How to Learn InDesign

InDesign is the print publishing industry's most commonly used page layout design tool. Whether a user is preparing for a career as a Graphic Designer or Layout Artist or simply wants to improve their creative design skills, learning Adobe InDesign is an invaluable first step. The number of options for learning InDesign might be overwhelming at first glance. There are books, video tutorials, classes, and more to choose from; it all depends on your learning style and personal preferences.

Here, we’ll discuss the various methods of learning InDesign so you can make an informed decision about how you’d like to get started.

What is InDesign?

Released in 1999, Adobe InDesign is the industry-standard in page layout design software, and it is one of the software programs that comprise the Adobe Creative Cloud. Together with Photoshop and Illustrator, InDesign is one of the most commonly used creative design tools across a number of industries, ranging from publishing to graphic design. Built to streamline the process of designing page layouts for books and magazines, InDesign has a plethora of uses that make it a versatile tool for many creative endeavors. As part of a heavily integrated array of creative tools, Adobe InDesign gives creatives the chance to create compelling and vibrant page layouts.

Unlike its sister programs, Illustrator and Photoshop, InDesign serves a specific but vital function, building page layouts. Creatives will use InDesign to build prototype layouts for everything from brochures to web pages, and the program has tools for populating those prototypes with graphics, texts, and even interactive elements. While it is primarily used in traditional print media, InDesign is seeing increasing use in the digital sphere, such as the world of ePublishing and website design.

Read more about what InDesign is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with InDesign?

Adobe InDesign allows users to create vibrant and memorable design layouts that can be used for anything from print advertisements to promotional brochures to newsletters and magazines. Almost any print layout can be built with InDesign, and the tool is often used to help Web Designers produce mock-ups of web pages. Users can add text, color, and images to their layouts to ensure they communicate what they are trying to communicate. InDesign also lets users easily create templates or replicate pages to streamline the multi-page design process.

InDesign also has numerous non-professional uses for users who are hoping to create eye-catching posters, infographics, or flyers for their own organizations or communities. Visual design skills can help users share information in memorable and effective ways, and learning InDesign will help anyone hoping to communicate with the masses. Additionally, many small businesses or private commercial organizations like Etsy shops or local bands can greatly benefit from having individuals on staff with InDesign training, as the program helps non-professionals make professional-grade graphic page layouts.

Additionally, because InDesign is so closely integrated with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud, users who are familiar with other programs can seamlessly integrate their work in other programs into their layout designs. Photos and illustrations can be edited or created in Photoshop and Illustrator and then easily brought over in InDesign to populate a layout. Users can also transfer work between InDesign and XD to help build prototype web layouts. These connections help expand the functionality of all Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

In-Person InDesign Training

Given that InDesign is a program with which students tend to have little familiarity, in-person training may be ideal for students who want to interact directly with their instructors. These courses provide an ideal environment for students to learn how to use InDesign with the assistance of trained instructors who are ready and able to help them learn the program. Noble Desktop, the creator of this portal, provides students with a Classes Near Me tool to help students locate local training resources.

Most in-person classes are available in major metropolitan areas, such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Given that these are hubs of major graphic design firms, cities like these have numerous offerings from training providers such as Noble (NYC), Training Connection (Los Angeles and Chicago), or Luminous Works (Seattle). Training providers such as ONLC and New Horizons have campuses in dozens of cities.

Live Online InDesign Training

For aspiring graphic designers who aren’t located in a major city or who find a course located in a different city particularly appealing, live online training is one alternative space to learn InDesign. Noble’s Classes Near Me tool will help students find online classes available for them to take without leaving their homes.

Noble offers multiple online classes in Adobe InDesign training, allowing students to gauge their desired level of time commitment and proficiency. For novice students, Noble’s one-day InDesign in a Day course will give a basic introduction to the features and functions of the program, teaching students how to build layouts, add images and text, and how to export layouts for publication. Students seeking a more advanced education, or those who are looking to improve their existing skills, may consider the Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, which covers the advanced functionalities of the program, such as the use of gradients and opacities, color correction, and parent pages, tables, and libraries.

As Adobe InDesign is often used alongside the other major programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop and Illustrator), Noble also offers an intensive Noble Graphic Design Certificate, which provides certification in all three programs. In this career-focused bootcamp, students will not only learn how to use InDesign and integrate it with Photoshop and Illustrator, but they will engage with hands-on design projects and build a personal portfolio to take on to the job market.

Noble’s InDesign courses offer students the chance to earn an industry-recognized certification that will set them apart from other prospective graphic designers. The bootcamps and certificate programs are focused on building practical career skills and are tailored for aspiring professional graphic designers who want to ensure that they have the skills required to compete in the industry.

Other service providers, such as Lumenbrite, Ledet Training, and Future Media Concepts, offer live online training in InDesign. These providers offer both beginner-friendly and advanced courses, as well as bootcamps that combine introductory and advanced training courses.

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

Students looking for free online tutorials should start at Noble Desktop’s blog, and the articles tagged InDesign. Here, students will have access to articles and interviews explaining the basics of InDesign, and they will be able to find free online Graphic Design and InDesign courses. Noble’s InDesign overview page also includes links to free online training resources. These free resources are constantly updated, and they are built as onboarding tools for Noble’s paid training seminars, so using these resources will prepare students for the more immersive learning options made available through Noble.

One of the best ways to introduce yourself to InDesign is through a free online video tutorial. Noble’s blog and Graphic Design YouTube playlist provide students with free introductory videos covering both broadly graphic design principles and Adobe InDesign in particular. These videos are a great place to start getting a feel for InDesign, as they allow students to learn the basics of the program at their own pace. Noble’s videos cover the basic functionalities of InDesign, teaching students how to navigate the interface, add text and images to a layout, and how to export and prepare simple layouts for publication.

