Course Information

Adobe. Work smarter with digital and print media.

This two-day Adobe InDesign training course will have you designing a variety of layouts for both print and digital publishing. You will be guided step-by-step through the basics of the software, in order to create your own print and digital material.

Your own Adobe Creative Cloud account is required for this course. You will also need your own device. For further details, see 'Before the course'.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• discuss how the application can be used and start working with it
• set up and create a new document
• work with and modify elements of a workspace
• use basic navigation
• understand the frame tools
• work with text
• work with layers
• understand colour and how to use it
• work with linked graphics and images
• work with pages
• ensure documents are ready to print
• package and export options
• use the Help menu and access online help resources.

Content

InDesign Interface

• Introduction
• Workflow at a Glance
• Start Workspace
•  Workspaces
• Reset Workspaces
• Navigation - Zooming
• Screen Modes [ W ]
• Display Performance

New Document

• New Document
• Templates
• Document Settings
• Preference Settings
• Adjust Document Size
• Adjust Document Layout
• Layout Margins and Columns
• Custom Document Preset
• Different Page Sizes within a Single Document

InDesign Frame Types

• Text Frame (Type Tool)
• Rectangle Frame Tool (Placeholder)
• Rectangle Tool (Shape)

Typography

• Character Formatting
• Select Text
• Placing Text (Import Microsoft Word file)
• Find and Replace Fonts
• Properties Panel
• Paragraph Formatting
• Overset Text
• Hyphenate
• Paragraph Settings Overview
• Text Frame Options - Centre Text within a Frame
• Character and Paragraph Spacing
• Text Threading
• Automatic Text Threading
• Text on a Path
• QR Code
• Glyphs & Special Characters
• Number of Columns

Graphics & Images

• Placing Images & Graphics
• Fitting options
• Content Grabber
• Transform Images
• Align and Distribute
• The Gap Tool
• Paste Into
• Text Wrap
• Clipping Path
• Links
• Layers
• Group Layers

Shapes and Objects Shapes

• Pathfinder Tool
• Rounded Corners
• Stroke
• Stroke Type Example

Colour & Transparency

• Apply Fill and Stroke Colour 
• Swatches Panel
• Custom Colours
• Colour Picker
• Tint Swatch
• Gradient Tool
• Gradient Feather
• Colour Theme Tool
• Transparency & Effects
• CC Libraries

Pages

• Pages Panel Overview
• Insert New Pages
• Parent Pages vs Document pages
• Create Parent Page Items
• Apply Parent to Pages
• Delete Pages
• Override a Parent Page Item
• Parent Item on Top
• Restore Parent Page Items
• Automatic Page Numbering
• Rearrange Pages

Save and Export

• Save InDesign Document
• Save a InDesign Template
• Preflight
• Package Files
• Export to a PDF for Printing
• Export JPG and PNG File Formats for the Web
• Keyboard Shortcuts Keyboard Shortcut list

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone wanting to learn the basics of graphic production to create layouts for print media.

Prerequisites

This introductory course assumes little or no knowledge of the software.

Delivery modes

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught training using your own device
• Online training via the platform Zoom

Delivery style

Face-to-face classes

These classes run in a classroom and you will need to bring your own device with Adobe InDesign installed. You should ensure it is fully charged as access to power is limited. Please note that the University does not carry any responsibility for your lost, stolen, or damaged devices whilst on the University premises.

Online classes

You will need your own device with Adobe InDesign installed. We also recommend using a computer with a larger screen, or two screens/devices. A small laptop screen provides limited space, and it can be difficult to manage following the facilitator’s screen and using your own software.

Materials

Course materials are provided electronically using Dropbox

Before the course

You will need an Adobe Creative Cloud account to participate. If you don't have an existing account, you can purchase an Adobe Creative Cloud account here. Please bring your account login details with you to class.

Recommended operating system: Windows or Mac

Recommended software for PC: Adobe InDesign CC 2023

Recommended software for Mac OS: Adobe InDesign CC 2023

Download the BETA version through your Creative Cloud to access the AI features.