Introduction to Adobe InDesign

Course Outline 

Week One Outline

Week Two Outline

Week Three Outline

Week Four Outline
Introduction to Adobe InDesign - Week Two Outline

Introduction to Adobe InDesign

Week One Outline

What is InDesign?

InDesign has come a long way in a very short time. The original purpose of InDesign was to different create documents for print. This could be something as basic as a business card, post card mailer, flyer, or as complex as a magazine or book.

In the last couple of revisions, InDesign has gained a lot more power. It is now attempting to be a tool for producing all of the types of media you may want to publish to. This includes the Web, as well as some basic animation. InDesign has the ability to create interactive documents, which respond to the user as they fill in the requested information.

All of the applications in the Adobe Creative Suite are beginning to overlap. InDesign can be used to do all of the above, but it's abilities are still rather limited. To do anything beyond basic tasks, you are still better off using the proper applications for each task, such as Dreamweaver for Web development, and Flash for Animation.

In this class, we will focus mainly on the document creation aspects of InDesign. If you choose to explore the other features of InDesign, you may also want to make yourself aware of some of the pitfalls of those technologies, such as lack of support in certain devices, etc..

Starting InDesign

From the Start Menu, in the lower left corner of your screen, select 'All Programs'. From that menu, locate Adobe Creative Suite, and click on it. This should expand to reveal the Adobe software collection. Click on Adobe InDesign.

Creating a New Document

Once InDesign is loaded, we can create a new document. We are not really concerned with the document itself right now. We are more interested in touring the standard screen layout, and some of the tools on InDesign..

From the Splash Screen, select Document. If there is no splash screen, click on the File menu, and select New -> Document.

The dialog box that opens allows us to configure the type of document we are creating. We will skip this for now, and just accept all of the default values. Click OK.

The Workspace

Using the Help System

Setting up the Workspace

Drawing Basic Shapes

Item Arraignment (Non Layers)

Moving and Zooming


Week Two Outline


Introduction to Adobe InDesign - Week Two Outline

Introduction to Adobe InDesign

Week Two Outline

 Back to Week One

Working with Layers

Layers allow you to place a number of Objects on a Transparent 'sheet' that can be hidden, locked, or re-stacked, compared to other Layers.

It is good to include related objects on a single layer, allowing you to work with each set of related items independent of other objects in your project.

You can name you Layers to help organize the items in your project.

Stacking Order

You can view the Stacking Order (Arrange order) of objects on a layer by clicking the little triangle before the name of the layer.

Building a Business Card

Let's build a business card, to see how some of this comes together.First, we need to put together a general idea of what we want the card to look like. I find it easier to sketch some idea on paper, before I sit in front of the computer. Below is a sample design I will use in class, but I will break this down on the board before we get started with it in class.
Business Card Image
Once I have broken down the design, I can start to create the document.
You now have a new document, with a page size that is appropriate for a standard Business Card.
Using the breakdown we created, we know that we need a Background layer, which contains the main body color, and the bar across the top, as well as the bar across the bottom.
We now want to draw a rectangle of a different color, but here is the problem. If you try to change the Fill color right now, it will affect the rectangle you just drew. You must do on of the following to de-select the existing shapes.
-or-
As you will soon see, it does not really matter what color you choose for the next box, as the color will go away when we set up a gradient. However, I suggest you select a new color that is different from the existing background color.
Now, from the Toolbox, pick the Gradient tool, and click inside the top box.

Gradients

There are few things about Gradient panel I would like to point out.
For my example, I will use a Radial Gradient. Feel free to play with the settings, and see what you like.
Next to set the colors..
Once you have selected your colors, you may dock the Gradient panel, if you like.

The Bottom Bar

The bottom bar is a solid color. Therefore, you can make sure everything is de-selected, and select the color you want by double-clicking the Fill color tool in the toolbox. Then, draw the rectangle at the bottom of the card.

This is probably a good point at which to save your work

The Company Logo

Next, we will all the company Logo. However, this is also a good point at which to insert a new layer to contain that logo.This will place all of thework we put into the Background on one layer, the logo on another, and we will create more layers as we go forward.
Since we are done with the Background for now, we may as well lock that layer, to be sure we do not accidentally make changes to it.
Once the Background layer is locked, the Logo Layer should be highlighted, and have a little pen icon on its right. This means this is the layer we are currently working in.

If you have not already downloaded the logo, you can get it HERE. It is an Adobe Illustrator file. Save it to your computer.

You will want to zoom out a bit, as the Logo we are bringing in is pretty large, and will need to be shrunk down.

The Text Layers

One of the uses of Layers is to create sections that are designed to be edited, while preventing the accidental editing of other sections. For this card, we will create a separate layer for the company information, and then one for the Employee information.
To make the box for the phone numbers, we can copy the address box, and replace it's contents.
The placement of these boxes is freehand right now. To get better positioning, we can use Guides to help with the alignment.

Using Guides

We will position the two boxes we just created so that they are each half an inch from the edge of the card. To create the Guides, we double-click the Ruler at the location we want the Guide.
Now, you can move the text frames, and they will tend to snap to the guide lines.
The last piece of 'company' information, is the web address. This we want placed in the yellow bar at the bottom of the card, and we want it centered.

The Employee Information Layer

Now that the basic card is complete, we can lock all of the layers, and create the final layer, which holds all of the Employee information. This is the only layer that should need to be edited regularly.

We will now add a Text frame for the employee name. We will use the same technique we used for the Web address above, except instead of using the Guides, we can use the box that was provided by Illustrator.
Next, we add a frame for the title.
Use exactly the same method to create another frame to hold the email address.

Once the frames are complete, you can switch to the Selection tool, and move the boxes up or down to your tastes.