Students looking for a more detailed background in InDesign should consult the Learn InDesign page on Noble’s Learn Hub. Here, students will find constantly updating free resources to help guide them through the early process of learning InDesign.

Read about more free InDesign videos and online tutorials.

Noble also provides users with a Classes Near Me search tool. This will allow users to compare Noble's live online course offerings and other service providers such as Lumenbrite, Ledet Training, and ONLC.

On-Demand Classes

Students may also wish to consider on-demand course offerings. These brief, introductory courses are available through a number of platforms, and Noble provides users with their on-demand classes search tool to find and compare options. These courses are self-paced and give students the opportunity to decide how and when they will study and practice InDesign. For self-motivated students, these courses can provide a productive alternative to more structured, live instruction.

Which Learning Method is Right for Me?

Given that there are so many different resources available to new InDesign users, it may be difficult to decide which learning method is best. Students will need to consider their own learning styles and preferences in order to make an informed choice, but they will also be able to experiment with different learning methods. A perk to directing your own learning is that students have much greater freedom to decide what is ideal for them.

The most straightforward concerns for many students are logistical. Some training courses, particularly live instruction classes, mirror the structure of a university course and require students to attend live seminars, which can be difficult for students with full-time jobs or family commitments. By contrast, on-demand training courses will require students to be more self-motivated and independent in their learning, which can be difficult for some students, particularly when the courses have very low buy-in.

Why Learn InDesign?

Learning InDesign will help creatives and aspiring Graphic Designers streamline the process of building page layouts. The program lets users construct vibrant layouts using text, shapes, and color modification tools, and it is perfect for anyone who designs print advertisements, magazines and newspaper layouts, infographics, posters, or brochures. Anyone, professional or amateur, who wants to create eye-catching printed graphic designs can learn InDesign to take their creative output to the next level.

Additionally, because InDesign is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, learning how to create design layouts in InDesign will also help users become more skilled at using other Adobe Creative software. Learning InDesign is often paired with training in programs like Photoshop or Illustrator because the programs are closely integrated. This means that learning InDesign can either help users become more proficient with programs they already know, or learning InDesign can help make learning new programs easier. This means that learning InDesign won’t simply make a user better at building page layouts, but it can also open the door to more easily learning skills like photo editing, vector graphics design, or web interface design.

Read more about why you should learn InDesign.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

Adobe InDesign is relatively easy to learn but difficult to master. New users can start utilizing the program’s basic features quickly, letting them experiment with the program’s design tools with only a few hours of training. However, more advanced designs will require more advanced training, which can be both time-consuming and labor intensive.

Like most creative design programs, there are no formal prerequisites to learning InDesign. However, users should be familiar with the computer system that they will be using to run InDesign (and they should know that there is no tablet or mobile version). Additionally, users who plan to use InDesign professionally should familiarize themselves with both basic theories of graphic design, like composition theory, and current trends in graphic design industries to understand the kinds of projects clients will want them to make.

While Adobe offers new InDesign users a free trial of the program, after this expires, users will need to pay a monthly licensing fee as part of an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe offers a number of pricing plans to help users find the right price, but most plans range between $20.99 a month for only InDesign access and $54.99 a month for access to all the programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Read about how difficult it is to learn InDesign.

Key Insights

• InDesign is the industry-standard tool for building page layouts in the print publishing industry. Learning InDesign will open both career opportunities for Graphic Designers and Print Advertisers.
• A wide variety of training options are available for new users looking to build their InDesign skills.
• Live instruction courses, both in-person and online, are the most immersive and detailed training options. These courses are taught by professional instructors, but they tend to be the most expensive and time-consuming options.
• On-demand training courses let students have greater control over the pace of their own learning. This is ideal for students who can’t commit the time required to complete live instruction, but these courses require greater self-motivation.
• Free training resources are available in the form of both tutorials and instructional videos. These are useful tools for new users, but they won’t be detailed or complete enough to replace more formal training.

Learn InDesign with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers a wide range of training options for students seeking to learn Adobe InDesign. Ranging from introductory courses such as InDesign in a Day to immersive career training programs like the Graphic Design Certificate program, Noble has a training program built to fit your needs. These courses are all taught by professional instructors with years of training as both teachers and graphic designers. Each course comes with the option to retake the course for free within a year of the initial enrollment, meaning that students have the option to take the courses again in order to receive more hands-on experience with InDesign or to gain more training in skills that they found difficult the first time through.

The Adobe InDesign Bootcamp gives students hands-on experience working with InDesign through exercises that mirror the kinds of projects that professional Graphic Designers would work on. Students will learn how to create layouts with InDesign’s text, color, and graphic tools, they will learn how to import formats and styles to easily build layouts, and they will learn how to work with parent pages to easily create complex, multi-page designs for projects like brochures and magazines. This course is ideal for students who want to learn the advanced features of InDesign within a professional context. At the end of this bootcamp, students will be prepared to use InDesign as part of their professional lives, and they will be able to demonstrate to their employers that they have received in-depth InDesign training.

Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program takes this InDesign training and pairs it with career-focused training in Photoshop and Illustrator. Students will learn the background of graphic design, receiving training in philosophies of composition, color theory, and typography. Then, they will learn how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to create digital illustrations and assets that can be imported to InDesign to populate finished page layouts. Bringing these programs together, the Graphic Design Certificate program is built to take students from novice users to trained designers, aiming to help them find a new career once they’ve completed the course. This certificate program also provides students with one-on-one career mentoring so that when the course is complete, graduates will be ready to enter the workforce as Graphic Designers.