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A designer needs the client's logo for a social asset. The shared drive has a Brand folder, a Brand OLD folder, a Logos folder inside last year's campaign folder and several attachments in email threads. There are six files with "final" in the name. She picks the one that looks newest. The client replies that it is the logo from before the refresh.
The same week a copywriter uses a product photo from the drive in a paid ad. It turns out it was supplied for a one-off print piece and the photographer's licence did not cover paid social. The client's legal team asks the agency to take the ad down.
Why assets are always a hunt
- Clients send brand assets by email over months and years, in different versions.
- Brand refreshes add new files but nobody removes the old ones.
- Stock and commissioned images come with licences that are recorded nowhere near the file.
- Each project creates its own copies of assets in its own folder.
- Fonts are licensed per machine or per seat, and nobody knows who has them.
The agency's drive is organised by project, but the assets belong to the client, and they need to be organised that way.
What the hunt costs
Time is lost at the start of every job. Outdated logos and colours reach clients, which is embarrassing and costs an amend round. Images used beyond their licence create a real risk for the client and the agency. New staff and freelancers have no way to know what is correct, so the problem grows with each person who joins.
The brand asset library we build
- One library per client, organised by asset type: logos, colours, fonts, templates, photography, illustration, video and guidelines.
- Existing files are gathered from your drives and duplicates found automatically by comparing the files, so the team decides once which version is current.
- Each asset has a status: current, retired or restricted. Retired files stay findable for old work but are clearly marked.
- Images carry their usage rights: source, licence type, where they may be used and any expiry. Assets without known rights are flagged.
- Client uploads go to an inbox for the library, where the account manager confirms what each file is before it becomes current.
- The library is available where the studio works, through a shared drive view, a Figma or Adobe library, or a simple search page, with freelancers given access per client.
| Asset type | What is recorded |
|---|---|
| Logos | Current version, lock-ups, formats, date of last refresh |
| Fonts | Licence holder and which staff machines have it |
| Photography | Source, licence, permitted uses, expiry |
| Templates | Current version and who approved it |
| Guidelines | Current PDF and a short summary of key rules |
If you already use a digital asset management tool, we can set it up per client and connect it to your workflow rather than build something new.
Starting a job with the right assets
The designer opens the client's library and sees one current logo pack, the brand colours and the approved photography, each image marked with where it may be used. The copywriter looking for an image for paid social filters by permitted use. When the client sends a refreshed logo, the account manager marks it current and the old one is retired for everyone at once.
Is your drive full of final_v3 files?
- There are several versions of each client's logo and nobody is sure which is current.
- Old brand assets have gone out on client work.
- Image licences are not recorded with the images.
- Freelancers ask for brand files at the start of every job.
- Each project folder has its own copy of the same assets.