File It Away: The Importance of Archiving Your Design Files

Graphic design is a medium that has rapidly changed over the years and with digital landscaping redefining the way we create, interact, and perceive design. So this begs the question: is archiving and preserving digital art important?

It turns out it is.

This week we were contacted by an old client requesting work from a file that was created in 1998. That’s right—1998. To put that into context, Generator’s youngest employee hadn’t been born yet. Luckily, our detailed labelling and record-keeping paid off. It seemed archaic to those of us who got into the advertising industry long after digital storage became the norm, but it goes to show you the importance of a business keeping good records.

We dug through ‘the Binder’ of pen and paper records to find the docket number of the file in question and which CD it had been digitally copied onto. Yup, we used to archive all of our own design files on CDs and then make copies of those CDs as a backup. The next problem we encountered was resting right in our hands: A CD—Macs don’t have CD drives anymore. 

Thank goodness we had an external CD drive in our box of cords and cables belonging to devices unknown. To give you an idea of how quickly technology changes, our newest Macs in the office don’t have USB-C ports anymore (which is how you connect the CD drive to a computer). However, the information encoded on the CD was so old that our Macs couldn’t recognize it.

That’s when our trusty PC took the reigns and we were able to retrieve and open the file in question and happily supply it to our client. Now we ask the question: how long is too long when it comes to holding on to old files for a client? Clearly the answer for Generator is “indefinitely.”

So, in the end, it’s very important to keep great archives and backups on your work for at least three very important reasons:

1. In this case, we were able to help our old client and we upheld the dedication and excellence we strive for everyday.
2. We retain proof that this work was completed by Generator and our detailed records allow for easy if somewhat cumbersome reference.
3. Finally, we were able to provide a client with a 25+ year old file that we didn’t need to redraw or recreate thereby saving time and money for ourselves and our client.

Whether you archive your files on a hard drive, a server, or the cloud, make sure that you always keep some kind record of your work. And it goes without saying: hit that save button.