Assets & resource pattern — Ads Manager mockup

The pattern that ends the "there's more to it" spiral

Flows pick · libraries own · drawers bridge. Audiences, targeting presets, UTM sets, templates, creatives — every deep object follows one rule: the wizard only ever picks it; creating/editing happens in a side drawer that returns; full management lives in an Assets library outside any flow. The wizard never gains a step, no matter how deep an object goes.

1 · Flows pickInside any wizard/dialog, a complex object is always a searchable picker showing existing assets with their vitals (size, type, usage, performance).

2 · Drawers bridge"＋ New" opens a focused side drawer (the Inspector pattern, reused). Build → Save & use → you're back, field filled. Depth goes sideways, never forward. Max one drawer — no drawer-in-drawer.

3 · Libraries ownAn Assets section in the nav holds full CRUD: Audiences · Targeting presets · Templates · UTM sets · Creative library. Everything drawer-created lands here, named and reusable — no orphan one-offs.

In practice — Ad sets step · Audience field: picker open, "＋ New audience" drawer active

Audiencepick or create — the step never grows

🔍 search audiences…

Purchasers 60d custom · pixel~1.9K people · used in 4 campaigns

LAL 1% Purchasers lookalike~2.1M · avg offspring ROAS 1.4

Broad (no audience) A+ suggestionrecommended default

＋ New audience…

PlacementsA+ ON · same pattern: preset picker + drawer

UTM settaxonomy-default · same pattern

＋ New audience · saves to Assets, then returns here

Type

Source (pick-only — no drawer-in-drawer)

Similarity

1% (closest ~2.1M) ——— 10% (broadest)

Location

Name

Save & useSave to library onlyCancel

Provider capability decides the form fields (Meta lookalike % · Google similar-segments are auto-only, so its drawer differs). Audience sync to the platform runs async; the wizard proceeds with a "creating…" chip.

And in the nav — Assets: where these objects live full-time

Overview

Explorer

Assets

Audiences (12)

Targeting presets (4)

Templates (6)

UTM / tracking sets (3)

Creative library

Rules (W3)

Each library is a small table: name · type · vitals · where it's used (campaigns/templates referencing it — click through) · provenance ("created by Dan in launch …cheffkiss-14.07"). Deleting warns about references. Phase alignment: read-only libraries ship whenever their consumers ship — Templates & UTM sets with duplication (W2), Audiences & presets with creation (W4); the creative library exists from W1 (it's the Creatives view).

Lock the pattern

Flows pick · drawers bridge (max depth 1) · Assets library owns CRUD + usage/provenance. Applies to audiences, presets, UTM sets, templates, creatives — and anything discovered later. Round complete → spec.

Adjust

Tell me in the terminal.