Develop strong layout and typography skills in InDesign through guided print and digital design projects. Lessons highlight balance, hierarchy, and composition.
Learn how to design professional page layouts with text & graphics in Adobe InDesign. This course covers styling, importing, packaging, and advanced techniques like styles, master pages, and tables. Perfect for creating books, magazines, and ads.
Begin your journey as a professional graphic designer by learning the essential skills and tools used by industry experts. Gain hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.
Advance your layout and design expertise while preparing for the Adobe Certified Professional exam in this hands-on InDesign Certification Program. Through expert-led classes, personalized tutoring, and real-world projects, you'll gain the skills and confidence to create polished magazines, brochures, books, and more.
Founded over 40 years ago, Adobe has multiple products and technologies that help you imagine, create, and bring your digital ideas to life. InDesign is a desktop publishing and page layout design software application that was first released by Adobe in 1999. It is the go-to software for designing posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books, and eBooks. Known as the industry-standard editing software for laying out long-form, multi-page documents, Adobe InDesign can actually be used for so much more. Think of it as the software you use to create anything that combines text and graphics, like creating stationery, annual reports, business cards, or interactive digital publications.
What sets InDesign apart from the other software in Adobe’s suite is its ability to experiment with and customize typography by choosing from hundreds of different fonts and manipulating their kerning, dimensions, and style. The software even includes customizable grids and guides to assist with layout and typesetting, and all of these features mean you can create a font or typeset that is wholly unique to you.
Becoming an Adobe InDesign expert can open many doors. Not only can you create eye-catching long-form documents, but you can also create a one-of-a-kind font to represent your brand and solidify your identity in both print and digital spaces.
InDesign is a must-have software for creatives. You can perfect a magazine or chapbook layout and format your self-published novel, ensuring that any multi-page project is organized and cohesive. If you’re looking to promote your business, you can design custom business cards that help you stand out at networking events, work conferences, or even casual conversations in a coffee house.
If you’re into web design, Adobe InDesign can help with that, too. The addition of pixel measurement since CS6 has improved InDesign’s role in web design. You can use it for the actual development of the design and even to output the final.jpg or.png files for each asset on your website – from backgrounds to individual page graphics. It can also ensure all files are a manageable size, preventing them from using up several gigabytes of memory when opened.
As you can see, there are many ways to use InDesign for both digital and print products. Keep reading below to learn more about what you’ll learn in an InDesign training course and what industries and jobs will open to you once you’re an InDesign expert.
Each InDesign course will cover varying topics that are dictated by the class’ difficulty level and the intended use of InDesign. Most of these courses will cover the same basics though, so you can expect to learn the below skills in any online or in-person course. This list is not exhaustive, so be prepared to learn even more when you enroll!
Developing layout and design are the primary uses for InDesign, so having an eye for design and creative vision will be something most courses will explore. Elements such as typography, spacing, and color will come into play to help you create cohesive, distinctive, and visually appealing designs.
Managing files, including importing, exporting, and organizing, will be an extremely important skill. InDesign can import files from several formats, including Microsoft Word and Adobe Illustrator, and can export files in various formats like PDF, EPUB, and HTML. Messy InDesign files and file organization can slow down your workflow, create errors, and make it harder to collaborate with others. Luckily, a training course will walk you through tips and tricks to manage your files with ease.
InDesign is used to combine images and text, so you will need to be able to confidently add images to your documents, transform images, work with image linking, and wrap text around images. Things like the Place command and the Selection Tool will be taught in an introductory InDesign course so you can add, resize, and redesign images with ease in InDesign.
Mastering working with text will be equally important. Working with text includes understanding the tools used to create frames (Type Tool, Frame tools, and Shape tools) which are located in the toolbox. Text and images in InDesign reside within a frame. When you place text in InDesign, a frame is created automatically for that content, indicating the area where the text will be displayed. You can also connect frames so that text can flow from one frame to the next. All of these skills and tools are necessary for your success with InDesign.
This is more of a soft skill but just as important as those listed above. Collaboration is key to creative pursuits, and Adobe InDesign, along with Adobe Creative Cloud, makes it easy. You’ll want to know how to share files online (either with a private link or a secure password-protected public link), review documents online, and manage feedback. Streamlining your collaboration will help projects run more efficiently and produce better final products.
