This week in PR publications, we went through a veritable InDesign boot camp. It turned out to be the best way I could have learned the basics of InDesign, and I was relieved by how familiar so many of the tools felt to those in Photoshop.
Our first day was a catch-all for fundamentals. We learned everything from drawing shapes to inserting and transforming images as part of our efforts to recreate an annual report. Croom worked quickly, but the people around me were kind enough to explain whatever I missed. The most confusing part was honestly just opening the page. I wasn’t at all familiar with the dimensions in the way they were displayed. Oddly, the way those options look on the Creative Cloud I bought look completely different.
Our first day was a catch-all for fundamentals. We learned everything from drawing shapes to inserting and transforming images as part of our efforts to recreate an annual report. Croom worked quickly, but the people around me were kind enough to explain whatever I missed. The most confusing part was honestly just opening the page. I wasn’t at all familiar with the dimensions in the way they were displayed. Oddly, the way those options look on the Creative Cloud I bought look completely different.
I’m glad Croom taught us what most of them mean in the class version of InDesign since I won't get the chance to experiment with the exact same platform at home.
Day two was all fonts. We were tasked with recreating a newsletter page using both the final image and a cheat sheet with each font’s details on it (i.e. type, size, leading). It got me thinking about setting up my own computer’s font selection by using one of the font downloading websites Croom promoted during our first week. I’ve frequently used dafont in the past, but it could be time to branch out.
Day two was all fonts. We were tasked with recreating a newsletter page using both the final image and a cheat sheet with each font’s details on it (i.e. type, size, leading). It got me thinking about setting up my own computer’s font selection by using one of the font downloading websites Croom promoted during our first week. I’ve frequently used dafont in the past, but it could be time to branch out.
I love this website. It’s going to be difficult to restrain myself from downloading more than I’ll ever use!
