Goals

The user base of a naming system is both the creator and the outsider. A good naming system should satisfy the following requirements:

• Be legible and transparent to the outsider
• Make the creator’s life easier
• Work in current conditions and those within the foreseeable future
• Enable order and hierarchy
• Extend beyond a particular file format or workflow

Solution

[Client] [Filename] [YYYYMMDD] [EDITOR'S INITIALS] [A-Z].[ext]

That should result in something like this:

DeOrchis Web Presentation 2 20100906 ADC A.ai

Hopefully it reads without explanation, but it came from a long and reasoned brainstorm, and you deserve the whys and wherefores.

Explanation

Title Case:
All upper and all lower are nice dogmas but title case is more readable and helps scanning (in a vertical column the greater width variation between upper and lower makes it more obvious when a series of files ends and another begins). Anyway, clients will have names where title case matters (MoFo, Objective Subject, whatever), and this will look better.

Spaces:
You may have learned file naming way back when you couldn’t use spaces or special characters. Don’t worry, it’s ok. We can DO that now. It’s much faster to type a filename this way. Just let it flow!

Client name:
If the file is ever misplaced or is searched, this is crucial. it’s place in the name is semantic (Weil ID Sketches makes more sense than ID Sketches Weil) and makes for cleaner/more scannable directories.

Filename:
This is pretty flexible. Make it make sense. When appropriate, start with the phase of the project (ID vs Web, for instance) and then Sketches, Presentation, Brainstorm, Slide, whatever. Make it descriptive and don’t be afraid of too many words. There is no limit, but be reasonable, it will get truncated first when the column is too narrow.

Date:
“This is a weird way to date things”, you might think to yourself. Well, it’s computery. And it’s also ordered most sensibly. Those that follow DDMMYY or, worse still, MMDDYY will end up with their newest files mixed in randomly with their oldest, as months and years jump up and down. Suckers that went with that format in the 90’s are paying for it now.

Our dating system will work until January 1, 10,000AD. I don’t plan on caring about my file organization by then. Your newest files will come after your first, when sorted by file name in ascending order. Nice and neat, less worrying about the weird mac finder date modified setting only showing up in list mode.

For my fellow nerds: it’s called ISO 8601.

Editor’s initials:
We wanna know who did what. When we swap files, it’s important that the origin is in tact and, ideally, when we do that, my file and your file will have identical names except for the initials. That way nobody overwrites someone else’s stuff, and we know who did what. Three initials avoids conflict in 99% of cases (scientifically proven).

When you adopt someone else’s file, keep the original, duplicated it, and change the initials to your own once you modify it. It’s easy when it’s near the end of the file name, and again, everything will be nice and chronological.

A-Z for iterations:
What? Alpha? Yeah, alpha. I figure, if you’re diligent about saving versions of a file to avoid losing the good stuff, you’re gonna do that more than once in a day. And you won’t change your name that day. So you need a versioning method. 0-9 gives you 10 versions in a day. 00-99 gives you 100. If you save 100 versions in a day, you’re spending too much time in the save-as dialog! A-Z gives you just one thing to edit when saving a new file—save as, right arrow, backspace, B—and you’re versioned. It also gives you 26 versions in a day. That’s a few versions per hour. Isn’t that enough?

Notes

Extension:
You can avoid using the extension, but I figure don’t hide it, it’s auto anyway, and it helps when not on a mac (like on an iphone or something, not a damned PC) to see what’s what.

Directories:

The one thing not built into a filename is the directory in which it sits. I encourage everyone to have a folder for each client, and a sub folder for each project or phase. These should be in your Documents folder, not your desktop.

Linked files:

Some project types, like web and InDesign, are a matter of organizing and versioning linked files. That means that renaming versioned files will result in broken links. My solution has been to only version deprecated files. That is, keep the most current file named as simply as possible (only the file name, no client, date, initials, etc). Before editing, or saving over that file, duplicate that which you are about to replace and give it a dated and versioned filename. Here you can add some descriptive text to give yourself a hint as to why that file is deprecated.

Git & SVN:

For serious group projects, and software development in particular, ignore me and use these. For design, however, I find these systems too invasive to a workflow and lacking necessary power to work across file types. They lack extensibility, access, and ease to work for me and for my office.

No related posts.

I thought I’d help them out by showing what I want, though it’s exaggerated by my use of the excellent Shorpy archive:

Update: Google Earth has a time slider very similar to the one I imagined above available for historic satellite imagery. It’s only available in the stand alone app, not the web version, but has some fascinating glimpses into history, including before and after 9/11.