If you are unfamiliar with graphic design or creating layouts and various documents, mastering InDesign may be challenging. The software is widely considered to be user-friendly, especially now that it seamlessly integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications, thereby enhancing its functionality.
Other factors such as your personal creative prowess and familiarity with digital design, can impact InDesign’s level of difficulty. The good news is that attending Adobe InDesign training can help minimize many of these challenges by providing a structured learning environment and a top-notch curriculum to guide you in mastering the software.
InDesign is meant for professional use, so it can be a bit overwhelming for beginners. But, thanks to its user-friendly design, new users can grasp the basics of the program in a matter of a few days. If your goal is to learn all the features of InDesign in a professional capacity, it may take months or even years, depending on your existing skill set in similar programs or Adobe Creative Cloud products. With this in mind, the time it will take to gain the necessary skill level will differ depending on whether you want to learn InDesign for personal or professional use. This means that students who want to make only light use of the program for academic projects or personal hobbies can learn the basic features of InDesign in less than a week.
Many factors need to be considered when answering this question. Firstly, you’ll need to know what learning environment is best for you. Do you thrive in a collaborative environment that allows you to interact with your peers and receive instant feedback from your instructors? Or, do you prefer a more solitary learning environment where you can learn at your own speed?
You’ll also need to decide how much time you can commit to your education and what level of flexibility your schedule demands. Do you want to dive deeply into an intensive program? Do you work full-time and require your classes to be scheduled for evening and weekend hours?
In-person classes offer face-to-face interaction with fellow students and expert instructors. This collaborative environment is available for full-time and part-time courses and provides structure and accountability, two things that can help you succeed. Online courses may lack in-person interaction, but they compensate with increased flexibility. Live virtual courses still benefit from instant instructor feedback and interactions with other students, while on-demand virtual training allows for the most flexibility since you can decide where and when you learn.
The good news is that, no matter which version you attend, you can obtain a quality social media marketing education with a top-notch curriculum and expert instructors.
Technically, it is possible to learn InDesign for free online. YouTube videos, blogs, and free short workshops can all be a great way to learn the basics without purchasing educational content. (Don’t forget to watch the most recent uploads so you’re learning the latest trends and techniques.)
But, when it comes to more advanced skills, an in-depth training course will be your best option. These courses will consist of a curriculum developed and taught by experts with the ability to receive feedback or troubleshoot any issues with your instructor or a support team. Formal training can also provide the structure and accountability that some students need to stay focused, creating an environment where you’re more likely to succeed. So, if you’re looking to master more than just the basics, a formal workshop or class is a better choice than free online resources.
InDesign is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, so it’s recommended that you learn a few other of Adobe’s programs as well. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom are a good place to start. Illustrator is also worth learning, and mastering both InDesign and Illustrator will help you understand which projects are best suited for each software. With Illustrator, you can make graphics and other assets that draw readers’ attention. With InDesign, you can craft layouts that allow both text and visuals to exist harmoniously on the page.
Adobe’s products are designed to complement and work well with each other. By mastering most or all of them, you can harness your full potential as a digital creator and design products that are professional, engaging, and visually appealing.
Atlanta is an ever-growing city known for being a major economic player in the south. Home to nearly 6 million people and more than 150,000 businesses, Atlanta is an attractive place for Fortune 500 and,000 companies thanks to the region’s low cost of doing business, ease of travel around the world through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the thriving innovative ecosystem, and its reputation as a logistics hub. Some of the top industries in Atlanta are outlined below, each of which will require experts in InDesign to help them develop content, from infographics to newsletters, digital templates to training publications.
Atlanta's healthcare and medical technology category is experiencing rapid growth, and despite being a mature industry, it’s expanding with the help of recent medical innovations. It’s also home to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and a growing number of non-governmental agencies and businesses responsible for responding to humanitarian crises. The healthcare industry often employs skilled professionals in Financial Analyst roles, where they can collect data, conduct analyses of spending, and monitor ongoing market changes and fluctuations.
