Can I Learn InDesign On My Own?

As a relatively straightforward design software, InDesign is certainly accessible to self-taught learners, but you should be prepared to spend more time and effort learning than you might in a paid class. Being a self-taught learner is a feat to be proud of and can save you a lot of money on hobby classes, but it comes with some pitfalls that make it more challenging than learning from a live instructor. Most importantly, learning InDesign on your own may be considered inadequate preparation for a career, so if you plan to use InDesign professionally, you may want to look into alternative training modalities. 

Advantages of Self-Teaching InDesign

Being an autodidact learner comes with a bucketload of benefits, with financial savings and flexibility at the forefront. Not spending money on a class can give you more financial wherewithal to explore other creative skills you may be interested in. In addition to being able to choose your own pace and learning schedule, teaching yourself a skill like InDesign can improve your ability to stay organized and manage your time. 

While learning without the help of an instructor is challenging, seeing that you’re capable of accomplishing difficult things by yourself can boost your confidence and improve your overall mental health. When working on a skill like InDesign by yourself, you’ll get very comfortable dealing with your self-doubt and overcoming it one day at a time. Learning one skill by yourself automatically helps you gain skills for acquiring additional skills in the future. As a result, teaching yourself InDesign can also make it easier to develop related skills that you may need for a design career, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and applied design theory. 

InDesign Self-Teaching Tools

Thanks to public libraries and the even more popular Internet, there are many ways to learn InDesign on your own. You can find information in a wide array of formats, from paperback books and blog tutorials to YouTube walkthroughs and even on-demand classes that allow you to learn without an instructor. Which resources work best for you will depend largely on your unique accessibility needs and what you want to learn. 

Free Resources

Free InDesign education resources are a convenient avenue for learning beginner basics and getting quick answers to questions. These resources are usually very short and tackle small topics such as how to navigate InDesign or how to format your file as a PDF. As a result, they’re best suited to teaching beginner subjects or helping you answer specific questions that come up as you’re working on projects. Free resources may also be the perfect pick if you’re just learning InDesign as a hobby and don’t need to learn how to use its features at a professional level. 

If you want to go beyond the education that a basic Google search can give you, high-quality educators like Adobe and Noble Desktop often publish free sample versions of their InDesign courses. Sticking to resources issued by design tech companies is a good way to avoid accidentally learning bad habits from tutorials created by fellow novices. 

On-demand Training

In exchange for a fee, on-demand InDesign classes offer a curated selection of self-study materials and enable you to learn InDesign without an instructor. Available through schools like Coursera, Udemy, SkillShare, and MasterClass, these classes often come as part of a subscription to a learning platform where you can explore other skills. 

On-demand InDesign courses typically focus on smaller beginner and intermediate InDesign topics similar to free resources. Unlike most free resources on the Internet, however, on-demand resources almost always guarantee that study materials were created by an expert, meaning that you’re more likely to get viable instruction than if you choose a random tutorial off the front page of Google. Additionally, rather than receiving just a single tutorial video or blog post, these classes typically include many different resources for you to learn from. 

Drawbacks to Learning InDesign on Your Own

While learning InDesign by yourself can be an absolute blast, there are some caveats to be aware of before diving in head first, and if you’re not aware of them, they may make your learning journey frustrating instead of fun. Once you understand these caveats, evaluating your study habits and personality can help you decide whether learning InDesign alone is the right path. 

You Create Your Curriculum

When you have to build your curriculum from scratch, it’s easy to miss important information, which can leave you feeling lost and confused down the road. The reason this happens is that you’re essentially pulling information from a grab bag and not necessarily getting all of the connecting pieces. In contrast, curriculums curated by an instructor for a live class generally aim to provide a cohesive picture and give you opportunities to ask questions if you find yourself lost. 

Additionally, learning InDesign on your own makes it harder to add related soft skills (such as applied design theory) that are more easily taught through hands-on practice in a live class. However, these skills will ultimately make you a better InDesign creative, which is why they’re often included in live graphic design courses that cover InDesign.

No Instructor Guidance

Without the aid of an instructor, navigating challenging topics takes much longer as you won’t be able to ask questions in a class. Additionally, you’ll need to depend on your own self-awareness to identify when you’re doing something wrong and correct it. While you can recognize mistakes by yourself, it takes much longer (even for experts) than getting a quick second opinion in a class. With no instructor, you’ll also miss out on encouragement that can help motivate you to keep going when you get discouraged. 

