technology, download our latest eBook “Thriving in Creative Chaos“. Related Articles Design What is a Rendition? Read more Design The Best Creative Conferences to Attend in 2025 Read more Design 3 Requests That Are Slowing Down Your Creative Team (and Easy Fixes) Read more Design The Benefits of Digital Asset Management for Video Read more What a DAM good read! Fuel your DAM knowledge by browsing our Resource library Build My DAM Knowledge