No related posts.

Related posts:

1. Friends of Type at TDC

The blueprint as a whole.

The posters were printed on cyanotype blueprints, divided into four sections, and mailed separately. Side by side, the sections still read as a whole.

Divided in sections, each mailable poster still reads continuously.

Getting ready to be mailed!

This seemed a bit too one-sided, so we went ahead and transformed the printed poster into a website, blueprint2011.com:

The site launched as the blueprints were mailed, and since then, we’ve racked up over a hundred resolutions, and counting. Being the internet, there have been several ‘not safe for work’ resolutions, but we’re loving the rest. From the cryptic, “forget about the the”, to the romantic, “say i love you”, the response has been great.

Since 2011 is still in its developmental stages, please drop by the site and add your plans, borrow from others, and create a list of things you resolve to do (or not do) in the months ahead.

Happy 2011 from Objective Subject!

No related posts.

via Harvard Business Review

Related posts:

1. New Work: Athena

While integrating the latest technologies in quantitative trading and investment strategies, Athena Capital Research suffered from a stodgy and outdated identity. They needed a modernized brand that reflected their position as trendsetters and trendforecasters as specialized investment managers.

We created a dynamic “brandgraph” logo, recalling mathetmatical equations, as well as the letter “A” in Athena. The ever changing logo suggests their versatility and vitality, while the deep blue color palette and contemporary typography underline their authority as successful traders. It’s a pretty cool translation of the classic navy pin stripe suit. Don’t you think? Visit their website.

The brand graph is a dynamic logo reflecting the market

Unique "brandgraph" logo for different business cards

Related posts:

1. New work: DeOrchis & Partners
2. Symmetrethical

Republicans argue that ’spending’ must be cut, remaining vague on where the cuts ought to be. Meanwhile, Democrats rarely offer a strong defense of government’s strengths. In fact, the topic of the size of government is a red herring altogether. It’s very hard to imagine the government of a country of 300 million people being anything less than ‘large’. And there’d be nothing wrong with that if the government was well-run.

But as long as the debate remains on the topic of size, it won’t go into the topic of smarts. This is a sensitive topic yet again, and while I am in no way an efficiency expert, or a public policy wonk, I do know my way around corporate communication. In this heavily mediated world, government as a class of organization in the US fails terribly.

Stephen Colbert poking fun at various agencies of the Federal Government. The cacophony is obvious.

While corporations spend billions of dollars on branding and communication, government seems somehow shackled to spend as little as possible, which leaves it effectively out of the arena of ideas, images, sounds.

An American is faced with cacophony of symbols, convoluted acronyms, obscure and clichéd seals when interacting with its government. The experience is pretty much guaranteed to be lackluster.

One of the main problem with America’s perception of government is the lack of cohesive communication by government agencies. So many structures work at improving people’s lives, but there is no clear message detailing this success.Faced with the realization of how much our income goes to government entities, citizens seem unable to justify the personal expense. In contrast, when an iPhone user pays a fat AT&T bill, he clearly knows what he’s paying for, and a quick look at the logo on the back of the device will remind him.

Associating a symbol to an experience is at the very core of the branding process.

Growing up Canadian

This observation is partly inspired by childhood in Canada, where both the federal and provincial governments understood the importance of cohesive visual identity programs. The 1965 institution of the Maple Leaf flag, a very modernist design in its own rights, corresponded with the establishment of identity guidelines, which continues to be a strong system that breathes authority, consistency and efficiency – all things desirable from a well-functioning government. In 1969, a Task Force on Government Information reported that “the government is failing to make its presence known and that important federal programs are being carried out without the public being aware of their sponsorship.” By 1970, the Federal ldentity Program was created.

The ‘Canada’ wordmark, set in Baskerville with a small flag above the third ‘a’, the flag, and the rigid typographic system utilizing Helvetica is both simple and elegant.

In Canada, I’m greeted with the calm, efficient face of the Canadian government, in the form of standard gray signs adorned with the red flag. Any visit to a government agency from unemployment office to passport agency, the same sign presented itself.

This clarity of communication means the tax-payer is perfectly aware of the impact of their dollars delivered to the government.

An ambulance in Montréal, a service clearly paid for by the Québec government

The Jacques-Cartier Bridge, maintained by the Canadian Government

At every interaction, the government clearly brands its services with a wordmark; in the case of Québec, it’s the Fleurdelysé flag and Friz Quadrata customized wordmark, or, in the case of Ontario, it’s the trillium logo, a simplified drawing of the provincial flower.

