InDesign in a Day Course Online (Self-Paced)

InDesign is the industry standard for page layout, and this course gets you working with it right away. You'll learn how to arrange text and graphics, control typography, add photos, and build and apply colors, giving you a genuine feel for the program and what it can do.

This course is a great fit if you're new to InDesign and want a focused introduction without a major time commitment. If you're ready to go further, our Adobe InDesign Course Online covers the program in much greater depth, and if you're working toward a portfolio, the Graphic Design Certification Program is worth exploring.

What You Will Learn

• Build layouts that bring together text, color, and graphics
• Import and style both text and graphic elements
• Design a business card and a bi-fold brochure from start to finish
• Prep your files for final output, including print and PDF formats

Course Outline

Section 1

Business Card: Setting Up a File & Adding the Logo

• Setting Default Preferences
• Setting Up a File
• Importing & Sizing a Vector Graphic (the Logo)

Business Card: Adding Text

• Creating Text Frames
• Basic Text Styling
• Loading Adobe Fonts

Business Card: Colors

• Removing the Default Color Swatches
• Creating & Editing Color Swatches
• Swapping Out Graphics

Business Card: Adding a 2nd Page (the Back) with QR Code

• Creating the Back of the Business Card (a Second Page)
• Creating QR Codes
• Navigating Documents (Zooming and Panning)
• Copying Appearance With the Eyedropper Tool

Business Card: OpenType Settings

• Setting up a Document Bleed
• Placing Images
• Combining Text & Images
• White Type on a Black Background

Section 2

Brochure: Creating 2-Page Spreads & Cropping Photos

• Setting Up Spreads (Facing Pages)
• Importing Pixel-Based Photos
• Cropping & Scaling Photos
• Checking Image Resolution to Ensure Good Print Quality

Brochure: Layers, Visual Effects, & Blending Modes

• Creating & Locking Layers
• Rotating Objects
• Drop Shadows
• Gradient Feather
• Blending Modes

Brochure: Fine-Tuning Type: Kerning/Tracking & More

• Paragraph Spacing
• Working in Picas (Instead of Inches)
• Metrics vs. Optical Kerning
• Kerning vs. Tracking
• Variable Fonts

Brochure: Working with Tabbed Text

• Setting Tab Marker Positions
• Adding & Styling Leader Characters

Preparing for Professional Printing: PDFs & Packaging Files

• Exporting PDFs for printing or emailing to clients
• Packaging InDesign Files

This course is available for 30 days. You can choose when to start your access period. Once you activate, you will have 30 days to complete it (access the course materials, quizzes, projects and videos). You may request one extension of seven (7) days. Other extension requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Videos are not downloadable.