In what format should I export whole pages created in Illustrator to place in InDesign?

[Chris P. Bacon]

I decided to create my pages (graphics + images) in Illustrator, then import them into InDesign and add my text.

The reason is that I want to use brushes when creating the page layout.

I want to make a graphical page layout, so for example I would use brushes to reveal images from the background, and I will use free hand drawn shapes and brushes to create a graphical background module for each subhead and its text, for each pull quote and for each title, etc...

That means that it would be svg + images (no text).

That means that I need to add my images in illustrator first, but I can add them as linked, so I don't need to embed them into the svg graphical base.

So that I could still move the images within the layout when I am already in InDesign.

So far I was recommended to use .ai format over .svg, since the .ai format is also svg.

So I make the graphics of the page in Illustrator while using linked images, then I export the whole page as .ai, without the images and place it on an empty page in InDesign.

Is this the best for print quality?

And I suppose I will have to re-add the images as linked, in InDesign.

And then add the text, and fill in my graphical modules with the text.

This would be a graphical scrapbook/infographic layout that I want to replace the text grid system with.

So basically text chunks would be the same modular as images and could be moved around on the top of the graphical background to achieve unique layouts for each page.

Is this the optimal workflow for print quality and re-adding the images in InDesign?

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

Just save them as PDFs or AI with PDF compatibility. Place those in InDesign.

[Chris P. Bacon]

I see. So there is no way to use brushes in InDesign?

Also in InDesign I cannot change colors and make adjustments to imported .ai files, so it's better to finalize the page (except text) in Illustrator.

[BobLevine]

No and yes.

[Chris P. Bacon]

AI graphics can be resized or stretched in InDesign to fit the (text) layout. But their color cannot be changed 😞

[BobLevine]

Not in InDesign. Use the Edit Original command and the changes in Illustrator will be updated in InDesign.