The Atlanta financial market is booming and is also increasingly diversifying. Atlanta’s FinTech sector is one of the top in the world and continues to attract leading investment firms that are keen to invest in startups. In 2022, about 70% of all global credit, debit, and gift card swipes were processed through a Georgia company, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber, with more than 160 FinTech services companies located in the state. The city’s largest FinTech companies include Global Payments Inc, which employs 4,500 people locally and posts $8.25 billion in revenue; Fiserv Inc., which has 4,000 employees in Atlanta; Equifax, which has 3,000 employees in Atlanta; NCR Corp., which has 3,000 employees locally; and U.S. Bank/Elavon, which employs 1,296 people in Atlanta, according to data from the Atlanta Business Journal.
The Atlanta region is home to Georgia Tech, one of the best schools in the country for computer science and engineering degrees, which is, in part, why the city is known as a world-class hub for technology design, implementation, and innovation. As one of the fastest-growing high-tech urban centers in the nation, Atlanta experienced 15% job growth in technology jobs in 2021, thanks to an increase of 146 new tech businesses. The tech industry relies heavily on funding and investing, making it an ideal industry for you to personally invest in or find work as an investor.
According to Redfin, Atlanta home prices are up 11.7% compared to 2023, selling for a median price of $430,000. It isn’t hard to see why: Atlanta boasts numerous booming industries that are drawing folks from across the nation to call it home. Compared to other major metropolitan areas (think L.A., San Francisco, New York, or Chicago), Atlanta’s real estate market remains relatively affordable. This affordability, combined with the city’s economic strength and growing population, creates a conducive environment for real estate investments.
InDesign can lead to a vibrant and successful career in a variety of industries. There are several roles you could pursue, depending on your level of experience. Listed below are a few of the most common positions you’ll see listed, as well as a brief description of what each does and how much you can expect to be compensated.
There are many different careers you could pursue that require Adobe certification. You could become a Graphic Designer and use graphics, text, colors, and animations to develop branding, advertising, and messaging. Graphic designers often use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in their daily work, so it’s a good idea to become certified in these two programs. The average salary for a Graphic Designer in San Diego falls somewhere between $63,000 and $112,000, depending on your level of experience.
If you want to be a Web Designer, credentials with Dreamweaver, After Effects, and Bridge are worth pursuing. As a Web Designer, you’ll work on a team with Web Developers, Software Engineers, UX Designers, and Project Managers to create websites that are appealing and easy to use. Web Designers in San Diego typically make an average salary between $64,000 and $81,000.
As a Drafter at an architecture firm, you could use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Fresco to sketch out designs and develop detailed diagrams, maps, and schematics. Drafters create technical plans by gathering drawings, determining specifications, outlining material and equipment needs, and creating diagrams using computer-aided design (CAD) software. Drafter salaries typically fall between $75,000 and $100,000, depending on your experience.
A Marketing Coordinator develops strategies and monitors sales across a variety of channels, from email to web to social. Marketing Coordinators can use Adobe InDesign to create interactive and engaging PDF documents, helping them (or the company they work for) stand out against their competitors. All of this is true for other marketing roles as well (copywriter, SEO specialist, and Social Media Manager), but as a Marketing Coordinator, you can expect to earn around $50,000. More specialized roles within marketing can earn much more, even over six figures.
Atlanta is a thriving metropolitan area, boasting the fifth largest population in the U.S. with 5.9 million residents. Corporations such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS, Delta Air Lines, and Turner Broadcasting all call Atlanta home and contribute to making it one of the nation's leading international cities. All of this makes Atlanta an exceptional place to learn and work with Adobe InDesign. Below are a few InDesign trainings local to the Atlanta region, as well as several online offerings that may fit your schedule better.
Adobe InDesign 101
Ledet offers this entry-level course in-person at their Atlanta headquarters or online. You’ll learn to create professional page layouts including both single-page and multi-page documents by mastering the newest techniques and tools used in Adobe InDesign CC for both print and digital publishing. Topics include type controls, graphics file management, layers, style sheets, proper document setup, productivity shortcuts, and InDesign best practices. Several real-world tasks are presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format using Adobe-authorized hands-on exercises for an interactive experience. This class is taught by an Adobe-certified instructor and has no prerequisites.
