flow
introduction Any discussion of what we consider workflow requires an understanding of what, exactly, the work is that flows, and how that work meets the need of the brand. In highly experiential environments, the act of asset development and the systems employed to manage them is this described work. Most industries create assets for use in experience. What we call files, whether physical or digital - are these assets. We contextualize assets within a project or an output channel. Thus, the universal need for the brands is assets that are fully enabled and fully functional no matter the output or the project. The following pages offer an understanding of how each of these components are linked and how the can best be utilized.
workflow soft systems brands and assets nomenclature metadata projects and phases
1-4 5-6 7 8
brands and assets adv
Brands
Brands are best explained by asking “who,” not what or where. When we ask who a brand is, we begin to uncover the core of the organization. More concretely, if Brand A sells boxes, their promise to consumers is the opportunity to purchase boxes. That is what they do. Who they are, though, is an organization that provides the means for others to organize, ship, contain, label, etc. That’s quite a bit different than “what.” It means that consumers can be who they are because of who Brand A is. It is no longer the simple sale of a product. It is the meeting of a need. The need to be who we are or who we can become. Consumers understand this relationship. They also understand that broken relationships cannot help them meet their needs. So, they move on to solutions that can. Keeping a promise and building a relationship requires more than a strong will. It requires the means to keep and direct that promise. One of the strongest initial methods is visualization seeing the brand. Opposite is one such visualization - a brand represented as a solar system. It has sub-brands, events and more all orbiting that single core relationship, all adhering to that one core promise.
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ub
vs
sob
sub
ic
uw
school of biz
or e
school of ed e
uwi
so
su
tco
soas
aps
su b
school of a.s.
tco
sub
b
ad
sub
aps
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brands and assets Assets
In terms of experiential development, assets are the bits and pieces of content that support the relationship the brand promises.
Without proper management, the assets are void. Without assets, the brand is void.
image video 3
Image is a generic term used to describe static output. Illustrations, photographs, icons, etc. are all forms of images. Images are often the genesis for ideation and content for other asset types and, with the exception of audio, are integral to the success of those assets.
Video is a generic term used to describe motion-based output. Forms include flash animations and standard film output for television and the internet. Because video is essentially a sequenced collection of still frames, file sizes are (generally) much larger than are static images.
audio
In a very general sense, they can be grouped into a select few categories and then mapped to the brand’s visualization. This gives a clear idea of what they are, where they live and how they’re shared between each component.
Audio descibes any auditory output, whether recorded alongside a video or recorded separately with the intention of outputting to channels not requiring video - such as radio or the internet - or as part of an audio library. Although audio is, by its nature, not visual output, editing tools and formats are similar to that of video.
production
Production assets are compound in nature. They are most often proprietary and are used to reference other assets. Common for print is an InDesign file. Such files can either embed content or reference it - and then package all references when ready for production allowing the storage of all related links to be grouped together for final output.
text
Text assets are items such as word processing documents, plain text files and spreadsheets. Each exist for different reasons, but, like all other assets, are inherently tied to one another. Text assets are not production assets. Nor should they be used for such purposes.
code
Code is a generic term used to describe programming languages. Actionscript (for flash applications and animations), CSS, XML, HTML, and PHP are all examples of code.
misc
Code files are stored with a variety of extensions. And while each compliments the next, they exist for very different purposes.
This category is the hopper for the leftovers - things that don’t fit well into other categories.
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nomenclature Nomenclature
Nomenclature is the way in which things are named. The marraige of nomenclature and metadata are key.
Both assets and projects have naming intricacies that enable them best. Several common and effective methods are shown here.
By Asset
Field 1 - Subject Field 2 - Year Notice that the subject/year order is in flux. This works as long as both are used. Effectiveness is increased if a consistent method is used, but it is not always necessary.
