Unlock the full potential of Adobe InDesign, the industry-leading layout and page design software for print and digital media. 

This course offers a comprehensive introduction, enabling you to create professional designs for marketing materials, magazines, brochures, and more. With our expert guidance and custom courseware, you'll quickly learn best practices and efficient workflows, ensuring you leave with the skills to produce high-quality projects.

The InDesign Interface

• Operating Systems and InDesign Versions
• Shortcuts and Modifier Keys
• Dialogue Boxes – Efficiency Tips
• The Start Workspace
• File Types, IDML Format
• The InDesign Interface
• InDesign Preferences
• InDesign Panels, Sizing & Docking
• Workspaces & Customising
• The Tools Panel
• The Tool Hints Panel
• The Control Panel
• InDesign Online Help & Help PDF
• The Pasteboard
• The Context Menu
• Zooming and Scrolling
• Adding and Navigating Pages
• Document Tabs
• Control Panel Reference Points
• Frames: Selecting, Resizing & Moving
• Selecting Text & Shortcuts
• Hidden Characters
• Screen Modes & Previewing
• Undoing, Redoing and Reverting

Creating Documents

• Best Practice Workflows
• Filing Optimisation
• Pre-production Specs
• Collating Assets
• Backing Up Files
• New Documents: Margins, Guides & Columns
• Document Bleeds
• Page Sizes
• Modifying an Existing Document Setup
• Creating Document Presets
• Document Rulers & Ruler Guides
• Smart Guides
• Creating and Using Template Files
• Adding and Deleting Pages

Text and Images Primer

• Creating Text Frames
• Overset Text
• Adding Placeholder Text
• Importing Text Files
• Importing Images
• Resizing Images and Frames
• Fitting Images Proportionally
• Placing Multiple Images
• Placing Multiple Images in a Grid (Gridify)
• Cropping Images
• Creating Shapes: Rectangles, Ellipses, Polygons & Lines
• Corner Effects
• Live Corners Options
• Rotating Text, Images or Shapes
• Grouping Objects
• Stacking Objects

Working with Text Frames

• Text Frame Indicators
• OpenType Properties
• Text Frame Inset
• Text Frame Vertical Justification
• Text Frame Columns
• Threading Text Frames
• Text Flow: Manual & Autoflow
• Import Options for Placing Text
• Import Options for Word Files
• Using Glyphs & Special Characters
• Inserting Break Characters

Formatting Text

• Selecting a Type Face and Type Style
• Setting Type Size
• Leading (Line Spacing)
• Kerning and Tracking
• Capitalisation, Superscript
• Baseline Shift
• Paragraph Alignment
• Space Before and After
• Indenting Text
• Hyphenation
• Paragraph Rules
• Bulleted and Numbered Lists
• Splitting & Spanning Text Across Columns
• Dropped Capitals
• Setting Tabs
• Paragraph and Character Styles
• Creating and Editing Styles
• Style Overrides
• Importing & Exporting Styles

Colours and Gradients

• Colour Modes
• RGB - Primary Colours
• CMYK - Process Colours
• Out of Gamut Colours
• Spot Colours
• Applying Colour to Objects
• The Colour Panel
• Saved & Unsaved Colours
• The Swatches Panel
• Swatch Types
• Selecting Unused Swatches
• Editing Swatches
• Gradient Fills
• Loading Colours from Other InDesign Documents
• Adjusting the Stroke of an Object
• Creating Dashed Lines
• The Eyedropper Tool

Working with Images

• Image File Formats
• Image Resolution
• Info Panel
• Managing Links/Assets
• Modifying Placed Images
• The Links Panel
• Display Performance

Effects

• The Effects Panel
• Blending Modes
• Opacity Levels
• Creating a Drop Shadow
• Editing & Copying Effects
• Creating Transparency Effects

Parent Pages

• Parent Pages and the Pages Panel
• Renaming the Parent Page
• Editing the A-Parent Page
• Using Automatic Page Numbering
• Applying Parent Pages to Document Pages
• Applying the None Parent
• Inserting Pages and Applying a Parent Page
• Editing a Parent Page
• Customising Parent Objects
• Restoring Parent Objects
• Creating a Parent Page from a Document Page

Layers

• The Layers Panel
• Lock/Unlock, Hide/Show Layers
• Re-order Layers
• Expanding and Collapsing Layers
• Selecting Objects on your Page using the Layers Panel
• Naming, Creating and Deleting Layers
• Deleting Unused Layers
• Moving Objects from One Layer to Another

Text Wrap

• Applying Text Wrap
• Wrap to Options
• Contour Options
• Making Text Ignore Text Wrap

Tables

• Creating a Table within InDesign
• Importing a Table
• Converting Text to a Table
• Options for Microsoft Excel
• Options for Microsoft Word
• Formatting a Table
• Table Setup: Row & Column Options
• Cell Options: Text & Fills
• Headers & Footers

Publishing & Printing

• Preflighting Documents
• Preflight Errors
• Defining Export Formats
• Producing PDF Files for Approval and Screen
• Exporting to a High-Resolution PDF
• Packaging a Document for Print

Private/ Group Enrolments:
This course is available for individual enrolment and Private classes (min 10 students). Please contact Lumify to organise a quote.

What do I need to know to attend?

 Ideal for graphic designers, marketers, and anyone interested in learning InDesign to create visually compelling print and digital materials.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will gain the ability to confidently use Adobe InDesign for creating professional layouts and designs, ready to tackle any project with creativity and efficiency.

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