Digital Asset Management
Organise images on your computer
Put simply, Digital Asset Management means organising files on your computer network so that they are easy to find and identify. It is most commonly applied to photography and used to store caption information, keywords, copyright owner and crediting requirements.
Like Search Engine Optimisation, Digital Asset Management may seem like a big, scary term, but it’s important to remember it may mean different things to different-sized organisations. Look at it as a sliding scale and you won't be intimidated by the costs you see for services and software dedicated to this complex field.
Digital Asset Management is most relevant for businesses with a large image collection (eg. thousands of images) who want multiple staff to be able to search keywords to find them and/or have instant access to copyright owner and crediting requirements. A range of free software is available to edit and browse meta data on certain file types (eg. JPG, TIF), however if you have an extensive collection, you may need Adobe Bridge or perhaps something even more powerful like FotoStation.
My experience with DAM involved setting up a system for organising and continually updating a collection of over 50,000 image files for a non-profit organisation. Instead of relying on one person's memory and a basic directory structure to find images, the organisation used the DAM system to enhance the efficiency of graphic designers, video production staff and powerpoint designers. Having access to the existing image collection is very important for an organisation that doesn't want to buy stock images or if the types of images required are not likely to be available as stock.
Some reasons for not wanting to buy stock images are costs, lack of uniqueness in design and restrictive licensing, especially with multiple uses or multiple designers.
Ways I can help with your digital assets:
- Formulate a plan and advise on software needs
- Lead your IT staff to develop a network, intranet or internet-based sharing system
- Go through paper records or electronic databases and type meta-data into image files or train/coordinate other staff, contractors or volunteers in this task (I can touch type alpha numeric keys at 90wpm)
- Batch process image files in need of standardised touch-ups, cropping, resizing, filename changes etc. (using Adobe PhotoShop or Bridge)
Different organisations will have different budgetary and time constraints and different needs, so please feel free to contact me about your needs. If you would like to call me in to help you and your team formulate a plan for your situation, please contact me.
If you are not familiar with graphic design principles like size and resolution, please feel free to read about image quality.
