Learning InDesign fast
Manoj (21 pencils) | Tue, 2006-12-19 11:33Hi all
First off, I'm new here, so a hallo to all. I'm a graphic designer and illustrator specialising in ebook covers and cartooning.
I've been tasked with creating an 8-page newsletter for a bank. I'm familiar with Photoshop and Xara X and generally can find my way about most graphics programs, but now i need to come up to speed with InDesign in about a week--at least enough to be able to create the newsletter and output it in PDF format.
Can anyone suggest any resources that would help me get a grip on InDesign in this short timeframe?
Thanks and season's greetings to all,
Manoj
Commenting on this Forum topic is closed.
If you're familiar with Quark or other pagination programs, then InDesign should be easy to pick up. As for learning resources, I was in the same predicament that you are in. I had to learn InDesign in about a week for a catalog layout, so I subscribed to Lynda.com, sent all my calls to voicemail and watched tutorials for a couple of days.
Made a world of difference to me, as opposed to blindly trying to figure things out for myself.
I'm sure others will have additional advice, so stay tuned.
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
Just checked in at Lynda.com and they're offering a PS3 Beta feature preview for free. Check it out.
http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=327&ref=swf
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
Lynda.com is terrific. I gave their InDesign basic tutorial a trial run and liked it very much. Alas, though, I stopped upgrading at Creative Suite Standard (the original release), so for me to go anywhere meaningful with tutorials, I'm going to have to get CS2. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing the link!
Mara
A quick search on the web turned up Adobe's tutorial/education site:
http://www.adobe.com/education/gallery/id_tutorials.html
If you are familiar with Illustrator then you will be a quick study on InDesign and you'll LOVE how well it exports to PDF.
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natobasso
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Dirt and Rust
I have a how-to book on InDesign and it's very reasonable—only $18.95 (compared to $45 and above for most). It's very good and very informative, but it's basically used as a reference. I wouldn't suggest reading it from cover to cover, it's basically something you use when you're stumped and you can easily research it and look it up. The answer(s) will inevitably be there.
The book that I used is InDesign for MacIntosh. They have several of these books for different programs (i.e. QuarkXPress™ for MacIntosh, Dreamweaver for MacIntosh, etc.). They're great for future reference, as well. I have several of them. Easy to navigate & cheap!! Can't beat that.
Like Thornysarus was saying, I was used to using Quark for over a year in a job that I had at a magazine and then I had to switch to InDesign for a new job. Same thing—if you've used Quark, you will LOVE InDesign so much better. It's a much easier interface and you can copy & paste from other Adobe applications—among many other advantages.
Good luck!
Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer
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"I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint." ~ Frida Kahlo
www.onegirlcreative.com
I have a client who'll be returning from abroad soon with more work that they'll want me to do in InDesign -- which I've never used. I was once a PageMaker wizard, but have been using Quark exclusively for years and years (for doing layouts, I mean). What would you say was the biggest paradigm shift you had to make in going to InDesign out of Quark? I have a feeling there are a lot of old habits to overcome in making the transition.
I'll look for that book, by the way, and will also check out Lynda.com (thanks, Terry).
Mara
When I first went over to InDesign 3 years ago, all I had ever used was Quark; I barely ever used PageWaster. He he. When I made the switch I was overjoyed to find the same controls as Illustrator with all the multipage options I was missing in that app. So sweet!
I think the hardest thing will be relearning keyboard combos, but just pretend you're in Illustrator and the transition will be nearly painless.
Here's a great site comparing both programs: http://www.quarkvsindesign.com
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natobasso
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Dirt and Rust
Well, it's been about 4 years since I've used Quark, so I am not familiar with the recent upgrades, but when I was using QuarkXPress™ 5, there was a significant difference between the two.
The one thing I really loathed about Quark to begin with (and that I loved when I started using InDesign) was the weird shortcuts. I am a shortcut fanatic (hey, that's why we're designers, right?)—and the shortcuts were really weird in Quark compared to the Adobe platforms. Not only that, I HATED that Quark (at that time, which I think is now different) didn't have multiple undos. That was HUGE!!!
I also hated that you couldn't copy & paste from another program like you can with InDesign. However, once again, Quark may have fixed that with the new updates, but I haven't used it in over 4 years.
I love that you can directly save an eps or indd. to a pdf from InDesign, whereas in Quark, you couldn't. You had to use Distiller to do this. It was just one more step that was time consuming—especially when I had to save 20+ eps pages before it went to print to a pdf. It became a hassle.
That's all I can think of from the top of my head—oh, and the fact that InDesign is several hundred dollars CHEAPER than Quark is a good thing, too. :)
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions. Hopefully, I'll be able to help.
Thanks!
Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer
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"I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint." ~ Frida Kahlo
www.onegirlcreative.com
All the drawbacks you mentioned have indeed been addressed in recent upgrades.
Mara
I find Quark's pdf export to be way too bloated...
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natobasso
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Dirt and Rust
One thing that was tough for me was the terminology. Quark and InDesign call the same things different names so I didn't even know how to search the help files (text wrap vs. runaround). It's not that hard, though. There is a book I think its called something like "InDesign for Quark XPress Users" by David Blatner. I didn't use it, but it's supposed to be a great book.
Thanks for the tips you guys...and so fast! :-) Terry, I checked out Lynda.com, only thing is I'm at the lower end of broadband (256 kbps) so I'm not sure how well the videos will run on my PC. Unless they let you save them to hard disk? Natobasso, thanks for the links, I'll check out the PDFs. Suzanne...I did get a book: Adobe InDesign Classroom in a Book. Seems readable enough, I'm just hoping I can cover enough of the book to be able to do the newsletter in time! I haven't any experience with Quark or PageMaker. Actually I'm usually very honest about what I can or can't do to clients but this time I took a risk...I've been wanting to learn InDesign for a long time anyway...I figure this is the only way I'll make myself buckle down and do it!
Thanks again, you guys are great.
Manoj
'Actually I'm usually very honest about what I can or can't do to clients but this time I took a risk...'
I did the same thing 3 years ago and it's kept me on at a job where the entire Creative Department (including my boss) was sacked and kept food on my table. I have a newborn baby so it's been great having work. Thanks InDesign! Well, and I am learning asp.net programming too so that doesn't hurt my chances either...
;)
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natobasso
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Dirt and Rust
Hi Natobasso
Good for you!! There's no substitute for knowing your field...and being willing to be constantly learning!
Cheers
Manoj