This is a good point at which to save your work.

Viewing your work

We will now change the view settings to get a better idea of what our cards 'really' look like.
The Guides disappear, and we get a better idea of what the card looks like. however, the logo still looks messy. To clean that up, we need to turn on Overprint Preview.

Exporting to Other Graphics Formats

From the File Menu, you can export your new card out to a JPEG, or an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file. This may be needed if the card is to be printed, or used in another application.

Week Three Outline


Introduction to Adobe InDesign - Week Three Outline

Introduction to Adobe InDesign

Week Three Outline

 Back to Week Two

Creating a Brochure

Today we will use many of the skills we have built in the last two weeks, and a few new skills we will cover today, to assemble a multi-page brochure.

Design

As with anything you wish to create, it is a good idea to sit down with pencil and paper, and sketch out some ideas of what you would like to create.

For ideas, take a look at other, related documents, or older versions of the document you are attempting to create.

A sample of the document we are creating can be found HERE.

Creating the Project

We will start with a New Document

Project Layout

If you look at the project that was created, you will find a single page (cover) at the top, dual pages (interior) in the middle, and a single page at the end (back cover).

Project Files

The project file can be downloaded from HERE.

Setting up the Front Cover

The front cover is made up of  four elements;
The first thing we will place is the background image. We will create a rectangular frame that covers the entire page, and then place the image within that frame. Finally, since the Image is wider than the frame, we will look at how to select the part of the image we want to have show.
  1. Select the Rectangle Frame tool. (just above the shape tools we normally use)
  2. Draw a frame that covers the entire first page.
  3. From the File Menu, select 'Place'.
  4. Select the image you wish to use (ocean_restaurant.jpg).
To pan the image, and select the view you wish to have in the frame, do the following;
  1. Click the Selection Tool
  2. Double-click the image.
  3. Drag the image side to side.
Placing the Logo
  1. From the File menu, select Place again.
  2. Select the Atomic Logo (AtomicLogo.ai).
  3. Place the logo to the left of the page, as it is rather large at first.
  4. Re-size the frame that has been created by holding shift, and dragging a corner in.
  5. Right-click on the image, and select Fitting > Fit content to frame.
  6. Drag the logo to the upper-right corner of the page.
Placing the Text
  1. Select the Text Tool
  2. Draw a Text Frame over the bottom third of the page.
  3. On the Control Panel, Select the Paragraph properties
  4. Switch the Control Panel to Character mode
  5. Type 'Atomic Island' and press Enter
  6. Change the Font Size to 60pt.
  7. Type 'Dream Vacation'.
  8. Switch to the Selection Tool, and adjust the top of the text frame to position the text as you like it.
Creating the bottom Gradient
  1. Bring up the Swatches panel
  2. Click the menu button (upper right of panel).
  3. Select 'New Gradient Swatch'.
  4. Draw a new Rectangle Shape across the bottom of the page.
  5. Set the fill color to your new color from the Swatch menu.
  6. Adjust the transparency of the Rectangle to your taste (80%).
The cover page is complete.

SAVE YOUR WORK.

Master Pages

We can create a template that is used to define the appearance of a number of the pages in our document. These templates are called Master Pages. We will create a Master Page layout for the interior pages of our brochure. Later, if we have time, we will play with creating sub-master pages, which are masters based on other masters.

Our inner pages have the following features in common;
There are two way to access the master pages in order to edit them.
  1. There is a page selector at the bottom of the screen (lower left). It is a white box containing the page number you are currently editing. You can click the arrow on the right side of this box, and select 'A-master'.
  2. You can access the Pages panel, and double-click on the 'A-Master'.
By default, InDesign gives you one Master, labeled 'A'. All Master Pages are identified by a letter.

Creating the Top Gradient

Since we are using the Facing Pages setting in our layout, we can create an effect that goes all the way across the page spread.

First, we can create the Gradient Swatches to be used on the top, bottom, and background;
Next, we make the rectangles. Make sure these go across the entire spread if you want it that way;
This completes the Master Pages (for now)

This is a good time to Save

Applying the Master Pages

By default, InDesign applies the Master Page to all pages in our layout. We do not want it to affect the Cover page, so we will go in and remove the master from that page.
At the top of the panel, you will see the A-Master, as well as a None master.
All pages except the cover page have a small 'A' at the top, indicating that they are using the Master Page.

Creating Page One

We will start with some freehand placement of items on page one to get into the swing of things. We will place a few rectangles, and place text over those shapes. We will play with beveled edges and drop shadows. Finally, we will place a photo, and apply some of the same effects.

Looking at the example document will give you some idea of a basic layout. I will walk you through a couple of insets, and the photo, and leave you to decorate the rest of this two-page spread.
  1. Draw a rectangle shape in the upper center of the left-hand page.
  2. Select the Text tool, and click inside the rectangle.
  3. Copy the rectangle, and paste it into the layout.
    1. Change the fill color to a different gradient.
    2. Double-click the text, and select it all.
    3. Change the font size to 18pt
    4. Change the style to Bold (no italic)
    5. Type 'Searching for out-of-this-world travel destinations?' and press enter.
    6. Type 'Do you need a Stress-Free vacation?' and press enter
    7. Type 'We have over 15 years of experience in creating dream vacations.'
  4. Select the Selection tool, and re-size the rectangle to show all text.
  5. Drag the rectangle, and position over the page break.
  6. Double-click the text again, and select all of the text.
  7. Copy the new rectangle, and paste it in.
  8. Draw a Rectangle Frame (Not shape) in the lower left.

This is a good time to Save

The Museum Pages

Now we will start pages on which we import existing copy.

Week Four Outline


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