Tidying up brand files: from shared drive to one place

Why the shared folder gets messy on its own

Nobody makes a mess on purpose. A colleague saves a logo under their own name. An agency emails over a new version. Someone else keeps a copy on their laptop because the drive is slow.

After a few years, the same files sit in five places, in ten versions. The folder stops helping and becomes a puzzle. So tidying up isn’t just about deleting things. It’s about creating one place everyone can rely on.

Step 1: gather everything in one pile

Don’t start sorting inside the folder itself. First collect everything you can find in one temporary folder. That way you can see what really exists. Look in these places:

• Shared drives. Think of the network drive, Google Drive, SharePoint, Dropbox or Teams.
• Email. Search for words like logo, visual identity, proof and the name of your agency or printer.
• Colleagues’ laptops. Ask the people who often make things to share their own folders.
• Your agency or designer. Ask for the source files they still keep for you.
• Websites and tools. Your website, newsletter software and social media accounts also hold logos and images.

Step 2: sort into keep, archive or delete

Then work through the pile. Compare it with your current visual identity to see what’s up to date. If you’re unsure about a file, look at the colours and the logo itself, not the file name or date. Split everything into three groups:

• Keep. Files that match your current visual identity and that people actually use.
• Archive. Old logos, past campaigns and finished projects. Store them separately, out of the team’s sight.
• Delete. Duplicate copies, half-finished versions and files nobody recognises.

Step 3: choose a structure everyone understands

A good folder structure follows what users are looking for. People want a logo, a colour or a template. They don’t search for a project name or a year. So stick to a few clear main folders, such as logos, colours, typefaces, imagery and templates.

Agree on how files are named too. A name like brandname-logo-white-rgb.png tells you straight away what you’re getting. Leave out words like ‘final’ or ‘new’. They never stay true for long.

Also separate source files from exports. A source file is the file a designer works in, for example from Illustrator or InDesign. An export is a ready-to-use version, such as a PNG or PDF. Most colleagues only need exports. Keep the source files separately, so you don’t lose them and nobody edits them by accident.

Step 4: clear out old links and keep it up

After tidying up, old shortcuts and links often still work. People have an old folder bookmarked, or a link sits in a document or on the intranet. Track them down and point them to the new location. Don’t leave the old folder half alive: remove it or put a clear pointer inside.

Then appoint one owner. That person decides what gets added and what goes. When a new version arrives, the owner replaces the old file in the same place. Also schedule a regular moment, for example every quarter, to check briefly whether stray copies are turning up again.

If you’d rather not sort this out yourself, MarkBase can help. During setup we gather your logos, colours, typefaces, templates and guidelines from your folders and emails and put them in one brand vault. You can also send us your old PDF and we’ll transfer it. With version control, old files disappear from view, and with search, filters and tags everyone quickly finds what they need.