Naming your areas and categories

Naming areas and categories can be difficult. I find areas are the hardest: by definition, you're trying to convey a lot of information in a few words.

I seem to strive for single- or double-word area names. But why? Be descriptive: it's a computer. Words are free.

(If you're at work Microsoft will ruin this for you. You'll run in to filename length restrictions sooner rather than later.)

'Spatial' names

Lucy and I had an idea over dinner the other week: name your areas like places. Keeping something creative? Call it The studio. Where does all of your paperwork live? The office, of course. You might keep your research in The library.

Computers are boring: making them interesting in any tiny way helps your brain.

Input vs. output

In the creative bubble that is our studio, we use Johnny.Decimal to track the creation of artefacts for LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

This is a pattern that I'll document when I'm happy with it ā€“ it's a tricky one that I don't think we've nailed yet ā€“ but one thing I've found helps is differentiating between 'inputs' and 'outputs'.

'Inputs' are things you need in order to create a thing. In the creative world this might be your logo and brand colours.

'Outputs' are the things you create: the video that is eventually seen by the world.

So rather than naming the area

  • Creative material, name it
  • Creative material (input).

Rather than

  • Marketing,
  • Marketing (output) might be clearer.