Introduction to Adobe InDesign

By Justin Beckett

Production Team Leader

Dayton Daily News

What is InDesign? Graphic design software used

by newspapers, magazines, book companies, advertising agencies and online developers.

Evolved from Adobe PageMaker which was used by newspapers for basic layout purposes.

Works seamlessly with other Adobe products, such as Photoshop, InCopy, Illustrator, Acrobat and DreamWeaver.

Often used in conjunction with database software such as DTI or News Edit Pro.

How we use InDesignGetting started

Compile text from writers and editors Compile photos and graphics Determine priority of material

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• Stories may come from local reporters, AP, NYT, or OHNO.

• All have their own “budgets”

• “Art” is often listed with stories but sometimes can be gathered based on a particular topic.

• Designers are encouraged to use “news judgment” when placing stories and photos high or low on page.

Elements of a pageEvery page is a simple combination of text and photos

Text color can be modified

“Kickers” sit above “headlines”

“Typography” is important for “centerpiece” design, but should be avoided for all other stories

“Briefs” often support the rest of the page, are shorter, quick reads and get smaller headlines.

All of these items can be stored in a “library” for use all the time.

Editing a page

Writers and Copy Editors use Adobe InCopy with InDesign to edit stories.

Running both programs at once allows the editor to make changes to the story while the designer is still working on the page.

Adobe integration Files created in

Photoshop (photo editing) and Illustrator (graphics, charts) and PDFs can be dropped directly into InDesign documents. They maintain all of their attributes, including transparencies.

Text and lines from InDesign

Graphic from library

Photos edited, cut out in Photoshop

Bringing them together

Use outside newspapers Magazine, book

and yearbook layouts.

Graphic elements and charts.

Resumes PDFs, static

elements for Web sites.

So let’s build a page

Magazine-style layout with “lead” story, “centerpiece” and Photoshop elements.

Careers / Who should know? In newspapers, a familiarity with

InDesign is crucial for writers, designers, copy editors, advertising agents, photographers and editors.

Knowing the softwares capabilities allows you to see how your job affects the final product and give advice to those laying out a document.

Other career possibilities

Magazine designer, editorial assistant

Web producer Journalism teacher Photo studio, and

album production Design/PR firm Athletics department

Questions? About tricks in InDesign or how to do a

particular task? About what we do at the Dayton Daily? About what is expected of you in a

particular job?

Contact Info. Mr. Justin Beckett Production Team Leader for the

Dayton Daily News & Cox Ohio Publishing Office phone — (937) 225-2280 E-mail — jbeckett@coxohio.com Portfolio — www.imageevent.com/rockbobcat Facebook — www.facebook.com/justin.beckett