Working With Digital Files

 Things to Consider

* What is the purpose of your file?

* For the Web? A Logo?

* Which program will you be using? If designing a logo, it would be better to use Illustrator rather than Photoshop as the vector path system is better suited to that

* How you will set up your document

* File size - important to know for transferring /sending files

*Resolution - pixel dimension, bearing in mind 300ppi for print & 144 (high def ) for web

* Image size - this will affect re-sizing and transfer-ability

* Colour Mode: CMYK (print) has more of a colour range than RGB (screen)

File Storage Options

There are several options when it comes to storing files, and these are:

USB stick - these are useful, portable storage units that are universally accessible

External hard drive

Google Drive - useful for storing and sending large files

One Drive i-cloud - again, good for large file storage and export/transfer

Dropbox

The Why of Where

Where files are stored is best determined by several factors: the need to protect data, requiring a password; keeping the work portable, served easily by a USB stick; whether the files need to be shared, in which case file size and ease of transfer have to be taken into account, and, if working collaboratively, the facility to share editable files is necessary.

The How of What

Files can be downloaded, or uploaded to the cloud, this may depend on whether the file is for sole, personal use, or shared with others, and whether they are to be worked on as a team effort. 

File Naming 

It's important to be short, concise, and logical when naming files. FNC stands for File Naming Convention, which has a generally understood format, although individual companies may have their own specific requirements. Usually, the file name begins with the date in reverse order: for example, 2021_05_13 or, alternatively: Project_Author_Date (use of underscore is preferable to the forward-slash as this could affect accessibility). No special features, i.e. ! @ £ $ % ^ & * ( ) are to be used in file names. The final safeguard is: Always keep a hard copy as back-up! 

File Formats

The most used File Formats for saving graphic and image content for the Web are:

JPG - This is commonly used for photographs, but is termed as having 'lossy compression, which means that each time an image is edited it loses quality. Editing images is best done on the original and then saved as a jpg. Its benefit is that it supports a full range of colour, which is particularly good for images and photographs. 

PNG - Portable Network Graphic - is termed as lossless compression, which means it keeps resolution at 300dpi when transferred. It reduces size through a number of colours, so is more limited than jpg in this respect, but is ideal for creating icons and logs, which don't usually require many colours. They also have the added advantage of keeping shape, that is, supporting transparency when sending files. 

PDF - Portable Document Format - are good for documents that are a combination of text and image, ensuring that the font that was used maintains its integrity and isn't compromised or altered on being received, it does this by embedding the text and image. Saving Word documents as work a pdf can safeguard work from being copied or interfered with in read only format.

Gif - graphic Interchange format - a good format for simple moving images, and animations; good for icons and logos.