The software offerings from Adobe have always had a somewhat fearful reputation for being far too complicated for the average person to learn for themselves. However, whilst it’s certainly true that the likes of Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator are professional tools that have not been built to be ‘user-friendly’ as such, this shouldn’t mean that these programs should be the sole reserve of professional designers.
Adobe Creative Cloud has made the pricing of Adobe software much more accessible. In the past, each program would set you back £100s, whereas now, a simple monthly fee is payable. This means that it’s simple to work Creative Cloud into your budget and access this incredibly powerful software. What’s more, if you or your staff learn to use the software, you can further slash the cost of design.
Adobe software products don’t require users to embark upon years and years of formal university training in order to be able to create images and documents to a professional standard (though that’s not to say that experience counts for nothing with these programs – for it most certainly does). But they do, however, demand a certain level of time and commitment to training that will not come entirely for free.
Adobe Software – Overcoming ‘The Fear’
Because Adobe software has not been designed to be particularly intuitive to first-time users of the various products, there prevails a certain reluctance amongst non-professionals to go to the added efforts of learning how to use them.
This is quite understandable in today’s modern world. We’ve come to expect that everything we use (especially online) should be straightforward and simple. In essence, a lot of the time we expect our hands to be held right the way through the whole creative process, with perhaps the most complicated task being to drag and drop a few pre-created graphics into place on a pre-designed template.
Adobe creative software doesn’t work like this. The products on offer will require users to learn how to create graphics and images from scratch – and this can be quite daunting to those who have never tried their hand at design in the past.
However, it should neither be overlooked nor forgotten just why Adobe software products are as complicated as they are. In fact, describing them as ‘complicated’ rather does them an injustice. It’s not that they are complicated – rather that they are just big.
InDesign, for instance, is an enormous program, incredibly powerful, and capable of realising pretty much any design that can be conceived of. And this power and these capabilities are enabled through learning how to use of the software’s extensive tool chest, which, in reality, is the only thing standing in the way between a layman’s success and failure with the product.
Learning InDesign
For print design, Adobe’s InDesign is hands down the leading software that’s available. And, despite the ‘fearful reputation’ that surrounds Adobe products, the reality is that it’s actually not all that difficult to learn.
If you are already well-versed in other Adobe products, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, then adding InDesign to your CV will quite literally be a doddle (or should that be a doodle).
But, even if you’re completely new to the world of Adobe, so long as you’re proficient in using a mouse and a keyboard, then, with a little commitment, time and concentration (and only a little of each I’d like to reiterate), it won’t take long before you’ve learned new uses for these trusty instruments that will have you producing some of the finest quality print documents in no time.
And even better, this means that you can, where appropriate, avoid paying for professional design and do it yourself.
3 Ways Learning InDesign Can Save You Money
Traditionally, InDesign has been the go-to tool for the creation of print documents – flyers, posters, brochures, magazines, books and the like. However, with the rise of digital and e-publishing, InDesign is now increasingly being used to publish content for e-readers and tablet devices in conjunction with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.
No matter what you’re planning on publishing, however, learning InDesign for yourself will inevitably save you money in the long run. And below we have listed the top 3 reasons why.
#1. Designer Fees
Hiring a designer every time you’ve got a new publication going to print is going to cost you north of £50 per hour for their services – and that’s before you’ve even factored in printing costs. As long as you’re hiring a professional designer, then you are going to be passing on those costs to your customers, which will mean that you may end up struggling to stay competitive in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Learning InDesign is especially useful for small businesses and startups which perhaps don’t have the budget for professional design projects.
#2. Productivity
In design circles, it’s a commonly accepted fact that it’s often difficult for the customer to effectively communicate their ideas to the designer. This leads to consultation meetings which you will of course be charged for. Understanding how to use InDesign will not only mean that you can handle some projects yourself, but it will stand you in good stead when it comes to talking to designers. This in itself will save you money going forward as even when you do use a professional to create print and eBook designs, you’ll have a much clearer idea of the process and what’s possible and what’s not.
Of course, you’ll also then have the skills to create designs yourself, which means that you can either do away with the designer entirely, or prepare files to go to the designer to cut down the amount of work carried out at their end. Either way, you will be able to cut costs considerably and boost productivity. This can be through more effective collaboration or simply by doing it yourself.
#3. Becoming A Self-sufficient E-publisher
If you don’t plan on providing any actual printed material for physical sale or other distribution, then you can cut out what will likely prove to be one of your biggest and hardest-hitting overheads by learning how to craft your electronic publications yourself.
Indeed, the money you will invest in equipping yourself with the skills to use Adobe’s InDesign will be set off in a matter of just a few short weeks or months against what you will have saved by hiring a professional designer each time you’re set to publish.
The more self-sufficient you can be in business, the greater the benefit to your bottom line. By learning how to use InDesign yourself before taking on such an endeavour will dramatically minimise the risk of the venture, which in turn will make things easier for you when it comes to attracting investors or accessing finance from a bank or an alternative funding provider.
Check out our Online InDesign Course and our classroom based InDesign Training courses to see which suits you. Get in touch today to discuss which course to choose based on your needs, experience and budget.