InDesign Training Course
American Media Training hosts this in-person class that focuses on editing and creating layouts for brochures, newsletters, books, magazines, and even interactive documents. You’ll start with the basic concepts of InDesign and then explore topics like creating documents, text frames, graphics frames, and custom colors. You’ll also master typesetting, modifying items, and finalizing documents. There are no prerequisites for this course but it is recommended that you purchase Adobe InDesign before the start of class.
InDesign Training: Bootcamp
Lumenbrite’s bootcamp takes you from a beginner to an intermediate level of mastery, all from the comfort of your own home. You’ll learn how to work with text, graphics, colors, and typography in InDesign; how to use master pages, paragraph, and character styles; and quick keys to maximize efficiency in your workflow. You'll also master importing and exporting complicated files, working with tables and graphics within tables, and incorporating Illustrator and Photoshop files. This class also covers best practices for previewing and exporting high and low-resolution PDFs, as well as how to avoid common pitfalls in InDesign. By the end of this training, you'll be able to create rich layouts that meet design standards and preview your files with separations and transparency previews.
Adobe Training InDesign
The Knowledge Academy offers this course that can be taken from the comfort of your own home or at their Atlanta learning location. An in-depth education, topics include a robust introduction to the program, how to use text frames, an introduction to typography, kerning and tracking in InDesign, how to apply styles, working with images, and document management. Boasting a world-class curriculum taught by expert instructors, this course also offers a digital delegate pack and an official certification upon completion.
Introduction to InDesign CC
Ed2Go and Atlanta Metropolitan State College collaborated to create this hands-on course made up of lessons that will teach you important aspects of InDesign CC and how to prepare a range of print and online products. You’ll explore the InDesign workspace and tools, learn all about starting and saving a new document, and master how to choose settings for a new file, add background images, and organize your content to create a custom letterhead. This in-depth course covers a lot more, including organizing objects on a layout, setting up a multipage document, creating a trifold brochure, creating a book, managing and applying color, designing tables and creating forms, and so much more. You can choose between self-guided or live virtual classes and may use either a PC or a Mac for this course.
Adobe InDesign Core Skills: Level 1
Also offered in-person by ONLC Training Centers, this class will teach you all the fundamental skills needed for InDesign. You’ll learn to use tools and panels, customize and save workspaces, and create professional layouts. You’ll even master setting up more complex documents using master pages, guides, grids, and placeholders, and how to add, rearrange, and delete pages using the Pages panel.
Basic computer and file management skills are required for this course. ONLC also offers this course in an on-demand format, creating a more flexible learning environment for those who can’t take off work to attend in-person.
While not offered in-person in Minneapolis, this in-depth Noble Desktop course still offers face-to-face interaction through its live online format. This three-month part-time (or one-month full-time) training offers hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, three essential programs for Graphic Designers. You’ll learn to edit & retouch photos in Photoshop, create vector graphics in Illustrator, and design page layouts in InDesign. Throughout the course, you’ll create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.
Tuition for this course includes one-on-one mentoring, setup assistance, and a free retake. Payment plans and other forms of financial assistance are available for those who need it.
Noble Desktop also offers this quick one-day course that’s perfect for beginners. You’ll learn the fundamentals of InDesign including page layout, typography, and image manipulation so that you can create professional documents with ease. Included in the cost of this course is a free retake, setup assistance, and a guaranteed small class size so that you can get the attention you deserve from an expert instructor.
Advanced InDesign CC Training
Learning Tree International hosts advanced training online that’s an ideal combination of instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice. You’ll get a quick overview of InDesign CC and then move on to skills like creating tables, working with transparency, color and color management, and printing and exporting. You’ll also master more advanced skills like creating Adobe PDF files with form fields, creating and exporting an eBook, creating an iPad publication, and working with long documents. By the end of this training, you’ll have the skills needed to create professional-level documents of all kinds.
