Design source files
What are design source files?
Design source files are the editable originals of a piece of design — the files every exported version was made from. For a logo or a printed item they are layered ai or eps files; for a website it is the layout file in the design tool. Exports such as jpg, png and pdf come out of them, and there is no way back: a png has to be redrawn.
Example
A company changes design suppliers. From the previous one it has a folder with a png of the mark, a pdf of the catalogue and a few photographs. That looks sufficient until a small change is needed: a new phone number in the catalogue, the mark on workwear, a label for a new pack size.
Without the originals the new designer traces the mark by hand, identifies the typeface from a printout and rebuilds the catalogue page by page. The result looks close but does not match — the lettering is a point smaller and the green is a different value. With the source files the same changes are an afternoon’s work.
Why it matters for a business
Source files are what make a company independent of any one supplier. While the originals sit with you, the next designer, printer or agency starts from finished work instead of from nothing. It is also a question of continuity: people move on, the folder stays.
There is one honest exception — typefaces. A font licence usually forbids passing the font file to a third party. That is why the lettering in a mark is converted to curves, and why the licence for anything your own team will edit is bought in the company’s name.
What to ask
- What exactly do you receive at the end: layered originals, or only exported pictures?
- Is the lettering in the mark converted to curves, and who holds the font licence?
- In whose name are stock photographs and icons licensed?
- Does the catalogue layout keep its editable text and its layers?
- Where are the files kept, and how do you get them if you need them in two years?
Which files are handed over at the end of a job is stated on the graphic design page. Put them in storage you control on the day you receive them, rather than looking for them in old email later.