File naming and versioning for design work
One naming pattern, one rule for when a number goes up, and one place versions live. The scheme, why it is in that order, what to do with client edits, and how Studio applies it for you.
Beginner2 min readUpdated 27 September 2026Studio · Deliver
The pattern, and why that order
| Part | Example | Why it is there, and in this position |
|---|---|---|
| client | lekki-nights | Sorts every job for one client together in any folder or search. |
| job | launch | Inside a client, sorts by job. Short: the folder can hold the long name. |
| format | a3-poster, instagram-post, story | The deliverable. A person opening the zip knows what each file is without opening it. |
| version | v2 | Last, so files of one format sort in order. Two digits (v02) if you expect more than nine sends. |
| extension | .pdf, .png, .jpg | The file type does the rest; do not put "print" or "web" in the name when the extension and format already say it. |
Lower case and hyphens survive email, WhatsApp, Windows, macOS, web servers and printers' upload forms. Spaces, capitals, ampersands and accents do not always.
When the number goes up
- On every send. If the client saw v2, the next thing they see is v3, even if the change was one comma. Otherwise two different files share a name and the wrong one gets printed.
- Not while you work. Internal saves are versions inside the design, not new file names.
- Client edits after approval start a new version and, if they are more than a typo, a new round.
- Delivered files carry the version that was approved. If v3 was approved, the print PDF is v3.
Where versions live
A version is a restore point for one design. Keep them inside the tool, where they carry a thumbnail, a date and a label, and restore or branch from any of them. In the Editor, File, Save a version (Ctrl+Alt+S) makes one, exports make one automatically, and File, Version history… lists them. In Studio, the Review tab holds one numbered version per round with what changed and the client's reply. Copies of files named poster-final-FINAL-2.psd are versions without any of that information.
Should I put the date in the file name?
Only when several deliveries of the same format happen on different dates with no version change, which the version number already prevents. Dates belong in the delivery note; the version is what people quote back to you.
What about internal drafts?
They are versions inside the design, saved with a label, not files. When one goes out, it gets the next version number.