Problem
A revised thumbnail is saved over the approved version because the design workflow has no immutable approval copy or version suffix policy.
Solution
Root Cause / Diagnostic:
Saving design revisions over existing image files without version control destroys the client-approved graphic baseline and leaves no recovery path if the revision is rejected.
Actionable Fix:
1. Require Immutable Master Versioning for Thumbnails: Enforce naming like [ProjectID]_Thumbnail_v01.jpg, incrementing version numbers on each revision.
2. Create an "Approved_Masters" Delivery Directory: Move finalized, approved thumbnail assets into a locked, read-only delivery folder separate from active working files.
3. Maintain Layered Working Files: Require designers to preserve the multi-layer source document (.psd, .ai, .fig) alongside exports so previous element states can be easily restored.
Pro Tip:
Save the approved thumbnail as [ProjectID]_Thumbnail_FINAL_APPROVED.jpg in a locked folder and set its file attribute to read-only to prevent accidental overwrites.
Saving design revisions over existing image files without version control destroys the client-approved graphic baseline and leaves no recovery path if the revision is rejected.
Actionable Fix:
1. Require Immutable Master Versioning for Thumbnails: Enforce naming like [ProjectID]_Thumbnail_v01.jpg, incrementing version numbers on each revision.
2. Create an "Approved_Masters" Delivery Directory: Move finalized, approved thumbnail assets into a locked, read-only delivery folder separate from active working files.
3. Maintain Layered Working Files: Require designers to preserve the multi-layer source document (.psd, .ai, .fig) alongside exports so previous element states can be easily restored.
Pro Tip:
Save the approved thumbnail as [ProjectID]_Thumbnail_FINAL_APPROVED.jpg in a locked folder and set its file attribute to read-only to prevent accidental overwrites.