How Long Does it Take to Learn InDesign?

Since Adobe InDesign is a program that is easily accessible to novices with a large library of tools that can be utilized by advanced users, the question of how long InDesign takes to learn largely rests on how deep a student wants to go in their training. For students looking to gain a basic understanding of building layouts, inserting and modifying text and images, and preparing their work for publication using Adobe InDesign, the program can be learned in as little as one to two days. However, general consensus suggests that mastering Adobe InDesign will take a few weeks to a few months of dedicated training, with part-timer learners taking longer.

What is InDesign?

Released in 1999, Adobe InDesign is the industry standard in page layout design software, and it is one of the software programs that comprise the Adobe Creative Cloud. Together with Photoshop and Illustrator, InDesign is one of the most commonly used creative design tools across a number of industries, ranging from publishing to graphic design. Built to streamline the process of designing page layouts for books and magazines, InDesign has a plethora of uses that make it a versatile tool for many creative endeavors. As part of a heavily integrated array of creative tools, Adobe InDesign gives creatives the chance to create compelling and vibrant page layouts.

Unlike its sister programs, Illustrator and Photoshop, InDesign serves a specific but vital function, building page layouts. Creatives will use InDesign to build prototype layouts for everything from brochures to web pages, and the program has tools for populating those prototypes with graphics, texts, and even interactive elements. While it is primarily used in traditional print media, InDesign is seeing increasing use in the digital sphere, such as the world of ePublishing and website design.

Read more about what InDesign is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with InDesign?

Adobe InDesign allows users to create vibrant and memorable design layouts that can be used for anything from print advertisements to promotional brochures to newsletters and magazines. Almost any print layout can be built with InDesign, and the tool is often used to help Web Designers produce mock-ups of web pages. Users can add text, color, and images to their layouts to ensure they communicate what they are trying to communicate. InDesign also lets users easily create templates or replicate pages to streamline the multi-page design process.

InDesign also has numerous non-professional uses for users who are hoping to create eye-catching posters, infographics, or flyers for their own organizations or communities. Visual design skills can help users share information in memorable and effective ways, and learning InDesign will help anyone hoping to communicate with the masses. Additionally, many small businesses or private commercial organizations like Etsy shops or local bands can greatly benefit from having individuals on staff with InDesign training, as the program helps non-professionals make professional-grade graphic page layouts.

Additionally, because InDesign is so closely integrated with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud, users who are familiar with other programs can seamlessly integrate their work in other programs into their layout designs. Photos and illustrations can be edited or created in Photoshop and Illustrator and then easily brought over in InDesign to populate a layout. Users can also transfer work between InDesign and XD to help build prototype web layouts. These connections help expand the functionality of all Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

Average Time it Takes to Learn InDesign

For new users of InDesign hoping to learn the basics of the program, students can familiarize themselves with InDesign in only a few days. This will give them the skills to use the program's basic functions but still leaves a lot of room to grow. Mastering the program in a professional capacity can take months of training, sometimes even taking years of hands-on experience.

Other Factors

There are a number of outside factors that students may need to consider when estimating how long InDesign will take to learn. These will vary from student to student, but key factors to keep in mind are how frequently students will be able to practice InDesign, what skills they already have or they think they need, and what they intend to do with InDesign.

Student Time

Like almost all new skills, it is important to practice and regularly train yourself when learning InDesign. Students who have very flexible schedules will be able to spend more time experimenting with InDesign, helping them learn the skill more quickly. Students with less flexible schedules may find themselves with less time to train and therefore taking longer to learn the application.

Professional or Personal Use?

InDesign users can learn the basics of the program relatively quickly. This means that students who only want to make light use of the program can learn the necessary features of InDesign in under a week. These students won’t have mastered the program, but for their purposes, they will be sufficiently trained. For students who want to learn the program in a professional capacity, they will need much more practice and training.

Complementary Skills

Professionals hoping to use InDesign are rarely in fields that only make use of InDesign. That means that students will need to learn other skills, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, to complement their InDesign training. Students who already have this training will be able to learn InDesign faster, whereas students who lack this training may find that they need to take other training courses to plug their skill gaps.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

Adobe InDesign is relatively easy to learn but difficult to master. New users can start utilizing the program’s basic features quickly, letting them experiment with the program’s design tools with only a few hours of training. However, more advanced designs will require more advanced training, which can be both time-consuming and labor intensive.

