Development processes - assets & content

Project
development
processes

Timeline

1 Client brief

2 Research & analysis

3 Planning

4 Design

5 Assets & content

6 Build & construction

7 Testing & evaluation

8 Delivery

The interface and back-end of the project is the container for the assets and content. In a typical web site the assets and content will take the form of ...

  • text (copy)
  • images
  • animations
  • video
  • sound / music
  • communications
  • database
  • ecommerce (shopping carts)
  • etc

There are 4 primary ways to obtain assets ...

  1. From the client
  2. Create them yourself (team members)
  3. Commission them (illustrators, photographers etc)
  4. Get them from third parties (such as publishers and image libraries)

1. Obtain assets from client

Including ...

  • text (copy)
  • logos - do they have original (digital) artworks or will you have to re-create them?
  • photos - negatives, prints, digital files of high enough quality?
  • video - original hi-quality, analogue, compressed (Flash, QuickTime, AVI), DVD?
  • etc

2. Create assets/content

Whatever bespoke assets are required which the client doesn't have. Quote for these.

See the various menus on this web site for image, video, audio etc content creation articles.

Copywriting article is here

3. Commission assets

Ensure your brief is rock solid then seek quotes from suppliers (photographers, animators, copywriters etc). You can ask your client if they would like to attend photo shoots etc. Copyright issues are discussed here.

4. Obtain assets/content from 3rd parties

Do you need a pre-existing piece of video or audio? What are the copyright considerations.

Asset log

However you obtain or create your assets, it is useful to write a project specification for file types, naming conventions, repurposing specs etc. More on asset logs here.

Backing up and version control

Advice is here