What is the Fastest Way to Learn InDesign?

When you need to acquire a new skill rapidly, choosing the right class can be make-or-break, but believe it or not, there’s no single fastest way to learn InDesign that works for every person. In reality, different InDesign class styles yield faster results depending on your learning goals. For instance, if you only want to master the basics, you’re not going to learn them fastest by joining a comprehensive career training program and vice versa. To help you identify which learning modality will help you reach your goals most efficiently, this article will explain the pros and cons of the most popular types.

Free Resources (For Learning InDesign Basics)

If you’re casually interested in InDesign and want to quickly get up to speed on basics or solve a niche problem related to a specific project, free InDesign resources available through the Internet are a great option. Since free resources are easy to look up and aren’t hidden behind a paywall, they’re one of the fastest ways to get answers to questions. In addition, there are tons of online tutorials providing guidance on basics like how to navigate the InDesign interface or how to format your design as a PDF file. You can also find a variety of free online seminars exploring related topics like design theory and art history. Cursory by nature, however, free resources aren’t likely to take you past the beginner level and won’t include the benefits of hands-on learning or instructor support. 

You can find free InDesign education resources with a basic Internet search, but if you want to ensure you’re getting a high-quality tutorial, there are a few things to keep in mind. Rather than simply choosing the first resource that pops up, it’s worth picking one from a reliable design company or education platform, such as Adobe. Design training companies like Noble Desktop also publish sample versions of their InDesign courses on platforms like YouTube, and you can access free InDesign reading materials through local libraries. Sticking to resources like these will help you avoid wasting time on low-quality tutorials scripted by other beginners. 

Introductory Classes (For Casual Students Who Want Guided Instruction)

If the uncurated nature of free InDesign resources feels unwieldy, you’re certainly not alone. One of the biggest pitfalls of free InDesign education is that it depends heavily on your ability to scavenge the right information from a random collection of online resources, and all that without any opportunities to ask questions in real-time. Even if the Internet is only a keyboard click away, instructor-led InDesign classes can be a faster way to learn InDesign if you want questions answered by a real person rather than an online search engine algorithm. 

These short, beginner-friendly classes are available in various in-person and online formats and typically take less than one day to finish. Most introductory courses also offer flexible scheduling options, with some allowing you to spread your training out throughout the week to allow for shorter sessions. Because of their short format, these classes make it easy to quickly learn InDesign fundamentals if you have a busy schedule and can’t commit to a longer training program. 

In general, introductory classes focus on foundational InDesign skills suitable for beginners and hobbyists. In addition to covering InDesign basics, you can also find introductory InDesign classes on niche topics such as how to style an Instagram grid with InDesign or InDesign for online publishing. Oriented toward technical skills, these classes typically won’t explore design soft skills like visual communication. In other words, an introductory course will give you the tools necessary to make basic designs with InDesign, but won’t teach you the skills needed to make situation-specific design choices. If you’re looking for a quick, beginner-friendly course that will teach you design techniques and theory, consider looking for classes that include graphic design theory in their curriculum. 

Certificate Granting Programs (For Aspiring Design Professionals)

Although certificate training programs like the ones available through Noble Desktop typically take longer to complete than other InDesign classes, these courses are the quickest way to build professional-level mastery of InDesign and other design skills. Designed as a fast-track alternative to college degrees, InDesign certificate courses take far less time to complete than a traditional design degree and while they don’t provide quite as much experience, they’re just as ideal for launching an InDesign career. 

Rather than spending a great deal of time on theory and design history like a college degree, certificate-granting programs emphasize practical skills that can get you into the workforce quickly. In just a few weeks (full-time) or several months (part-time), these programs offer hands-on training at an accelerated pace that enables you to develop skills for a new career. The idea is that with the skills to get started, you’ll have plenty of time throughout your career to educate yourself on design history. 

In addition to helping you learn more quickly, certificate-granting InDesign classes can help you get a job faster by offering job assistance and help with tasks like polishing your portfolio, preparing for interviews, and creating a job search strategy. Certificate programs will even give you the skills you need to pass an InDesign certification exam, which can qualify you for better jobs and make it easier to get hired. 

On-Demand Courses (It's Hard to Tell)

Platforms like Coursera, SkillShare, and MasterClass offer on-demand self-study materials and are becoming more and more common as a way to explore new InDesign skills. The flexible nature of on-demand classes makes it incredibly easy to adjust your learning to your schedule, but this flexibility also makes it harder to predict how quickly an on-demand class can help you learn InDesign. Unlike live classes, the time it takes you to complete an on-demand class can be hugely impacted by factors like procrastination, lack of structure, and the inability to get help from an instructor in real-time. For these reasons, honestly evaluating your own study habits, goals, and needs before joining an on-demand course can save you a lot of time and regret. 

When it comes to teaching you skills quickly, on-demand InDesign courses work best for small-scale beginner and intermediate topics, and this is true for all the same reasons it’s true of free learning resources. However, in contrast to most free learning resources, you won’t usually need to double-check whether these classes are taught by an expert or a fellow beginner, meaning that you’re more likely to receive valuable instruction. Like free resources, however, on-demand classes don’t provide feedback or instructor support, meaning that you’ll be on your own to navigate confusing topics more slowly. That said, on-demand classes are best suited to students who are highly self-driven, not easily discouraged, and good at solo problem-solving. 

Learn InDesign Skills with Noble Desktop

No matter what your InDesign goals are, Noble Desktop can help you check them off your list with an exciting selection of InDesign classes available online and in NYC. Get beginner-level guidance to support your hobby in InDesign in a Day, a short class exploring fundamentals like color, text, and graphics. If that’s not enough, the immersive Adobe InDesign Bootcamp can give you the full rundown of beginner to advanced InDesign skills. With hands-on projects built to help you master each and every one of InDesign’s functions, you’ll come away from this course capable of creating all kinds of layouts. 

If an InDesign-related career is on your horizon, Noble Desktop also has plenty of certificate courses treating InDesign as one skill in a colorful toolbox. The popular Graphic Design Certificate mixes InDesign training with skills from Photoshop, Illustrator, applied design theory, and soft skills like communication and teamwork. Gain real professional experience under the guidance of design experts who can mentor you one-on-one through the early stages of planning your career, solidifying your portfolio, and getting a job.