What book (or video course) would you recommend for learning InDesign quickly?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
July 16, 2022
7 replies
676 views

I am looking to learn the basics of InDesign quickly, as opposed to learning it in depth. That is to say, learn its core functionality in the minimum amount of time. (This has been brought on by a sudden interest in book design. If at the end I think "this is not the subject/program for me", no foul. If the opposite, I can go back and read the user guide cover to cover.) As such, I am looking for a book (or video course) to get up and running fast that is easy to use. I am not looking for a soup-to-nuts reference. I prefer a book, but am open to a video course. Your help is appreciated and thanks in advance.

How to

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Correct answer Rishabh_Tiwari

Hi @femkeblanco ,

Thanks for reaching out. In addition to the suggestions shared above, you can also refer to this tutorial https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/tutorials.html and this user guide https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/user-guide.html

Feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance.

Regards

Rishabh

Rishabh_TiwariCorrect answer

Legend

Hi @femkeblanco ,

Thanks for reaching out. In addition to the suggestions shared above, you can also refer to this tutorial https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/tutorials.html and this user guide https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/user-guide.html

Feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance.

Regards

Rishabh

Jeff Witchel, ACI

Community Expert

I agree with David from Creamer Training. Online training with an Adobe Certified Instructor makes the most sense for you being that the training can be totally customized to best fit your needs.

But if you're into learning from a book, you have some excellent choices above in this thread. My favorite book is unfortunately out of print—The Visual Quickstart Guide for InDesign by Sandee Cohen. I used an early version of this book a lot of years ago when I was switching from Quark to InDesign. Three months later I become (and still am) an Adobe Certified Instructor. You may still be able to get a copy of this book (used) on Amazon.

For video training, LinkedIn Learning has some great InDesign courses from top instructors, so check it out.

Diane Burns

Inspiring

LinkedIn Learning is a good resource. While this course on InDesign Essentials is extensive, each video is designed in short segments, so you can easily jump in, get what you want, and move on. You can also play at 1.5 or 2x speed, which for most authors in these courses works well (disclosure: of which I am one, InDesign Tables, Animations, Publish Online, etc). Here is the Essentials course by David Blatner: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/indesign-2022-essential-training/indesign-learn-the-fundamentals

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

When i started with InDesign almost 20 years ago I got this and kept it on my desk

https://creativepro.com/real-world-indesign/

It was great to reference how-to's when I got stuck on how to do something.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

An excellent text, but maybe not quite so suited to learning the basics quickly.

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

It really was great for learning the basics. Need to know how to do something, it's in the book. That's how I learned, mostly.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

If you really want a book, I used to use the Classrom In A Book texts that Adobe published years ago when I taught courses at the local community college. They weren't perfect (which gave me the opportunity to point out ways in which the files could be improved), but they were pretty good for self-guided learning. I have no idea if there are current versions published.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

Yes, they are still published--currently most of the books are at CC 2022. While available on Amazon, I prefer ordering directly from the publisher, Peachpit.com, since one has more options: print, eBook, or web edition (or all). They also offer a discount that makes it cheaper than Amazon for the print version and it includes the web version anyway.

I usually get the PDF version, so I can archive them without taking up any shelf space.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)