Ask for document files your team can maintain

What this means for your practice

Specify editable source files, fonts, linked assets and instructions as part of the deliverable. Verify that the receiving team can maintain the document through its normal tools.

A practical example

For example, ask a colleague to change a fictional telephone number and export a fresh copy using the handover package. Check that the layout and links remain correct. If the task needs a missing font or an inaccessible image, resolve that before accepting the delivery. Confirm relevant licences and access arrangements too. A good handover makes routine factual updates manageable while preserving a clear route for larger changes, rather than leaving the practice dependent on a file only the original designer can edit.

Agree what happens if the preferred editing software changes later. The handover should identify the original format and any practical limits on conversion. That helps the practice plan future maintenance without discovering during an urgent correction that nobody can open the necessary source file.

Make the design useful in everyday work

Agree the editable format and supporting files before the project is finished. Confirm that the team has the necessary software and approved access to fonts or linked assets. Ask an authorised colleague to make a routine fictional correction and export a new copy from the handover package. Check layout, links and any repeated contact information afterwards. Document which larger changes still need design support and where that support can be obtained. This turns handover into evidence that the files are maintainable, instead of accepting a folder whose practical limitations only appear when an urgent correction is needed.

How to check the result

Track routine edits that remain dependent on missing supplier files.