InDesign Prerequisites

InDesign is an industry-standard tool for designing page layouts for projects such as magazines, books, and print advertisements. Anyone hoping to work in a creative design position in the print industry will greatly expand their opportunities by learning InDesign. You might worry that InDesign will be too hard to learn. This guide will help you understand the best methods for learning InDesign and what you should study first to make the learning process easier. This way, you’ll be successful however you choose to apply your new skills.

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.

Is InDesign Easy to Learn?

Like all of Adobe’s creative tools, InDesign has become a leader in the creative design industry in part because it is an accessible tool with a low barrier to entry. While the tool is very deep in its functionality, it is a fairly easy tool to ease into. One such consideration would be taking an introductory course in the basic functionalities of InDesign, such as Noble’s one-day InDesign in a Day course.

Guiding learning will help students understand the basic functionalities of InDesign, from its shape creation tools, which are vital to building complex-looking layouts, to its text and image creation and modification tools, which give users the ability to add their own texts and images to their layouts. From there, students will learn how to utilize layering techniques to fine-tune their designs, alongside learning how to use tools such as the eyedropper or opacity tools to manipulate color and create drop shadows, gradients, and bleeding images.

InDesign’s integration with other Adobe Creative Cloud programs means that it can become less difficult to learn for students familiar with programs that InDesign is frequently paired with, like Photoshop or Illustrator. Many of the tools and skills carry over between programs, so students with pre-existing knowledge of those programs may learn InDesign more easily. Likewise, knowledge of InDesign will make learning Photoshop and Illustrator easier. Students have the opportunity to receive training in all of these design applications by enrolling in Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program.

What to Know Before Learning InDesign

Despite being a fairly accessible tool, there are still some skills that students may wish to consider pairing alongside their InDesign education to avoid early pitfalls as they familiarize themselves with the program. Some of these complementary skills include:

Basic Computer Skills and Access

While InDesign is among the more popular and accessible tools for graphic design, it is still a fairly complicated computer program and requires a baseline of computer literacy. Users will be manipulating multiple files, uploading and exporting images and layouts, and likely integrating with different programs while designing layouts. These are hardly insurmountable obstacles, but it can be daunting to try and learn how to navigate folders and manage different types of files while simultaneously learning how to build layouts.

Additionally, you’ll need access to a machine that will run InDesign. Unlike some of Adobe's other programs, there is currently no tablet version of Adobe InDesign, so even though the program is not hardware intensive, you’ll still need a desktop Mac or PC. Adobe has also shifted its Creative Cloud programs to a subscription model, so rather than buying the program outright, you’ll pay a monthly subscription fee to access the program. Most InDesign training programs provide students with access to the software, but once the training is complete, students will need to find alternative access to the Creative Cloud.

Current Trends in Layout Design

It is important for students who are interested in turning their graphic design passion into a career to know what kinds of layouts and publications they will be designing. Students seeking to learn InDesign should be familiar with the current trends and design principles that are commonly used within the publishing industry. InDesign is a tool to help speed up and ease the process of creating design prototypes, but at the end of the day, it can’t replace a keen eye for visual design.

As design layouts vary greatly from industry to industry, it might be productive for students to look at samples of the kinds of layouts that they hope to build with InDesign. For example, students looking to enter InDesign in the book publishing industry may wish to visit bookstores to familiarize themselves with current trends in cover design. Students who are interested in designing advertising brochures may consider pairing an InDesign education with training in content marketing.

Theories of Visual Design

Adobe InDesign offers a wide range of tools for creating stunning design layouts, but it is still a creative tool, so most of the work will still fall on the designer. As such, users should take the time to study the theories of visual design to learn how to effectively blend text, color, and images to communicate meaning. For instance, while Adobe InDesign allows users to draw on thousands of fonts through Adobe’s font library, users will need to understand how viewers respond to those fonts to optimize their designs.

Even for amateur users, knowing how to build visually appealing designs is a useful prerequisite for learning how to use InDesign because the tool is primarily used to streamline graphic design projects by making the work easier and more intuitive. The program can help a graphic designer bring layouts to life, but it won’t teach you how to plan and devise those designs.

Key Insights

• Adobe InDesign is the industry standard in page layout design software, and it is an important skill for creatives working in the traditional publishing, print advertising, or content marketing industries.
• Adobe InDesign is an accessible, intuitive graphic design tool and requires minimal training to utilize its basic functionalities.
• Students seeking to learn InDesign should still have a working knowledge of desktop computing, and because InDesign is only a design tool, knowledge of graphic design theory is important.

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.