No Structure

Although the lack of formal deadlines and schedule can be incredibly freeing and in some cases, the only reason you’re able to learn at all, this feature of do-it-yourself learning can also present a number of challenges. If you tend towards procrastination, often feel unmotivated, or struggle to remember to study, learning by yourself may take more time and be less effective overall. For these reasons, it’s important to evaluate your personality and study habits when choosing a learning format for InDesign. 

No Social Support

An instructor isn't the only important member of your support team when you learn a new skill. Often, you spend just as much if not more time venting about difficulties with fellow students as you do getting help from your instructor. For this reason, learning by yourself can have a compounding effect on your level of discouragement during your time learning InDesign. In addition, you’ll miss out on exciting opportunities to build a community of fellow creatives that you can connect with outside of class. 

No Professional Perks

Most jobs expect applicants to have experience coming in, and unfortunately, experimenting with InDesign at home doesn’t typically qualify. In contrast, many vocational programs include experience-building segments as part of the course, with some even offering direct placement in internships and starter jobs. Other professional perks you may miss out on by learning InDesign on your own include course-incorporated career counseling, portfolio workshops, resume feedback, and mock interview training. 

Alternatives to Learning InDesign on Your Own

If autodidactism doesn’t sound conducive to your growth as an InDesign user, there are plenty of other ways to learn InDesign that will ensure you have ready access to an instructor who can help you grow. You can learn InDesign in-person or tune into a live class remotely, and you can even choose between short classes suitable for hobbyists and more intensive programs designed to prepare you for a career. 

Short In-Person Classes (For Casual Students Who Need Face-Time)

Designed to cover condensed topics in the space of a week or less, short in-person InDesign classes are a great way to learn app basics or level up on niche topics such as using InDesign to pattern an Instagram grid. Typically set in your local vicinity, these classes will allow you to connect with others who share your interests. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions in-person. 

Short Live Online Classes (For Guided Instruction from Home)

If you prefer to learn InDesign at home but still want some structure and guidance, you can sign up for live online InDesign courses, which offer interactive class instruction through video conferencing platforms like Zoom. These courses provide the same benefits as in-person classes without requiring travel or extra expenses like babysitting. 

Certificate Granting Vocational Programs (For Aspiring Professionals)

While short classes can help you learn enough about InDesign to pursue hobby design projects, you’ll want more intensive training if you’re planning to use InDesign as part of a career. Noble Desktop and other vocational schools offer certificate training programs designed to accelerate your career launch. Cheaper and quicker than going to college, these programs make it possible to become a Graphic Designer or other design professional without earning a four-year degree. You can finish most bootcamps in several days to months. 

As career-focused classes, certificate courses that include InDesign are typically oriented toward a particular profession, so you’ll want to pick one before signing up for a class. Comprehensive in nature, certificate courses typically include InDesign as just one of the numerous skills used in careers like graphic design and UX/UI design. Rather than simply providing tutorials, these programs focus on helping you hone technical skills while stimulating your creativity and growing professional soft skills like communication and teamwork. To give you a head start on your career journey, these courses also include a wealth of additional resources not included in shorter classes. Among them are one-on-one mentoring, career planning services, interview training, resume and portfolio workshops, and job support. 

College Design Programs (For Aspiring Design Professionals with Time and Money)

You can think of college design degrees as an expanded version of certificate courses. Running several years, they explore all the same content you’ll get in a certificate program and provide more experience. In addition to hands-on technical training, college design degrees cover topics like applied design theory and art history extensively. As with certificate programs, college design programs treat InDesign as a tool best used in combination with other resources. 

The biggest downside to this style of training is that it’s incredibly expensive, often costing tens of thousands of dollars and resulting in massive debt. In addition, it tends to be fairly limited when it comes to scheduling options. To complete a degree, you’ll need to treat it like a full-time or part-time job. 

Learn InDesign Skills with Noble Desktop

Whatever your InDesign goals are, Noble Desktop can guide you toward them with expert-led InDesign classes available online and in NYC. Support your hobby by sitting in on a quick InDesign in a Day class, which offers beginner-level training on InDesign features like color, graphics, and text. Alternatively, you can receive all-inclusive InDesign training by attending an immersive Adobe InDesign Bootcamp. This exciting course includes both beginner skills and advanced topics and provides hands-on training that will enable you to create any type of layout. 

Noble Desktop can also help you prepare for an InDesign-related career with its vibrant catalog of certificate courses. Prepare for a graphic design career by learning Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and applied design theory side by side as part of the Graphic Design Certificate. As you gain real professional experience completing hands-on assignments, you’ll work with design experts to plan your career, perfect your portfolio, and get a job.