Structure
The vault has two top level folders. All examples on this page use invented names.
brands/
projects/
Brand entries
One folder holds one brand kit.
brands/example-brand/
guidelines.md
palette.yml
refs/
| Item | Holds |
|---|---|
guidelines.md | Voice and tone, and the do and do not rules for copy |
palette.yml | Colours by role: primary, secondary, accent, neutral, background |
refs/ | Reference images: logo, product shots, lifestyle photography, packaging |
Brand entries sit outside the project folders. The brand applied to a project is set in Slate. Slate reads the guidelines, the palette, and the reference images when it writes listing copy and marketing images.
Project entries
One folder holds one project.
projects/example-camera-12/
project.md
gen-1/
design/
analyse/
voc/
iterate/
generate/
uploads/
| Item | Holds |
|---|---|
project.md | The project record: names, product code, category, and the notes Slate is given |
gen-1/ | The first generation of work on the product |
uploads/ | Files supplied by the operator |
Generations
A generation is one pass of work on a product. Generations are numbered from
one. A second pass writes to gen-2 and leaves gen-1 untouched.
Stage folders
Each generation holds one folder per stage. A stage folder appears only after that stage produces a document.
| Folder | Holds |
|---|---|
design | Product specifications |
analyse | Competitor datasets, gap analyses, profit models, marketplace listing collections |
voc | Customer review reports and product problem analyses |
iterate | Revised specifications drawn from customer feedback |
generate | Listing copy and marketing images |
Uploads
Uploaded files are kept in uploads exactly as supplied. Slate does not
rewrite them.
Each PDF, spreadsheet, and Word document is read once at upload. The text is written beside the original as a companion Markdown file, so the content can be read and searched. Companion files are hidden from the file list inside Slate.
An upload stays in uploads even after it is tagged to a generation and a
stage. The tag is held in Slate rather than in the folder name.
Related
- Overview covers access and version history.
- Conventions covers naming and metadata.