Like most creative design programs, there are no formal prerequisites to learning InDesign. However, users should be familiar with the computer system that they will be using to run InDesign (and they should know that there is no tablet or mobile version). Additionally, users who plan to use InDesign professionally should familiarize themselves with both basic theories of graphic design, like composition theory, and current trends in graphic design industries to understand the kinds of projects clients will want them to make.

While Adobe offers new InDesign users a free trial of the program, after this expires, users will need to pay a monthly licensing fee as part of an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe offers a number of pricing plans to help users find the right price, but most plans range between $20.99 a month for only InDesign access and $54.99 a month for access to all the programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Read about how difficult it is to learn InDesign.

Watch a Free InDesign Online Course

Students looking for free online tutorials should start at Noble Desktop’s blog, and the articles tagged InDesign. Here, students will have access to articles and interviews explaining the basics of InDesign, and they will be able to find free online Graphic Design and InDesign courses. Noble’s InDesign overview page also includes links to free online training resources. These free resources are constantly updated, and they are built as onboarding tools for Noble’s paid training seminars, so using these resources will prepare students for the more immersive learning options made available through Noble.

One of the best ways to introduce yourself to InDesign is through a free online video tutorial. Noble’s blog and Graphic Design YouTube playlist provide students with free introductory videos covering both broadly graphic design principles and Adobe InDesign in particular. These videos are a great place to start getting a feel for InDesign, as they allow students to learn the basics of the program at their own pace. Noble’s videos cover the basic functionalities of InDesign, teaching students how to navigate the interface, add text and images to a layout, and how to export and prepare simple layouts for publication.

Students looking for a more detailed background in InDesign should consult the Learn InDesign page on Noble’s Learn Hub. Here, students will find constantly updating free resources to help guide them through the early process of learning InDesign.

Read about more free InDesign videos and online tutorials.

Key Insights

• InDesign is Adobe’s page layout design software and is an industry-standard tool in the fields of graphic design and print advertising.
• Learning the basics of InDesign can be done in only a few days, while more immersive professional training can take months of study and years of on-the-job experience.
• As a creative design tool, learning InDesign can take a lot of experimentation and practice. This means that students will need to budget out time to work with the program and those who don’t or can’t learn slower than those who can.
• InDesign is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud and is often used alongside other programs like Photoshop or Illustrator. This means that many professionals will need to learn multiple Adobe Creative Cloud programs to complement one another, increasing the amount of time they will need to spend training.

Learn InDesign with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers a wide range of training options for students seeking to learn Adobe InDesign. Ranging from introductory courses such as InDesign in a Day to immersive career training programs like the Graphic Design Certificate program, Noble has a training program built to fit your needs. These courses are all taught by professional instructors with years of training as both teachers and graphic designers. Each course comes with the option to retake the course for free within a year of the initial enrollment, meaning that students have the option to take the courses again in order to receive more hands-on experience with InDesign or to gain more training in skills that they found difficult the first time through.

The Adobe InDesign Bootcamp gives students hands-on experience working with InDesign through exercises that mirror the kinds of projects that professional Graphic Designers would work on. Students will learn how to create layouts with InDesign’s text, color, and graphic tools, they will learn how to import formats and styles to easily build layouts, and they will learn how to work with parent pages to easily create complex, multi-page designs for projects like brochures and magazines. This course is ideal for students who want to learn the advanced features of InDesign within a professional context. At the end of this bootcamp, students will be prepared to use InDesign as part of their professional lives, and they will be able to demonstrate to their employers that they have received in-depth InDesign training.

Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program takes this InDesign training and pairs it with career-focused training in Photoshop and Illustrator. Students will learn the background of graphic design, receiving training in philosophies of composition, color theory, and typography. Then, they will learn how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to create digital illustrations and assets that can be imported to InDesign to populate finished page layouts. Bringing these programs together, the Graphic Design Certificate program is built to take students from novice users to trained designers, aiming to help them find a new career once they’ve completed the course. This certificate program also provides students with one-on-one career mentoring so that when the course is complete, graduates will be ready to enter the workforce as Graphic Designers.