{"id":446,"date":"2025-04-28T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/?p=446"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:33:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:33:25","slug":"ux-and-design-files-organization-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/ux-and-design-files-organization-template\/","title":{"rendered":"UX And Design Files Organization Template"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>              <title>UX And Design Files Organization Template<\/title><\/p>\n<article>\n<header>\n<h1>UX And Design Files Organization Template<\/h1>\n<address>Vitaly Friedman<\/address>\n<p>                  2025-04-28T13:00:00+00:00<br \/>\n                  2025-05-30T15:03:14+00:00<br \/>\n                <\/header>\n<p>Are you also <strong>getting lost<\/strong> in all the files, deliverables, shared docs, PDFs, and reports related to your UX work? What about decisions scattered everywhere between email, Slack conversations, Dropbox folders, SharePoint, Notion, and Figma?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s too easy to lose important assets and too difficult to find them just when you need them. While we often speak about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_design-figma-activity-7152988603072020480-uQrb\/\">how to neatly organize Figma files<\/a>, we rarely discuss a <strong>sensible folder structure<\/strong> for all our UX assets. Well, let\u2019s change that.<\/p>\n<p>(If you&rsquo;re looking for more insights into design patterns or measuring UX, take a look at <a href=\"https:\/\/smart-interface-design-patterns.com\">Smart Interface Design Patterns<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/measure-ux.com\">How To Measure UX<\/a>, <strong>friendly video courses on design patterns and UX<\/strong>, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/smashingconf.com\/online-workshops\/workshops\/vitaly-friedman-impact-design\/\">live UX training<\/a> coming up in a few weeks.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n  \n  \n  \"><\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/design-bootcamp\/how-to-organize-internal-design-documents-so-you-can-manage-projects-with-precision-bf658c9d0e7\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"1052\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Folder structure for UX assets\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_80\/w_400\/https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/1-ux-design-files-orginization-template.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"organization-starter-kit-free-template\">Organization Starter Kit (Free Template)<\/h2>\n<p>A while back, I stumbled upon a neat <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/design-bootcamp\/how-to-organize-internal-design-documents-so-you-can-manage-projects-with-precision-bf658c9d0e7\">organizational starter kit<\/a> by Courtney Pester. It\u2019s an incredibly thorough <strong>setup template<\/strong> to get started with and build upon. Surely your projects will require a customized setup, but it will get you running fairly quickly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/v2\/1*LkE90fMfEEvbg5jUsfiHoQ.png\">Full structure preview<\/a> (PNG)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1C6bAxUEu0KWOzlKjoofR9eVQuKDh2KM5lbcqd9ISzPk\/edit?tab=t.0\">Google Doc template<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1g6YBwtbbd4ImBhozpSEIzXBbH82JhKdT\/view\">Compressed .zip file folder structure<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the article, Courtney suggests breaking down all assets and resources into <strong>7 main categories<\/strong> &mdash; all representing distinct parts of the project lifecycle, and neatly broken down into sub-folders:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Client resources,<\/li>\n<li>Research &amp; synthesis,<\/li>\n<li>Concept ideation &amp; testing,<\/li>\n<li>Wireframes &amp; prototypes,<\/li>\n<li>Meeting artifacts,<\/li>\n<li>Final deliverables,<\/li>\n<li>UI + Dev handoffs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"\n  \n    break-out article__image\n  \n  \n  \"><\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/design-bootcamp\/how-to-organize-internal-design-documents-so-you-can-manage-projects-with-precision-bf658c9d0e7\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"391\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Folder structure for UX assets\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_80\/w_400\/https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/2-table-of-contents.png\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><figcaption class=\"op-vertical-bottom\">\n      (<a href=\"https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/2-table-of-contents.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Every project starts by duplicating the same main <strong>folder template<\/strong> and adjusting it for the needs of the project. Most importantly, we choose a <strong>central place<\/strong> where all key assets have to be located &mdash; be it Notion, Google Drive, Dropbox, or anything else. If an important detail lands in your email or is sent to you via Slack, it has to end up in that shared space.<\/p>\n<p>I really can\u2019t emphasize enough the importance of having a <strong>shared understanding<\/strong> about where the files will be stored and how they will be accessed. Proper organization of assets <strong>will not happen automatically<\/strong> &mdash; usually, it requires effort and commitment from the entire team to ensure that it doesn&rsquo;t become a place with some bits and pieces, while other critical details and decisions are scattered all over other channels.<\/p>\n<p>Now, when we bring all documents and artefacts together, we end up with a quite lengthy but also <strong>comprehensive folder structure<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n  \n    break-out article__image\n  \n  \n  \"><\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/design-bootcamp\/how-to-organize-internal-design-documents-so-you-can-manage-projects-with-precision-bf658c9d0e7\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"1561\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"A comprehensive folder structure\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_80\/w_400\/https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/4-comprehensive-folder-structure.png\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><figcaption class=\"op-vertical-bottom\">\n      A comprehensive folder structure for your assets. <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/design-bootcamp\/how-to-organize-internal-design-documents-so-you-can-manage-projects-with-precision-bf658c9d0e7\">Text-only view<\/a>.