How Long Do InDesign Courses Take?

InDesign training is exciting, but like any skill, it’ll require a time commitment from you to be successful. Time is just as important an investment as the money you plan to put into InDesign training, so if you’re like most people, you’ll want to ensure that your chosen class will work with your schedule preferences before signing up. This article will give you a clearer picture of how long different types of InDesign classes last, which training formats work best for different types of learners, and how to choose the right InDesign class for yourself. 

Class Lengths

InDesign classes come in many different lengths, and the reasons for this are twofold, one being that the amount of time you dedicate to learning InDesign depends heavily on how much you want to learn. In other words, simply learning InDesign basics may only take a few hours, while learning InDesign for a graphic design career may take several months. Typically, the shortest classes cover the least amount of information, while the longest classes offer the most comprehensive training and may even include additional career skills. The second reason why InDesign classes come in multiple lengths is to ensure they’re available to a wide variety of people with different lifestyles and schedules. Luckily, this accommodation means that it shouldn’t be hard to find an InDesign class to suit your needs. 

Introductory InDesign Classes

Most often on the shorter side in terms of length, introductory InDesign courses are one of the quickest ways to master basic InDesign skills, particularly if you aren’t planning to use InDesign extensively for professional purposes. These beginner-friendly courses generally last less than one day but may also be offered in multiple shorter sessions throughout the span of a week. Short introductory InDesign courses are ideal for beginner students who plan to use InDesign for personal enjoyment. 

The biggest downside to introductory courses is that they can only take you so far. Should you decide you want to learn more about InDesign, you’ll likely want to sign up for an advanced InDesign class or bootcamp. If you’re planning to pursue a design career, it may be cheaper in the long run to skip the introductory InDesign class and enroll in a design career certificate from the start. 

Advanced InDesign Courses

Advanced InDesign classes are the natural follow-up to introductory InDesign classes, and offer a brief look at more difficult skills. These courses are a great way to level up or explore niche topics such as digital publishing, XML, InCopy, and InDesign for QuarkXPress Users. Most advanced classes include prerequisites, and while some classes admit students with self-taught beginner knowledge, some classes may require students to have taken specific prerequisite courses. 

Because shorter classes are easier to slot into a complicated schedule, you can choose to attend beginner and advanced courses (instead of joining a Bootcamp) to gain the full picture of InDesign at a slower pace. However, keep in mind that in doing this, you may sacrifice the added career-focused training and perks that come with bootcamps.

InDesign Bootcamps and Career Certificates

Design bootcamps and certificates are immersive training programs that are designed to help you prepare for a career. In fact, many design certificates can enable you to become a professional Designer without earning a college degree. In addition to teaching you how to use InDesign, design certificates often provide training in other career-specific skills, such as Photoshop and applied design theory. These programs can help you further prepare for a career through features like experience-building assignments, portfolio reviews, and career mentoring sessions.

Because they’re intended as fully comprehensive, these classes typically cost more and take longer than beginner and advanced classes. When taken on a full-time study schedule, most design bootcamps last several weeks, but they can also be stretched to last between three months and a year on a part-time schedule.

Master’s Degrees

If you’re willing to put a lot of time and money into developing professional creative skills, earning a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at an accredited university is a great way to establish expertise in your subject area. College degree programs will give you hundreds more hours of training than any other format, exploring everything from practical skills like InDesign to the history and theory of design. Popular design degree subjects that feature InDesign include graphic design, editing and publishing, user experience (UX) design, and user interface (UI) design. 

Unlike the other InDesign learning formats discussed here, college design programs are highly selective and require an intensive application. To qualify for an MFA program, you will need an undergraduate college degree and a design portfolio. In addition, these programs tend to be significantly more time and money-intensive than other options, taking thousands of dollars and several years of full-time study to finish. 

On-demand InDesign Classes

The polar opposite of an intensive MFA program, on-demand classes (also referred to as asynchronous classes) are highly flexible and allow you to learn at whatever pace you choose. In an on-demand InDesign course, you’ll learn by way of self-study materials which you can pick up and put down whenever you want. 

While this amount of freedom comes with many perks—such as the ability to learn during a rare moment of quiet when your child is down for a nap—the flexibility of on-demand classes can also present challenges. Whether you’re prone to procrastination, struggle with motivation, or simply forget your studies in the chaos of life, it’s easy to fall behind in an on-demand class, resulting in a drawn-out training period. To add to this difficulty, on-demand classes don’t typically provide instructor support, meaning that you’ll be on your own to (much more slowly) navigate challenges. As a result, it may take you up to a year to complete an on-demand class, even if it’s intended to last only a few weeks. 

Part-time Versus Full-time InDesign Classes

Deciding whether to enroll in an InDesign course part-time or full-time can have a big impact on your current schedule and how long it takes to complete your training. If you have a full-time job or other daily time commitments (such as parenting) that would prevent you from participating in full-time classwork, part-time study may be your only option. That said, knowing the pros and cons of each pace may still influence your choice. 

In order to get you across the finish line sooner, full-time classes hold the greatest demands on your time both in and out of the classroom. In contrast to the sprint style of full-time training, part-time courses require fewer hours of commitment throughout a given week, giving you more time to focus on other areas of your life. While these classes take more time to complete, they also give you more time to practice what you’ve learned outside of class. 

Learn InDesign Skills with Noble Desktop

However much time you want to devote to learning InDesign, you can find a class that suits your needs at Noble Desktop, one of the world’s leading tech educators. Become an InDesign master by attending the immersive Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, a comprehensive training program for both beginners and professional InDesign users. As you tackle the hands-on projects in this course, you’ll get comfortable with InDesign’s basic to advanced features, and before you know it, you’ll be capable of creating flyers, posters, advertisements, magazines, and book spreads. 

Suppose you want to be able to do more than design for your own enjoyment. In that case, Noble Desktop also offers a variety of career preparation courses, such as the Graphic Design Certificate, which provides InDesign training alongside skills like Photoshop, Illustrator, and applied design. The group projects in this immersive program are designed to give you professional experience while helping you develop both design skills and soft skills like communication and teamwork. To aid you as you launch your new career, you’ll also receive one-on-one help from one of Noble Desktop’s expert mentors, who can help you revise your portfolio, prepare for job interviews, and more. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Noble Desktop also offers short courses like the InDesign in a Day course for beginners and casual learners. This expert-guided class will get you up and running with InDesign basics in just a few hours and won’t overwhelm you with complicated information. As you perform the skill-building tasks assigned in this class, you’ll grow comfortable utilizing graphics, color, and style text to design page layouts. Before you know it, you’ll be printing or PDF-formatting your designs to share with the world.