A Practical Guide to Brand Asset Management
Storing, organizing and distributing approved brand assets, such as logos, fonts, images and templates, so people always use current versions.
Priya Raghunathan
The key figures
- Tools
- digital asset management systems or shared libraries
- Metadata
- tags, usage rights and expiry dates
- Versioning
- old assets should be archived, not deleted
- Rights
- licensed images need usage terms attached
Why this is worth getting right
Most off-brand work happens because people cannot find the right file, so easy access is the simplest form of brand control.
Do this, not that
Do
- Keep a single source for approved assets
- Tag assets with usage rights and expiry
- Archive outdated versions clearly
- Provide assets in common formats
- Grant access to agencies and partners
Don’t
- Assets scattered across drives and inboxes
- Using images after licenses expire
- Several logo versions with no labels
- Restricting access so tightly people improvise
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when teams use outdated assets, or when image licenses are hard to track.
Where this comes from
- IPTC — Photo Metadata Standard
- U.S. Copyright Office — Frequently asked questions
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Brand & Identity Design work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
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