Effective Samples softball 2011 2011 accounting class class of 2013 graduation
Ineffective Samples LC_110109_acc_red_hat_grad DSCF_0024-final
The reason more lengthy information is not included within the file name itself is that they become unwieldy. Clarity is further gained through metadata.
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By Project
Lead - Main - Sub Lead CLI_ 0001_01 Main Sub
Here, the nomenclature is ordered and consistent due to the nature of how projects are and should be managed. Lead = Client Name Main = Project Sub = Sub Projects Compunded with metadata, this nomenclature schema affords an accurate chronology of projects specified by client that is fully scalable and easily referenced.
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metadata Simply put, metadata is additional information assigned to files. It is searchable, customizable and scalable according to the needs of the asset or project it accompanies. Nearly every file has metadata embedded in its code, but it isn’t always accessible. Information regarding client briefs, milestones and timelines, project requirements, contact information, usage and rights, versioning virtually anything can be stored and searched, regardless of preference and location. By adding metadata to systematic nomenclature, 100 percent clarity is achieved.
title The name of the asset. subject and keywords Short, unique keywords. description Full sentence description/abstract. type Image, code, production, etc. relation How it relates to a given sub-structure; often known as a sub-title. coverage Place and time in a standardized format. creator Whodunnit. rights Description of rights and permissions of use. event A brief description of the event that spawned the asset. location Location in standardized format. (OU-KansasCity) school A field denoting which school the asset is related to. department A field denoting which department the asset is related to. program A field denoting which program the asset is related to. project Project in standardized format. (ex: cli-0001-01)
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projects
see appendix for further details on metadata and projects
A project is a comprehensive item or grouping of items that requires the support of assets. Projects adhere to the same need for nomenclature and metadata that assets do. Projects also employ timelines. A project may be the development of a feature film, or a concert poster. What the end product of the project is, though, is not the project itself. A project, as is often the case, may be comprised of many individual sub projects, each with its own timeline and needs. The key to successful project development is a clear understanding of all components at the outset. This is accomplished by phases.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Discovery
The discovery phase is where the foundation of the project is laid. From ideation to initial technical requirements, discovery provides the comprehensive picture for why the project is being developed and for whom it is being developed. Discovery is where timelines are established to ensure accurate development and deployment of the project. Built into any good discovery phase are methods for measurement and recalibration.
Development
Development is the creation of the project and its components. As mentioned, each project may have some or many sub projects. There is still some flexibility for minor details within the development phase, but these should not be of a project-altering magnitude. The purpose of the development phase is to enact the discovery.
Deployment
When a project is complete it is deployed. The output channel matters not. When projects are deployed they are done so with the intent of being monitored. Not for preference, but for effectiveness. It is there, within the measurement component of the Deployment phase, that notes are taken and impressions gathered in order to better the success of future projects. That said, if Discovery and Development have been achieved appropriately, measuring is an aside.
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Introduction
This section describes physical or “hard� systems that support soft systems and make them functional. The key is to find clear matches between the two rather than forcing one upon the other.
workflow hard systems software and hardware output usage and maintenance summary and appendix
9-10 11-12 13-16 17-24
software and hardware Software and hardware are used to support soft systems. They can, however, quickly become burdensome by limiting access and requiring specialized skills. While this is to be expected on many fronts, it should not be the deciding factor as to whether or not work can be accomplished. Further, if such modes are the direct cause of limitation, they should be evaluated and resolved. In the matter of accessing assets for use in projects, software and hardware quickly become limiters. Solution is found in the removal of some of these barriers thereby placing the responsibility of asset use upon the user. One primary solution now employed to resolve these limitations is Digital Asset Management, or DAM.