<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It might appear quite daunting at first, but of course, the overall structure would change quite significantly depending on what exactly you are working on.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"beware-of-duplications\">Beware Of Duplications<\/h2>\n<p>Probably the most underrated problem in any type of file structure organization is duplication and versioning. Before we start the project, we need to be very clear about what types of files should end up in the shared drive and which shouldn&rsquo;t. You might or might not need intermediate versions of some documents, but you definitely want to keep the final ones.<\/p>\n<p>These are typically the questions I would be raising:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Do we need to restrict access<\/strong> to some sections of the folder (e.g., sensitive data)?<\/li>\n<li><strong>What naming conventions<\/strong> do we use for files\/folders (e.g,. semantic versioning, V1, V2, &ndash;FINAL)<\/li>\n<li><strong>How do we manage deprecated or outdated files?<\/strong> Do we archive or delete them?<\/li>\n<li><strong>What would be the main communication channel<\/strong> for stakeholders\/clients?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Are there any legal requirements<\/strong> for storing and sharing some specific files?<\/li>\n<li><strong>What will happen to the shared space<\/strong> once the project has finished?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Frankly, the reason why I raise these questions isn&rsquo;t only to make decisions and create some shared conventions in the team. A much more important goal is to strengthen <strong>communication channels<\/strong> and <strong>raise awareness<\/strong>. We want to establish a shared commitment and ownership over that space &mdash; mostly to avoid any key decisions falling through the cracks, resulting in severe delays, costs, or cutting corners.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"secure-but-easy-to-access\">Secure But Easy To Access<\/h2>\n<p>It might sound obvious, but worth emphasizing: if the shared space is difficult to use, it will not be used. That\u2019s when people will find workarounds to store some of \u201ctheir\u201d assets in spaces that are more convenient to use &mdash; with pieces of information scattered all over different channels.<\/p>\n<p>The shared space has to be <strong>easily accessible<\/strong> for everyone who should be able to access and maintain it. We most certainly want to stay secure, but setting up a multi-layered authentication process with Yubikey and a virtual machine is unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>For most situations, a <strong>password\/passkey + 2FA<\/strong> (2-Factor-Authentication) would be perfectly enough.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-drawbacks-of-the-tree-structure\">The Drawbacks Of The Tree Structure<\/h2>\n<p>Personally, I do have a small issue with the tree structure. Although it neatly organizes all artefacts in folders, it doesn\u2019t really reflect the project timeline. But different assets are more important at different times of a project lifecycle. And: there are typically dependencies between different parts of a project, so it might also be a good idea to <strong>break down by time<\/strong> or at least <strong>tag by milestones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For example, we might want to <strong>look up research insights<\/strong> related to a specific part of the project. Or review the video from usability sessions when a specific iteration was tested. Doing so with a high-level tree structure can be a bit challenging and time-consuming.<\/p>\n<p>When organizing artefacts, I try to follow one single principle: <strong>put things that belong together close to each other<\/strong>. Typically, it means having a high-level structure with key iterations, broken down by milestones. It can live in Notion or in Miro, with each milestone linked to a Figma mock-up (<em>not uploaded .fig files!<\/em>).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n  \n    break-out article__image\n  \n  \n  \"><\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/uxinsight.org\/how-to-build-a-ux-research-role-practice-from-scratch\/\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Collection of templates for UX research work\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_80\/w_400\/https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/3-templates-ux-research-work.png\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><figcaption class=\"op-vertical-bottom\">\n      A helpful collection of <a href=\"https:\/\/uxinsight.org\/how-to-build-a-ux-research-role-practice-from-scratch\/\">templates for UX research work<\/a>, by Ori Dar. (<a href=\"https:\/\/files.smashing.media\/articles\/ux-design-files-organization-template\/3-templates-ux-research-work.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"useful-tools-to-organize-ux-work\">Useful Tools To Organize UX Work<\/h2>\n<p>There are plenty of wonderful tools to help you organize and share your UX work as well:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/dovetail.com\/\">Dovetail<\/a> to gather customer insights in one place,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.userinterviews.com\/\">UserInterviews<\/a> for recruiting and research work,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/maze.co\/\">Maze<\/a> is another great UX research platform,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/glean.ly\/\">Glean.ly<\/a> to use as an atomic research repository,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.notion.so\/\">Notion<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/\">AirTable<\/a> for quick look-ups of all files.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And: don\u2019t feel compelled to replicate any file structure entirely. Use it as a foundation to be inspired by and build upon. Customize away for the specific needs of your projects and your team. <strong>What works for you works for you.