Maintaining the quality of assets uploaded to QBank is crucial for preserving the integrity, usability, and overall value of the digital asset management (DAM) system.
Adhering to quality standards ensures that all content remains professional, consistent, and effective for various applications across marketing, product development, and corporate communications.
Quality Standards for Asset Uploads
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Resolution and File Size
- Image Resolution: Ensure images meet the minimum resolution requirements specific to their intended use. For print purposes, a resolution of at least 300 DPI (dots per inch) is generally required, while 72 DPI is acceptable for web or digital use.
- File Size: Upload a single high-quality image optimized for various uses without being unnecessarily large. While the system will handle resizing, avoid excessively large files to maintain system performance. High resolution should be reserved for print when necessary.
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File Format for Uploading to QBank
- Preferred Formats: Upload assets in standard formats that ensure quality and compatibility. For images, use JPEG, PNG, or TIFF. For videos, use MP4 or MOV. For documents, use PDF or DOCX.
- Avoiding Compression Loss: When saving files, use lossless compression to avoid quality degradation. For JPEG files, always save at the highest quality setting to minimize compression artifacts.
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Metadata and Tagging
- Complete Metadata: Ensure all assets include accurate and complete metadata, such as titles, descriptions, keywords, and copyright information, along with any other relevant company-specific tags. This practice ensures assets are easily searchable and that usage rights are clear.
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Legal and Ethical Considerations
- Usage Rights: Only upload assets that you have full rights to use, including proper licensing for stock images, third-party content, or media involving identifiable individuals.
- Compliance: Ensure all assets comply with relevant laws and regulations, including privacy laws such as GDPR. Refer to Section X for detailed guidance on working with GDPR and other legal considerations.
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Versioning, Governance, and Review
- Versioning: The system automatically manages versioning for you, maintaining a clear history of changes. Focus on making necessary and purposeful updates to improve the quality and relevance of assets.
- Governance and Review: Regularly review and update assets to ensure they align with current quality standards and brand guidelines. This practice is key to maintaining consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all assets in the system. For more on governance practices, see Section X.
Implementation
By adhering to these quality standards, you contribute to a well-organized and effective DAM system. These guidelines help streamline workflows, ensure brand consistency, and enhance asset usability across all departments and projects.
Review Process: Steps for Reviewing and Approving Assets to Meet Quality Standards
To ensure all assets meet the required quality standards, implement a structured review process as follows:
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Appoint a Quality Owner
- Designate a "Quality Owner" or team responsible for overseeing the review process. This role involves approving assets that meet the standards or sending them back for rework if they do not.
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Establish a Folder Structure for Quality Review
- Create a set of filter folders within QBank to collect assets that do not meet quality requirements. Organize these folders by asset type or specific criteria (e.g., product images that do not meet format or size requirements, privacy compliance, tagging completeness).
- These folders should automatically collect and temporarily store non-compliant assets, allowing for efficient review and necessary adjustments.
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Regular Quality Checks
- Regularly review the assets in the filter folders. This involves checking whether the folders have captured any assets that do not meet the quality criteria, such as format, size, tagging, and privacy compliance.
- Establish a routine schedule for these reviews to ensure non-compliant assets are promptly identified and addressed.
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Approval and Archiving
- Once an asset is reviewed and necessary changes are made, it should automatically exit the filter folder, indicating it meets the required standards and is ready for use.
- If an asset cannot be brought up to standard, consider deleting or archiving it to prevent its use in current projects. Ensure a new asset that meets the required standards is uploaded in its place.
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Continuous Improvement
- Use insights from the review process to continually refine and improve quality standards. Regular feedback loops help identify common issues and guide adjustments to the guidelines as needed.
By following these steps, you can ensure that all assets within QBank meet the highest quality standards, supporting effective management and use of digital assets across the organization.