DAM
Digital Asset Management is the enabling of assets. Through DAM, we remove the software and hardware restrictions that are difficult to scale and replace them with a hosted role and permissions based initiative that is globally accessible. The benefits are manifold. highest and best use Integrate with internal processes, helping to streamline production and free up time for highest and best use of personnel. cost reduction Reduce production costs related to many manual tasks that require specialized software licenses and additional consumables. time to market Decrease time to market in both the realms of asset and project management. globalization Create an agile work environment not dependent upon localized hardware and permissions schemas. brand assurance Protect “brand” by providing an architecture for “as needed” access, with assurance that the correct assets are available and out-of-date assets are secured. history Provide an ingestion and archiving framework for all university assets from all departments, creating a repository of knowledge accessible at any time and at any point to further client initiatives.
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DAM and Metadata Depending upon the solution chosen, nearly any asset type can be uploaded and made searchable. By applying additional metadata, what were once unwieldy piles of photos and videos now becomes a fully searchable and repurposable living archive waiting for use. DAM succeeds by proper metadata application. Projects succeed by proper use of DAM solutions.
Enabling Assets Through DAM 1 Upload assets 2 Tag assets 3 Download assets in appropriate format
Enabling Projects Through DAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Upload assets Tag assets Download assets to project folder Edit as needed Upload revised versions Package and upload project Tag project
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output Each asset exists for a purpose. These purposes are best described via channels of output, or, where things go to be used. The channel describes asset requirements. For instance, audio channels have no need for images. Online has need for audio, video and image, but not in the same format as the others. The examples go on and on. The complexity is compounded when we consider campaigns that may include bits and pieces of each, produced by a variety of personnel. Here we find the necessity to repurpose, or revise that asset on the go without altering the original. We call this “versioning.� By using versions, we reduce the hardware requirements needed to store each version. By eliminating the need for specialized software, we enable invidual users to download the exact version they need without the burden of unnecessary middle-men.
Print consists of all physically produced collateral. Because of production standards and requirements and initial ideation, all other channels often feed from print.
radio
Radio is directly aligned with television. Both require high-quality masters for repurposing. And as is often the case, audio taken from television is that master.
online
Online describes its own family of sub channels: web sites, applications, ad campaigns and social media outlets. It follows print, television and radio due to the necessity to resample information to accomodate current download speeds.
television
history 11
It is from the high-quality master files developed for television that all other video formats are versioned. History can be considered a channel in its own right. Without a clear hindsight visible from previous campaigns, initiatives and events, history is muddled, the present is confused, and the future is unattainable.
M
v1
1
A master production file
3 Output intended for print
pr
in
t
2 Versioned image and text files
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final output
Final output as production file
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usage As we have seen, assets are versioned from a master. Not all output channels need use of this master due to the purpose of the channel itself.
print output quality
output specifications
master
min. 300dpi, unless vector based
master
print-ready file
version
final text
final output format
master print-ready file
television output quality
output specifications
final output format
version
min. 72dpi
master
footage as shot at original quality
master
min. 3.5 Mbit for SD
master
proprietary production file
version
final text
output quality
output specifications
final output format
master
original audio min. 256 kb
versioned file MPEG-2 compression min. 256kb
master
proprietary production file
version
final text
versioned file MPEG-2 compression, dimensions dependent upon station standards
radio
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online output quality
output specifications
final output format
version*
max. 72dpi
max. 72 dpi - jpg, png, gif
version*
260x170px 400x270px 728x486px original size
mp4, embedded or hosted
version
min 128kb
mp3, embedded or hosted
master
final code
text document
version
final text
live or linked text
*Online standards regarding size will vary based upon the structure of the site itself.
history output quality
output specifications
final output format
master
original resolution
lossless or low lossy tif, jpg, proprietary raw, psd, vector
master
footage as shot at original quality
original format
master
audio as recorded
original format
master
final proprietary production file (all production asset types)
master print-ready file
master
final text
readable word processing document
master
final code
text document
master
misc file types, most likely proprietary
final format, ready for use
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usage Hard systems support soft systems. Soft systems give life to the brand. Ergo, everyone that ineracts with any the systems is responsible for the life of the brand. Herein we discover the need for access to each system, both for projects and assets.
