learn indesign

I’m learning InDesign not to be a designer, but to assist me in my job in marketing and public relations. I need to be able to put together flyers, postcards and informational sheets regularly, and Publisher (the software I was using previously) was becoming less and less supported.

I signed up for a class designed for “professional development” at a local community college. It was four nights, three hours each, and turned out to be a complete waste of time. I skipped the last class and started working from InDesign’s Classroom in a Book (recommended by my best friend, an actual designer). So far, I’ve completed the Introduction and Chapter One; that, combined with a one-hour postcard crash course with the BF, and I’ve already learned more that I did in that class.

In order for this “thing” to be complete here, I’ll have to finish the book.

I’m no expert, but I think I got the basics (and then some)down now. Would love to learn some InDesign scripting in the future though. maybe I’ll put that on the list some day.

For some crazy reason, I thought I could just sit down and spend a day doing tutorials and know how to use indesign. In retrospect, I realize this is insane, being as it’s taken me years to become “expert” at photoshop and illustrator. I guess I figured that since the interface was similar, I would pick it up very quickly. So, yes, the similar interface does make it less alien, but it’s going to take a bit of doing until I would say that I really know the program. I need to find more exercises to do so I can apply it practically.

I love InDeisgn, except when it screws up…. now there are random boxes all over my page! It makes me wish my computer would commit sucide, seriously.