Customer Reviews

Adobe Indesign CS One-On-One

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very impressed and happy with this book. Not only is the content of the book an excellent introduction to InDesign, the book itself is also wellspring of layout ideas. It gives you some perspective on what can be done with InDesign as the book itself is laid out with the tool.

This is not a course book with questions at the end of each chapter. It's a introductory book that starts with the basics of creating documents, and finishes with the management of large documents, like books. Chapters include text layout, importing graphics, using transparency. The full spectrum of what's available to you in the application is described in full color with illustrative examples.

This is an excellent book. It gets my full recommendation for users of InDesign.

So this local guy who has seen some of my work approaches me and asks if I could do illustrations, photo's and layout for a jazz guitar instruction book. Now I don't know about you but if there is one thing I have learned in this business is that the answer is always "of course" to whatever I am asked to do.

When PhotoShop went CS I bought the whole CS professional package. I knew that Indesign was there, but since I always used either PageMaker or Illustrator to do my layouts, InDesign was just a little too alien to me.

Could I have done the book in PageMaker? Maybe, but figured it must be easier in InDesign considering that that is it's purpose in life. As I have always considered the owner manuals useless, I hit Amazon.com and found Deke had a book on InDesign. Who would have thought that? I have always enjoyed his books on PhotoShop, so I had the book over-nighted.

Long story short, plowed through the book (excellent book I might add), did a few mock-ups, sent them to the author and got the gig! It's going to be a lot of work (Illustrations, Photo's, CD, etc) but I really feel that I can concentrate on all of that creative end now because I have the confidence that I can put it all together in InDesign. My copy now has about 100 flags sticking out of the pages where I found items I can use for the book.

Really, guys, this book is a home run. I did watch all of the videos but the lessons were so well written I really didn't need them (but I did like the fact that they were there just in case).

I can't recommend this book highly enough. You will just be amazed at the power this software has and the ease in which this book lets you master it. An absolutely stunning tutorial.

Of all the applications in the Creative Suite, InDesign is the one I have the least experience with. After acquiring the Adobe Photoshop CS one-on-one book (and loving it) I thought I would get a hold of this book to see if it could help me become, at least, comfortable with InDesign - and possibly help with putting it to good use rather than be the application I ignore from the Creative Suite.

For all the reasons people like the Photoshop book in this series, people are going to like this one as well. It is visually elegant, bright, and colorful. The same "Pearls of Wisdom" break up the text to provide you with various insights and "Oh, by the way"s. As a novice InDesign user, I can't really speak to the content and coverage of InDesign, but it was plenty for me to familiarize myself with the features and functions.

I also enjoy the author's relaxed tone and humor, which makes the book a lot easier to read than the stiff "Do A, then B, then C" voice of some tutorials. Be warned, some of the jokes will elicit a groan - but you'll be smiling when you do. =)

I now have a great book to help me out when the time comes to fire up InDesign. =)

I volunteer for a non-profit. I needed to produce the directory for this organization recently. I asked the printer what software they recommended. Indesign was one of them. I was working under a time deadline and having no knowledge of Indesign I looked at many Indesign books. I borrowed one from a friend. It was ok, but didn't give enough detail. I purchased a different one after briefly scanning through the book at the local bookstore. I returned the one I purchased and got the Adobe Indesign One-on-One book and was almost instantly finding and creating what I needed. The directory looks fabulous and it gives the organization many options on printout. I will definitely look into purchasing the One-on-One for Photoshop, since I am the one who takes the digital photos for this organization.

I buy about $2000 per year of technical books, mags, CDROM tutorials, etc. and let me say that this InDesign CS One on One is a real treat. I am a real stickler on proper screenshots that you can actually read. The extravagant use of cool layout for a work of this magnitude is just amazing. The precision of the instructions is perfect. The well-chosen focus on specific problems that actually crop up is excellent. The examples really drag me through a whole lot of good stuff in a short time. The flavor and inclusion of anecdotes and opinions, even with some emotion, in both the text and the Total Training walkthroughs is refreshing, and helps enliven what has to be mostly objective instructions. Deke's honesty in pointing out weaknesses as he sees them, even when this may slightly alienate a large publisher, is even more impressive. He takes the time to show you good practices and points out why certain practices are preferred by pros. The inclusion of 2 hours of Total Training CD tutorials makes it even more friendly. In short, Deke has gotten REALLY good at this. And let me tell you, people like me who spend lots of time learning stuff like this can really tell the difference -- it affects our mood and our proficiency. I am glad to see that here is one guy that is willing to go the extra 5 miles to deliver the Top Shelf Stuff!