InDesign Bootcamp
Training Connection offers this intensive bootcamp that will take you from an InDesign beginner to an expert. You will complete a series of publishing projects including an advertisement, magazine, corporate brochure, novel, movie poster, recipe book, restaurant menu, travel guide, and pitch deck. These projects will help you master creating basic graphics, tables, GREP, indexes and TOC, scripts, and so much more. Enrollment includes access to a training manual and one free retake that’s valid for six months. You’ll receive a certificate upon completion that you can present to potential employers.
Adobe InDesign Level 1: Introduction
This online course is available through Emory University’s Continuing Education and will help you take your publishing and design skills to the next level. Divided into seven lessons, you’ll start with an introduction to the workspace, mastering things like navigating through a document, customizing the workspace, using context and panel menus, and modifying interface preferences. You’ll then get familiar working with text and styles and graphics, objects, and object styles. From there you’ll learn how to set up a document and work with pages, work with objects (like graphics and text), and how to flow text, edit text, and work with typography.
InDesign Part 1
This course fromComputer Training Source will teach you to create professional page layouts and designs using the basic tools and features of InDesign. Designed to teach you the basic tools and features, you’ll learn to navigate the InDesign interface, create a new document; customize a document using color, swatches, gradients, and styles; manage page elements; add tables; and prepare documents for deployment. Held entirely online, this course is open to all levels and is beginner-friendly.
Offered by San Diego State University, this course teaches the three programs focused on visual design: Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. You’ll learn how to work with Illustrator to create graphics and illustrations, methods to use InDesign to create professional layouts and typography, and the best practices with Photoshop for image sizing and editing, and color correction.
By the end of this course, you’ll be ready to launch your career as a graphic or Web Designer, thanks to your mastery of key programs in Adobe's Creative Suite. You’ll also be prepared to take the Adobe Certified Professional in Visual Design exam, propelling your career even further. There are no prerequisites for this course, but you’ll need to be familiar with either a Mac or a PC and have the Adobe programs installed before the start of class.
InDesign Training
This online training from UCLA will teach you everything you need to know to design and prepare projects for printing. You'll get familiar with Adobe InDesign's features and gain a practical understanding of its usage for print and digital media while practicing inserting and sizing graphics, adding text, creating interactive forms, and preparing your work for a commercial printer. You’ll also learn to create various documents such as brochures, magazines, books, zines, brand identity, annual reports, print advertisements, promotions, and catalogs. You’ll combine these skills to design and professionally print a short book so you can gain real-world experience translating ideas from screen to printed projects.
Adobe InDesign CC Fundamentals Course
This training from Koenig is designed with proficiency in tasks like designing a layout, working with images and typography, and creating graphics in mind. You’ll learn to generate high-standard digital and print layouts and ensure your visual content is professionally designed, impactful, and meets industry standards. By the end of this live online course, you’ll be able to understand the InDesign interface, navigate and customize the workspace; manipulate text and graphics to design appealing page layouts; and work with color, styles, and layers. You’ll also learn to export their projects for print or digital and be proficient in handling complex InDesign projects.
InDesign Training
Skillforge’s training will help you build a strong foundation of typographic, color, page layout, and document-construction skills that will help you produce various print and digital publications like a simple postcard or an interactive Adobe PDF with form fields. Real-world exercises will teach you to navigate the InDesign interface, create a new document, and customize a document using color, swatches, gradients, and styles. You’ll also master managing page elements, adding tables, preparing documents in multiple formats for deployment, managing advanced page layouts and styles, building complex paths, managing external files and creating dynamic documents, and publishing InDesign files for other formats with customized print settings.
Designed for novices, this course only requires you to have previous experience with computers. No InDesign experience is needed.
If you’re looking to offer in-person or online training to your office or team, Noble Desktop can help. They offer a variety of corporate training programs, including in social media marketing. You can order vouchers in bulk at a discount, choose which courses are available to employees, and even let your employees choose their own schedule. Plus, you can choose to have your training hosted at a location of your choosing, live online, or at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan office.
With a top-notch customizable curriculum and instructors who are experts in their industries, Noble Desktop’s corporate training is designed to cater to your business or organization’s needs. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, you can reach out to Noble Desktop at corporate@nobledesktop.com.