Digital Back up Guide

As artists, we have digital work that we might need to save. Here are some tips for saving your file. For starters, you may need to diversify your digital copies. Never assume you have them safe in one location.

What to Back Up Regularly:

• Portfolio files, client projects

• Contracts, invoices, receipts

• Personal art, WIPs, photos

• Passwords (use a manager like 1Password)

1) The 3-2-1 Rule

• 3 Copies of your files

• 2 Different storage types (e.g., external drive and cloud)

• 1 Off-site copy (in case of fire, theft, or local hardware failure)

2) Diversify your file location.

• Offline option: External Harddrive/ Thumbdrive

• Cloud option: Google Drive/ Dropbox/ PCloud/ Egnyte

• Autosync (Time Machine)

3) Protect your Files

• Encrypt your files

• Create a password protection option

• When using Cloud, have 2 factor authentification

• Check your file and sharing access

• Use a password manager like 1password

• Use a UPS & Battery backup (these can protect your computer from unstable power surges or give you 5-15 mins of backup time to save files when electricity goes out)

4) Organize for easy retrieval

• Name folders

• Add dates

• Add "read me" notes where applicable

• Save in additional holistic file format (e.g.- Illustrator file as additional svg, pdf, png, or format that is not proprietary to software)