Kimberlee Bush

Digital Imaging Specialist III

Armed with a graphic design background and experience in marketing, Bush has a unique perspective on DAM.

What companies/organizations have you worked for as a DAM professional? What was your role at each?

From 1997-2013 I worked at The Raymond Corporation, an electric forklift truck manufacturer, in the Marketing Communications department. One of my major roles included project management to research, select, and launch an enterprise DAM solution. Following installation, I transitioned to a project administrator role. This included defining taxonomy, keywords, asset ingestion, training documentation and user training, troubleshooting, and ongoing system management with the vendor and internal IT department.

How did you learn DAM? Any recommended sources?

I learned DAM by conducting online research, reading books on DAM and content management, attending multiple DAM Symposium workshops and seminars, plus a taxonomy workshop. I also participated in vendor specific training from intro level to administrator training. In conjunction with the major DAM project I managed, I was also finishing my masters degree at RIT, and I chose DAM as my thesis project in order to use the data as a primary source for my research. One of my best go-to sources was The Journal of Digital Asset Management, edited by Michael Moon.

What’s the most important thing for someone new to DAM to understand about DAM?

From my experience with DAM, it is critical to understand how to prove the application’s value to someone not familiar with the industry. Because DAM is often considered a supporting or ancillary service, companies may not approve additional resources needed to take full advantage of its capabilities. Being able to prove its value in a business environment may mean the difference between manual file search and storage, and an information rich, self-service application, with all the data to support its use and value.

If you weren’t doing DAM as a career, what would you be doing?

Before, during, and after my role as a DAM project manager and administrator, I am a professional graphic designer. I had the unusual advantage of managing a DAM project from the creative side, rather than the IT side. I was able to influence the project from a creative user viewpoint, rather than an IT perspective. DAM systems are traditionally managed by an IT Department, whose members have a completely different mindset, and understanding of DAM, than creatives.

What more would you like to learn about DAM?

Since I have left my employer and started my own business, I would like to learn more about single-user DAM applications for small businesses. I am still a graphic designer, creating and/or purchasing assets every week. I need a small application to help me manage and find my assets quickly.

This interview originally appeared on DAM Guru on Mon, 21 Apr 2014. For more DAM News interviews, see the interviews index page.

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