Please Note: The content and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own – I have not received any commissions or sponsorships for publishing the following content or links, nor have I used AI to write any parts of this article.
Have you ever received editable design files from your designer at the end of a design project?
Editable design files or ‘working files’ as they’re sometimes called, are different to the ‘artwork’ or ‘production’ files your designer provides to you at the end of your project with them. They’re the actual design software files your designer has used to create your design project outcomes, and not every designer will provide them to you as standard.
As a designer who does include editable design files in their handover process, I wanted to shed some light on what they are exactly, how to store them effectively, and when and how to use them for best results.
Having a basic understanding of how these files work will allow you to make the most of the design projects you commission, and will help you to know when and how to repurpose your past design projects to save you time and money.
So without further ado, let's get started!
To answer this, let’s look at the two main types of files that you (as the ‘client’) may receive at the end of a freelance design project (excluding website design projects and some digital design projects) from your designer.
These are the final creative outcomes of your project, provided in a format that's ready to be used, produced or published. They’re designed to be used as is, rather than edited or adjusted in any further way, as they are considered the final version of the design.
These are the design software files your designer has used to create your designs during your project together. They contain all of the creative elements that make up your final design outcome, as well as important settings and specifications that allow your project to be exported correctly for production or publication when the project is complete.
These files can be edited by anyone who has access to the appropriate software, but in their current state, are not suitable for production or publication without first undertaking an export process.
Editable design files serve an important purpose in that they allow a commissioned design to be repurposed in the future for similar use cases. As the client, they allow any design-savvy or technologically-proficient member of your team to make small adjustments to your commissioned design outcomes post-project in order to reuse them in new marketing contexts, without the need to involve the external freelance designer each time.
From a freelance designer's perspective, handing over editable design files to the client at the end of a project allows the designer to focus on producing new creative work for the client, which can often be a more effective use of their time. It's also a way to offer more value per project to the client, as each project has the potential for future reuse. Finally, it's a gesture of goodwill, and helps to form a positive working relationship between designer and client.
If your freelance designer does provide editable design files as part of their handover process, it's important to be aware of the underlying expectation that you'll use them honestly and responsibly. Unfortunately, some businesses have been known to take advantage of their designer’s goodwill, performing major adjustments to editable files as they attempt to use them in a variety of inappropriate contexts – all in an effort to avoid paying for further design work.
This is a real shame, and having experienced it myself, I can say that this behaviour greatly reduces the quality of design outcomes and has a negative impact on brand image, aside from being unethical and damaging to hard-working sole traders like me.
Fair usage of editable design files includes repurposing of past designs for similar use contexts that require minimal adjustment to the design as a whole. There are no hard and fast rules here, but you can use the following questions to help you decide whether or not it's suitable to repurpose your editable design files for a new use case:
If in doubt, it never hurts to reach out to your designer and ask for their opinion.