A consistent system across the country allows each new government service to be clearly branded. This national reach offers significant cost-savings, as new departments are not require to rethink livery design, stationery design, or seal design, with the introduction of any new service. The initial cost of developing the system is easily returned by the cost savings over time.

So could all that’s standing between a better understanding and appreciation of government be some good communication? Well, maybe. If citizens have a clearer idea of the impact of their tax dollars, both the government and its constituents win.

Los Angeles Metro

While visiting Los Angeles for the first time in 2009, I was surprised to find the local transit agency, Metro – the third largest in the country –branded with a clear identity including a beautiful livery system with color-codes for each service (Local, Rapid, Express).

I was struck by a government agency utilizing design to sell public transportation to arguably one of the most car-happy cities in the U.S. I contacted Metro’s Creative Director, Michael Lejeune. He explained the setup of the identity program: Lejeune was recruited by a new CEO to be the new Communications Director. He would only accept the position on the condition that his title be executive position (Chief Communications Officer), with sufficient budget to compete with car companies, that spend millions of dollar selling an alluring lifestyle.

Once Lejeune and another designer were brought on board, they set out to create an own-able mark (the previous Metro symbol was so generic that it could not be trademarked) and an aesthetic that would position Metro as a viable alternative. A comprehensive ad campaign poking fun at car culture, and consistent communication through typical channels resulted in opinion polls exhibiting a 40% increase in user perception of efficiency, frequency and quality of service, even though at that time, there were no significant changes made to these areas. The improved perception of Metro locally eventually contributed to changing perceptions of mass transit in the city. Effects include the passage of L.A. County’s half-cent sales tax increase, known as ‘Measure R’, which is bringing over $40 billions in new transit funding, and the approval of the Westside Subway Extension, which had traditionally been opposed by the wealthy cities on its path, Beverly Hills chief among them. Of course hundreds of dedicated public servant worked towards its success, but it is interesting to consider the impact coherent communication contributed.

Obviously, one could argue that organizations can only good as look as their operations allow, and that clearly the U.S. government is often dysfunctional. But as we keep considering the challenges that face this nation, and that ultimately everybody stands to benefit from a well-run government, it’s time for the government to communicate in a manner that helps its citizen better understand the benefits afforded.

Maybe we can show government how to operate better as a result of better architecture.
Frank Lloyd Wright

No related posts.

A caricature of local food made explicit with frozen Canada and desert Mexico.

Domino’s has launched a campaign touting the origins of its ingredients, “Behind the Pizza“. The result is a sort of nationwide farmville, with cheese from Wisconsin and mushrooms from California. They even specify the name of the farms which are illustrated as idyllic little operations on green knolls (disclaimed as not to scale). You get points as you educate yourself online.

Not getting bogged down by spin—the farms are surely not adorable and these are merely exemplars—what Domino’s is doing is interesting. Building awareness and promoting real, local food is good. Strangely, however, by pointing out that the mushrooms in their pizza come from California when they could come from truly local—and therefore better—farms forces the audience to question their ‘local’ pitch. Pointing it out on a map makes it all the more obvious.

I love that they’re promoting real food, but can only hope that they Starbucks themselves, creating a national awareness of food origin to the extent that the audience matures into locavores. Here is hoping.

No related posts.

13 months after launching Friend's of Type, Aaron and friends spoke at TDC on Oct 21. A good way to celebrate FoT's one year anniversary!

Our own Aaron Carámbula and his Friends of Type cohorts—Erik, Jason, and Dennis—spoke to a capacity-crowd at the Type Directors Club last night. They upped the ante by providing their favorite beer, Duvel, and cocktails featuring Celtic Crossings to make the discussion a lively one. Topics spread from the group’s origins, inspirations, and process. It was fun seeing the site’s fans and friends assembled in one place and in person. Thanks for coming!

Related posts:

1. Aaron at AIGA Rhode Island/RISD

We designed a new identity with a stylized monogram evoking maritime imagery.

A simple and bold direction, combining traditional elements in a unique way, struck the right note.

The firm’s lead touchpoint—its website—furthers the modern, nautical system through imagery, layout, and interaction. Visit the site to see it for yourself.

The website is interactive, with animated page transitions evoking a seafaring perspective.

Related posts:

1. New Work: Athena