How do Beginners Learn InDesign?

Before you do anything else in InDesign, you need to understand how to navigate the app interface and create a file for your project. Once you’ve figured out how to set up a page, however, you can start experimenting with basic features like Master Pages (templates), the Type tool, and images, to create your very first layout. While it’s easy to want your first design to be a masterpiece, the beginning stages of learning InDesign are more about figuring out where everything is and how to use each tool than they are about creating perfection. 

Getting Started with InDesign

If you want your InDesign learning journey to go smoothly, there are a few technology prerequisites you’ll want to double-check first. To start learning InDesign, you’ll need a paid subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite of apps, along with a compatible device. The InDesign software will run most smoothly on desktop computers running macOS or Windows. 

You’ll also have an easier time learning InDesign if you already have basic computer literacy. However, if you’re taking on the challenge of learning both computer skills and InDesign together, you are a force to be reckoned with.

The First Steps When Learning InDesign

InDesign isn’t hard to get started with and even comes with built-in functions to help get your first project off the ground sooner. After learning how to generate and save an InDesign document, you’ll first want to learn your way around the app interface before using beginner tools to create your first layout. 

Creating and Saving InDesign Documents

The initial step in any InDesign project is always creating a file, which you can then customize with presets—adding page sizes, orientations, and file types to suit your unique project. You may want to start by experimenting with Adobe Stock templates to make your first project simpler. To ensure you don’t lose your progress as you work on your design, you aim to learn how to save your file sooner rather than later. InDesign will allow you to save in a variety of file formats, which you can always reformat later if needed. 

Get Comfortable Navigating InDesign

Once you’ve generated a file to work with, you can start exploring the InDesign workspace, which displays the document(s) you’re working on front and center. Above your document, you can click through the menu bar, which offers a variety of actions and adjustable settings. Panels on the right contain Pages, Properties, and CC Libraries, while the Toolbox on the left provides resources for generating designs. It might feel tempting to jump into making a layout right away, but learning how to navigate the InDesign interface first will pay off in the long run because it will allow you to work through your projects more smoothly. You won’t need to pause as often to look things up, giving you more time to be creative. 

Creating A Simple Layout

After you feel comfortable feeling your way around the app interface, you’ll be ready to try your hand at creating a basic layout. InDesign’s Master Pages feature offers a variety of templates that will take some of the work out of your first project so that you can learn the ropes at a reasonable pace. At this stage, you can focus your efforts on learning foundational skills like inserting images and creating text with the Type tool, as these skills will translate equally across all types of InDesign projects. From there, you can build on these skills to create anything from magazine spreads and book pages to calendars, greeting cards, and marketing materials. 

Free InDesign Tools for Beginners

If you’re looking for more specific tips on how to get started in InDesign, there are plenty of free InDesign learning resources that can help you master beginner skills and even figure out how to solve unique problems with your projects. While public libraries have plenty of great written guidance available for free, one of the quickest ways to get started with basic InDesign skills is to follow free online tutorials or watch other users show you around the platform on their screens. Many free seminars also cover related topics such as design theory and art history. Keep in mind, however, that these basic resources can’t promise to get you past the beginner level. 

A simple Internet search will turn up plenty of great InDesign tutorials, but if you want to curate your instruction to include just the best sources, here are a few tips. Keep an eye out for articles and free seminars published by well-established design companies and education platforms, like Adobe. You can also find free sample versions of InDesign classes published by TechEd companies like Noble Desktop. 

Live InDesign Training for Beginners

Free resources eventually run their course, and when they do, you may be itching for more guidance, and who can blame you? Without an instructor, it’s hard to recognize the subtle ways you can improve as a new InDesign user. Luckily, there are a wide variety of InDesign courses available both in-person and live online that offer basic training in short sessions spanning no more than a week. Some classes can even be completed in a single day. 

As a rule, introductory InDesign classes typically emphasize basic InDesign skills appropriate for beginners and amateur designers. In these courses, you can ask as many questions as you want and an instructor will answer on the spot (no frustrating Google search necessary). Being in a class can also make InDesign more fun in that you’ll have the opportunity to make friends with other beginners who share your interests, connecting you with an instant design community. 

The Next Step

After exploring and loving beginner InDesign classes, you may eventually decide you’re ready for more. The two ways to approach your next step will depend heavily on whether you’re interested in pursuing InDesign as a professional skill or an advanced hobby. If you’re looking for career-oriented training, you’ll want to choose an immersive program such as a design certificate or college degree. On the flip side, you can likely get away with taking shorter classes that focus on advanced topics. 

Short Advanced Classes (For Amateur Designers)

Advanced courses allow you to build on the skills you learned in your beginner classes. These live courses often cover niche subjects like XML, InCopy, styling your Instagram grid, and using InDesign for digital publishing. Because most short courses cover compressed material, however, they focus mainly on technical skills and tend to skip over design-related soft skills such as visual communication. To learn how to make situation-specific design choices, try joining a class that includes graphic design theory in its curriculum. 

If you’re a self-taught InDesign learner, be sure to double-check class requirements before paying for a class. Typically, advanced InDesign classes come with prerequisites and will only accept students who have already taken required beginner classes. 

Certificate Granting Design Programs (For Aspiring Design Professionals)

Did you know you could become a Designer without spending the rest of your life paying off college debts? With less money required to attend and less time committed to training, design bootcamps are arguably one of the most efficient ways to get a design career up and running. On a full-time study schedule, you can complete a design certificate in just a few weeks, but if you need to spread your schedule out to part-time study, your program will likely last between three months and one year.

In an InDesign certificate program, you’ll engage with hands-on projects that will help you quickly gain the technical and soft skills you need to succeed in your chosen career path, be it graphic design, UX design, UI design, web design, or illustration. In addition to InDesign, you’ll likely also master skills like Photoshop, Illustrator, and applied design theory. In contrast to shorter advanced classes, which simply teach skills, certificate training programs can also provide you with professional experience you can include on a resume. Additionally, these programs can advance your career by helping you create a polished design portfolio, offering one-on-one mentorship, and providing job guarantees. 

Learn InDesign Skills with Noble Desktop

The search for the perfect InDesign class doesn’t have to be hard thanks to the huge selection of options available through the industry-leading school, Noble Desktop. Either in NYC or live online, you can join Noble for a laid-back introduction to using InDesign for your hobby by signing up for the InDesign in a Day class. 

Want to go beyond beginner skills to master all of InDesign’s functions in one fell swoop? Noble Desktop also offers an immersive Adobe InDesign Bootcamp that provides hands-on instruction. With the expert-led training in this course, you’ll develop all the skills you need to create any type of InDesign layout, from eye-catching posters and greeting cards to elegant book spreads and advertisements. 

However, since InDesign alone isn’t usually enough to establish a career, Noble Desktop also provides more comprehensive vocational courses that cover InDesign alongside other vital professional skills. Among their many popular design training programs is the Graphic Design Certificate, which offers mentor-supported training designed to equip you with the skills, experience, and confidence necessary to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive graphic design industry. To learn InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and applied design theory, you’ll complete task-oriented assignments that will contribute toward building your professional portfolio. Working with classmates in a studio environment will not only give you plenty of professional experience but also allow you to hone essential soft skills such as team communication. Rather than simply teaching you skills and sending you on your way, this certificate program will also set you up for career success by providing you with career counseling, portfolio workshopping, and one-on-one mentorship.