If you want to quickly get up to speed with Adobe InDesign, look no further! The introductory video segues with the lessons seamlessly. The lessons themselves are thorough, and each step is clearly presented, making it simple for a new user to follow.

Additionally, I find the book an invaluable reference source.

Let me start by saying that InDesign One-on-One is the best book I've ever purchased on Amazon.com. There is so much knowledge, so much learning. I've never learned so much from one book. If you want to learn InDesign I wholeheartedly recommend it. You really get to experience exerptise when going through this book.

That said, there are of course a few issues I have with the book. I couldn't get a few steps to work and there are a few typos or errors in dialog boxes or textual errors in the book.

But my biggest gripe is that there are no complete projects. That is, you always start in the middle of a project and just exercise a few techniques. So you never make a newsletter or book, etc. I wish that one of these books I buy would have me take a project from beginning to end. Mr. McClelland's mastery of InDesign overwhelmed me, but at the end I felt like I was wanting more. I don't really know how to design a book or an essay or a newsletter. Even though I've seen a lot of what InDesign does, I've mastered none of it.

I am very familiar with Adobe Photoshop, but found myself in a big hurry to learn InDesign. I'm very happy I chose this book. The book works two ways: Right now, I'm using it as a textbook in conjunction with the CD. I'm going page by page and chapter by chapter, learning every aspect in plan of study that progresses sequentially and incorporates new facets and functions logically. I like that I'm treated as an intelligent person who happens to be unfamiliar with a particular program, not as a dummy who must be talked down to. Yes, there is a certain amount of humor, but we stay on task. Once I finish the course, the book will remain by my desk as an excellent source of reference. If I were to change anything, I would add more video lessons (I just happen to like them) and I wouldn't use and reuse the exact same articles to illustrate different points (I grew really annoyed with that seventies frog). But, really, the book/cd combo (assuming you're committed) can turn you from a person who has never used the program to a person who can competently and productively use InDesign.

This gorgeous, well designed and well written book is the perfect complement to those who use Adobe InDesign and want to get more out of it. I happen to be one of those people--I have to use InDesign on my job, but because I am learning to really appreciate the program, I have been using it on my club's newsletter for several months also. Coming from a longtime QuarkXPress user, that is really saying a lot.

This book feels heavier than other books the same size. It is because the paper is of exceptional quality, even a little glossy. The graphics are all in full color.

Perhaps the best part is that it comes with a 2-hour Total Training CD with the author, Deke McClelland giving tips and showing how to do things with InDesign.
The book is also for training and is made up of 12 lessons (the files are on the training disc and can be copied to your hard drive). The book lessons are in addition to the tips and training on the CD.

If you have ever watched a Total Training video with Deke McClelland, you know he is good. He keeps my interest and I find myself forgetting the time as I am watching. Of course, the videos can be paused or stopped at any time. They are organized and easy to get back to where you left off. Videos on CD or DVD are the way to go.

I have discovered tons of shortcuts and tricks I didn't know about with InDesign, thanks to this book and CD. Knowing how to get the most out of a program makes it much more fun to use.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about InDesign CS.

My only complaint - and it's very small - is the author's assumption that a certain set of fonts is "always" installed with InDesign. Apparently, that "always" doesn't necessarily apply if you happen to purchase the educational version. While that's fine for now - I don't necessarily need huge piles of additional fonts - it makes the lessons a bit frustrating because they tend to rely on the fonts. For example, in teaching kerning and tracking, the author assumes that you've opened a file set in a particular font, which will yield very specific results on-screen - which you'll have some difficulty reproducing if you don't happen to have those fonts installed.

Other than that - I'm loving this book, and it's really making a difference in my comfort level working in InDesign.