Adobe InDesign basics

What am I learning?

Adobe InDesign is a flexible and powerful layout programme, where texts and images come together and are forged into elegant paper or digital publications. During the training you will learn to use InDesign quickly and intelligently, so that you can use it to create advertisements, cards, newsletters, folders and magazines. You will learn various tools that allow you to bring texts and images together. The training is a constant alternation between explanation, application, understanding and doing. Naturally, there is plenty of room for questions. Depending on the time available, there will be room for additional explanations, more examples and even more exercises. Topics:

• Introduction to Adobe InDesign
• Functioning of the Adobe Interface
• Tools and windows
• Frames and other objects
• Colour & content
• Positioning/cutting out images
• Text wrapping, text-through, textbox options
• Simple typography and formats
• Setting up and working with a grid
• Transforming, grouping and locking objects
• Online publishing for feedback and distribution
• Export
• Creating packages for sending/archiving

What will I be able to do after Adobe InDesign training?

After basic Adobe InDesign training, you can expect to have the following skills:

1. Interface Understanding: You know the layout of InDesign’s workspace, including tool panel, control panel, and palettes for pages, layers, links, and other functions.
2. Setting up basic documents: You can set up a new document with appropriate margins, bleeds, columns, and basic pages.
3. Text management: You know how to enter, import and edit text, and you can link text boxes to extend text across multiple pages.
4. Formatting and Styles: You can apply and manage paragraph and character styles for consistent text formatting and have knowledge of basic typographical principles.
5. Working with Images: You can position and scale images and understand the importance of links and image resolution.
6. Page layout: You can create an efficient layout using guides, grids and alignment tools.
7. Tables: You can create and format simple tables to display data.
8. Colour management: You know how to create and apply colour swatches, including spot colours for print production.
9. Objects and Layers: You can create and manage various objects such as shapes and frames and understand how to use layers to organise elements on the page.
10. Interactivity: You learn how to add interactive elements such as hyperlinks and bookmarks, which is especially useful for creating PDFs and digital publications.
11. Exporting: You can export documents to different formats, such as PDF, for print or digital distribution.
12. Preparing for Print: You have a basic understanding of preparing documents for print, including how to use preflight functions to identify and correct errors before sending files to a printer.

These skills will enable you to work on simple projects such as flyers, brochures, magazines, advertisements, and small books. Basic training gives you a solid foundation on which to build with more advanced skills and techniques.