Assets
soft systems hard systems
nomenclature metadata
role and permission based
access
DAM original media
requirements
adherance to nomenclature and metadata standards and all timelines for evaluation and ingestion
Projects soft systems hard systems
nomenclature metadata
all project leaders
access
requirements
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DAM supported
adherance to nomenclature and metadata standards
timelines Timelines should be developed with the resources of the organization in mind.
New Asset Creation
(48 hours) 1 assets developed 2 user registers/logs in 3 assets uploaded 4 assets tagged
Existing Asset Tagging
(12 months) 1 group into collections of 200 p/week, spread over 4 administrators 2 tag or send collections to users for tagging
Physical Archive Ingestion Haigh Meadows
(12 months) 1 sort hard copies by type and quantity 2 outsource scanning/scan internally 3 group into collections of 50 p/week, spread over 4 administrators 4 tag or send collections to users for tagging
New Bulk Ingestions All new bulk ingestion initiatives will be evaluated by type. If the type or intended use does not match the DAM system employed, they will not be ingested.
(6-12 months) 1 sort hard copies by type and quantity 2 outsource scanning/scan internally 3 group into collections of 50 p/week, spread over 4 administrators 4 tag or send collections to users for tagging
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summary
Going from extreme disorganization to exact clarity and effectiveness takes effort. As with any system or method, practice is required. Now that hard systems and soft systems can be more clearly seen as paramount to the life of the brand, it should be clear as to how important such systems are and to what lengths they should be preserved.
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Brands require projects and assets Projects and assets required metadata Metadata requires brand clarity Clarity requires understanding
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appendix All information discussed thus far can be viewed as a succinct timeline. Again though, many components may have their own lives and sub-timelines, so generalizations have been made. Discovery
1
2
3
history
online
radio
* all project updates should be noted in the summary file.
project initiated - summary file created and uploaded to collective* concept discovered channel requirements made assets allocated
television
1 2 3 4
4 image timeline video timeline audio timeline production timeline text timeline code timeline miscellaneous timeline
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sample project Development
5
9 10 11 12
deployed to collective tagged with metadata deployed to channel(s) measured
history
online
radio
television
assets created/downloaded content proofed concept built proof finalized
5 6 7 8
Deployment
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7
8
9
10
11
12
title subject and keywords description type relation coverage creator rights event location school department program project
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appendix Each field holds different input parameters. Some, such as “description” are for long-form text. Others, such as location, may a drop down or selectionbased as tailored for the needs of the organization. Not all assets will require each field. Shown below are the asset fields developed for Ottawa University. Fields with an asterix are required fields. The purpose of all metadata fields is to clarify and, to a degree, overlap.
Sample 1 title*
really neat icon
subject and keywords*
image, icon, vector, black, white
description
an image icon in vector format used to help describe asset and project management techniques in both soft and hard systems
type* image
relation
image icon for asset managment
coverage*
09/14/2016
creator
Billy Birkenstock
rights
© Billy Birkenstock, 2016. All rights reserved.
event none
location none
school none
department none
program none
project
uwi-0001-12
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metadata assignment
Sample 2 title*
central park in fall
subject and keywords*
central, park, new york city, manhattan, sunset
description
panoramic photo of central park’s east side as viewed from the Metropolitan Club
type* image
relation none
coverage*
09/14/2016
creator
Billy Birkenstock
rights
Š Billy Birkenstock, 2016. All rights reserved.
event
Angell Snyder School of Business fundraiser
location
New York, New York
school
School of Business
department marketing
program business
project
uwi-0002-12
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appendix
applying metadata
initial ingestion DAM utilities
setting controls
(via cloud storage)
defining utility parameters
editors upload new content and manage projects
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1
2
the anatomy of DAM requests approved (if required)
user downloads assets
or user goes shopping
user links to assets
users collaborate on projects
masters archived, developed or repurposed
3
4
5
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flow