<\/strong> There is really no perfect and universal way that works out of the box.<\/p>\n<p>How do you organize your files and assets? What folder structures and organization systems do you use? Share what works best for you and your team in the comments below.<\/p>\n<p>Happy organizing, everyone!<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"useful-resources\">Useful Resources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_design-figma-activity-7152988603072020480-uQrb\/\">How To Organize Figma Files<\/a> by Lee Munroe<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/odettejansen.medium.com\/utilising-notion-as-your-ux-research-repository-005c7dc36726\">How To Build A User Research Database (Notion Template)<\/a> by Odette Jansen<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/uxinsight.org\/how-to-build-a-ux-research-role-practice-from-scratch\/\">How To Build Up UX Research From Scratch (+ Templates)<\/a> by Ori Dar<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_ux-design-activity-7218878275027116032-33UX\/\">Starter Kits For Design Leads<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_ux-templates-notion-activity-7039900781004607488-eyVa\/\">Useful Notion Templates<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_ux-design-miro-activity-7030171852110995456-aowy\/\">Useful Miro Templates<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/vitalyfriedman_ux-design-figma-activity-7206915952234369025-SzYm\/\">Useful Figjam Templates<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"new-how-to-measure-ux-and-design-impact\">New: How To Measure UX And Design Impact<\/h2>\n<p>Meet <a href=\"https:\/\/measure-ux.com\/\" style=\"font-weight: bold !important\">Measure UX &amp; Design Impact<\/a> (8h), a new practical guide for designers and UX leads to measure, track, show and report the <strong>impact of your incredible UX work<\/strong> on business. Use the code <a href=\"https:\/\/measure-ux.com\/\" style=\"font-weight: bold !important;text-decoration: none !important\"><kbd>IMPACT<\/kbd><\/a>&nbsp;\ud83c\udf9f to <strong>save 20% off today<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/measure-ux.com\/\">Jump to the details<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:0\" class=\"article__image\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/measure-ux.com\/\" title=\"How To Measure UX and Design Impact, with Vitaly Friedman\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"466\" style=\"border-radius: 11px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"How to Measure UX and Design Impact, with Vitaly Friedman.\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/measure-ux-and-design-impact-course.png\"><br \/>\n    <\/a><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"book-cta__inverted\">\n<div class=\"book-cta\" data-handler=\"ContentTabs\" data-mq=\"(max-width: 480px)\">\n<nav class=\"content-tabs content-tabs--books\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"content-tab\"><a href=\"#\"><button class=\"btn btn--small btn--white btn--white--bordered\"><br \/>\nVideo + UX Training<\/button><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"content-tab\"><a href=\"#\"><button class=\"btn btn--small btn--white btn--white--bordered\">Video only<\/button><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"book-cta__col book-cta__hardcover content-tab--content\">\n<h3 class=\"book-cta__title\"><span>Video + UX Training<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"book-cta__price\"><span><span class=\"\"><span class=\"currency-sign\">$<\/span>&nbsp;<span>495<span class=\"sup\">.00<\/span><\/span><\/span> <span class=\"book-cta__price--old\"><span class=\"currency-sign\">$<\/span>&nbsp;<span>799<span class=\"sup\">.00<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com\/enroll\/3081832?price_id=3951439\" class=\"btn btn--full btn--medium btn--text-shadow\"><br \/>\nGet Video + UX Training<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"book-cta__desc\">25 video lessons (8h) + <a href=\"https:\/\/smashingconf.com\/online-workshops\/workshops\/vitaly-friedman-impact-design\/\">Live UX Training<\/a>.<br \/>100 days money-back-guarantee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"book-cta__col book-cta__ebook content-tab--content\">\n<h3 class=\"book-cta__title\"><span>Video only<\/span><\/h3>\n<div data-audience=\"anonymous free supporter\" data-remove=\"true\"><span class=\"book-cta__price\" data-handler=\"PriceTag\"><span><span class=\"\"><span class=\"currency-sign\">$<\/span>&nbsp;<span>250<span class=\"sup\">.00<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"book-cta__price--old\"><span class=\"currency-sign\">$<\/span>&nbsp;<span>395<span class=\"sup\">.00<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com\/enroll\/3081832?price_id=3950630\" class=\"btn btn--full btn--medium btn--text-shadow\"><br \/>\nGet the video course<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"book-cta__desc\" data-audience=\"anonymous free supporter\" data-remove=\"true\">25 video lessons (8h). Updated yearly.<br \/>Also available as a <a href=\"https:\/\/smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com\/enroll\/3082557?price_id=3951421\">UX Bundle with 2 video courses.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"signature\">\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Smashing Editorial\" width=\"35\" height=\"46\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/images\/logo\/logo--red.png\"><br \/>\n  <span>(yk)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UX And Design Files Organization Template UX And Design Files Organization Template Vitaly Friedman 2025-04-28T13:00:00+00:00 2025-05-30T15:03:14+00:00 Are you also getting lost in all the files, deliverables, shared docs, PDFs, and reports related to your UX work? What about decisions scattered everywhere between email, Slack conversations, Dropbox folders, SharePoint, Notion, and Figma? It\u2019s too easy to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessibility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":448,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions\/448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentonsgroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}