Does your organization have best practices in place for its files and folders?
For decades computers have brought speed, agility, and increased productivity to the running of organizations. But the benefits of computer systems are dependent on the organizational system of the user. Without an established folder hierarchy, your digital reality can quickly turn into a digital dump. It is difficult to collaborate and innovate when your team is stuck searching for the right file.
Below are examples of folder hierarchy systems that will improve process and enable creativity to flourish in your organization:
Marketing Folder
- 01. Branding
- Visual identity
- _assets
- Colour palette
- Fonts
- Working files
- Logo files
- Icon.ai
- Logo.ai
- Wordmark.ai
- Style guide
- _assets
- _links
- Style guide.indd
- Logo files
- logo files
- digital (rgb)
- print (cmyk)
- Style guide 20YY-MM-DD.pdf
- Logo-avatar-black.png
- Logo-avatar-white.png
- Logo-black.png
- Logo-white.png
- _assets
- Photography
- Video bumper
- Visual identity
- 02. Marketing assets
- 03. Marketing
- 04. Website
- 01. Branding
- 02. Marketing assets
- _assets
- Business cards
- _assets
- print ready
- Business card template.ai
- Case study template
- Email signature
- images
- template.html
- Envelope
- Letterhead
- Office banner
- Presentation Deck
- _assets
- _links
- Presentations
- Presentation template.indd
- Presentation template.pdf
- Social media
- 03. Marketing
- 04. Website
- 01. Branding
- 02. Marketing assets
- 03. Marketing
- _Blog articles
- _Social posts
- 20YY-MM-DD Campaign name
- 2020-03-27 K’s 40th birthday
- _assets
- _links
- Ks 40th poster.ai
- Ks-40th-poster.png
- 2020-04-20 MJ March
- 2020-04-26 Tech trade show
- 2020-05-05 New product launch PR
- 2020-05-10 Tipsy Turny
- 2020-07-11 Post Philosophy
- 2020-08-20 Dreamforce Articles
- 2020-09-06 Star Trek First Airing
- 2020-10-04 Lan Meister Flex
- 04. Website
- 01. Branding
- 02. Marketing assets
- 03. Marketing
- 04. Website
- 01. Strategy
- 02. Content
- 03. Design
- _archives
- _assets
- concepts
- 01. Home.ai
- 02. About.ai
- 03. Services.ai
- 04. Contact.ai
- 05. Blog.ai
- 04. Build
Operations
- 01. Legal
- Domain registration
- Incorporation
- Incorporation.pdf
- Shareholders agreement
- _read me.txt
- Share Subscription – Picard Jean-Luc.docx
- Share Subscription – Riker William T.docx
- Voting Trust Agreement 2009-09-01.docx
- 02. Finances
- 03. HR
- 04. Proposals
- 01. Legal
- 02. Finances
- _bank details
- _debtors
- Clear Picture
- Unpaid invoices
- Scott Murray emails.pdf
- SmithsonMartin
- Unpaid invoices
- Alan Smithson emails.pdf
- Clear Picture
- 2020 Fiscal Year
- 2021 Fiscal Year
- 2022 Fiscal Year
- 2023 Fiscal Year
- 2024 Fiscal Year
- 2025 Fiscal Year
- 2026 Fiscal Year
- Bank statements
- 2026-11 Account – Checking.pdf
- 2026-11 Account – PayPal.pdf
- 2026-11 Account – Savings.pdf
- 2026-11 Amex – Picard.pdf
- 2026-11 Visa – Picard.pdf
- 2026-11 Visa – Riker.pdf
- CRA Docs (IRS in the USA)
- CRA Payments (IRS in the USA)
- Invoices / Receipts
- Reports
- 2026-11 Balance Sheet.pdf
- 2026-11 Profit and Loss Details.pdf
- 2026-11 Profit and Loss.pdf
- 2026-11 Shareholder Loan.pdf
- 2026-11 Snapshot.pdf
- Bank statements
- 03. HR
- 04. Proposals
- 01. Legal
- 02. Finances
- 03. HR
- Employment letters
- Onboarding
- Team members
- Team members – Former
- Timesheets
- Termination letters
- 2256-05-11 Michael Burnham – First Officer.pdf
- A long time ago – Binks Jar Jar.pdf
- 04. Proposals
- 01. Legal
- 02. Finances
- 03. HR
- 04. Proposals
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020-01 Ferengi – Latinum Project
- 2020-02 Romulan Ale – Social media
- 2020-03 Cardassian Kanar – Branding
- 2020-04 The Empire – Website
- 2020-04 Rebel Alliance – Content marketing
- _assets
- _links
- 2020-04-19 Rebel Aliance propsal.indd
- 2020-04-19 Rebel Aliance propsal.pdf
- 2020-04-20 Rebel Aliance SOW.pdf
- 2020-04 Borg – CRM System
- 2020-05 Federation – marketing strategy
A few tips
From big, to small
Date folders and files as YYYY-MM-DD
Horrible
- 03-20-2020 Captains Log
- 04-20-2019 Captains Log
- 05-10-2020 Rikers Conquests
Great:
- 2019-04-20 Captains Log
- 2020-03-20 Captains Log
- 2020-05-10 Rikers Conquests
Optimize folders
Good:
- 2020-04 Star Trek eBook
- 2020-04 Star Trek social media
Great:
- 2020-04 Star Trek
- eBook
- Social media
