Alright, let’s talk about this Dale Crafton thing I tried out a while back. It wasn’t some big official project, more like a personal experiment, you know? I kept hearing whispers about the ‘Crafton method’ for organizing workflow, especially with messy creative projects. Sounded kinda interesting, maybe a bit too structured, but hey, I thought, why not give it a whirl?
Getting Started with the Idea
So, I first bumped into the name Dale Crafton on some old forum thread. People were talking about his legendary way of keeping digital assets tidy. No actual manual, just hearsay and bits and pieces folks remembered. Sounded like folklore almost. But I had this side project, a real mess of files, photos, notes, bits of code, everything scattered. Perfect candidate, I figured.
I decided to dedicate a weekend to it. First step was trying to piece together what this ‘method’ actually was. Based on the scraps of info I found, it seemed to involve:
- A super rigid folder structure. Like, nested ten levels deep sometimes.
- Very specific file naming conventions. Using dates, codes, version numbers in a precise order.
- Some kind of master log file to track every single change.
Honestly, just mapping it out felt exhausting.
Trying to Make it Work
So, Saturday morning, coffee in hand, I started. I created the main folders: _INPUT, _PROCESS, _OUTPUT, _ARCHIVE. Simple enough. But then came the subfolders. And the sub-subfolders. Following the supposed ‘Crafton logic’, I was making folders for ‘Draft_Ideas’, ‘Raw_Assets’, ‘Processed_Elements_V1’, ‘Processed_Elements_V2’, ‘Client_Feedback_Round1’… you get the picture. It felt like I was building a bureaucracy instead of organizing files.
Then came renaming all the existing files. Hours went by. Copying, pasting, renaming according to the ‘YYMMDD_ProjectCode_AssetType_Version_*’ format or whatever variation I thought was right. It was tedious. My fingers hurt. My brain hurt.
I remember thinking about this guy, Dale Crafton. Was he real? Did he actually work like this? Or was this just some elaborate practical joke played by internet old-timers? It reminded me of this manager I had years ago, Peterson. He loved process. Loved it more than results. We spent more time filling out forms and updating trackers than actually doing the work. That whole department eventually got restructured, surprise surprise.
Hitting the Wall
By Sunday afternoon, I had maybe half the project files sorted according to the ‘Crafton method’. But navigating it was a nightmare. Need a specific photo? Okay, let’s see… was it in _INPUT/Source_Images/ClientA/EventX/Raw/ or maybe _PROCESS/Image_Edits/Selects/Approved/V3/? Clicking through endless folders. It slowed me right down.
The master log file idea? I abandoned that after about an hour. I’m trying to get work done, not write a novel about my file management habits.
It just felt… clunky. Impractical. Maybe for a massive corporation with dedicated archivists, sure. But for me? A solo guy trying to keep track of his own stuff? It was way too much overhead.
Final Thoughts
So, did I stick with the Dale Crafton method? Nope. Not a chance. Monday morning, I selected all those carefully crafted folders and dragged them straight into a new folder called ‘Crafton_Experiment_FAIL’. Went right back to my slightly chaotic, but functional, system. It might look messy to an outsider, but I know where everything is, and I can find stuff fast.
The whole experience wasn’t a total waste, though. It made me appreciate simplicity. It reinforced the idea that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for ‘Dale Crafton’ (if he exists) or some big team doesn’t necessarily work for me. You gotta find your own groove, your own way of working that makes sense for you and the actual job you need to do. Trying stuff is good, but forcing yourself into a system that doesn’t fit? That’s just a waste of time.
