Adobe InDesign CS2 Hands-On Training (Paperback)

~ Brian Wood (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn Adobe® InDesign® CS2 with hands-on exercises and demo movies.

Do you like to learn by doing? Do manuals leave you bored and craving realworld examples? Do you want concrete training that goes beyond theory and reference materials? If so, this is the book for you. These hands-on exercises, complete with insider tips and detailed color illustrations, teach you the latest techniques for powerful page layout using Adobe InDesign CS2. You’ll learn to set up documents, work with text and type styles, add color, work with tables, use transparency and other effects, and bring in graphics to your InDesign projects. You’ll also learn how to use the new features in InDesign CS2 such as Adobe Bridge, drag and drop text editing, layer visibility, and shareable swatches, to name only a few. Accompanied by a CD-ROM loaded with classroomproven exercises, QuickTime movies, and bonus tutorials, this book ensures you'll master the key features of InDesign CS2 in no time.

100+ Step-by-Step Tutorials

• Learning the interface
• Applying character and paragraph formatting
• Using leading, kerning, and tracking
• Creating paragraph and character styles
• Creating colors
• Placing and working with graphics
• Creating and transforming vector artwork
• Planning documents with Facing Page layouts
• Working with tables
• Using drop shadows, transparency, and feathering
• Using long document tools
• Outputting and exporting
• Plus much more!

Brian Wood is the vice president/ director of training and co-owner of eVolve Computer Graphics Training Inc., a Seattle-based company that specializes in providing training in Adobe Creative Suite applications. Brian has been an Adobe Certified Expert (A.C.E) in InDesign since version 2.0, and is also an Adobe Certified Instructor (A.C.I) in the program. He is also certified in QuarkXPress and has taught and used page layout programs for well over 10 years.

lynda.com, Inc. specializes in training books and video instruction for creative professionals. Check out the web site at www.lynda.com.



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About the Author

Brian Wood is the vice president/director of training and co-owner of eVolve Computer Graphics Training Inc., a Seattle-based company that specializes in providing training in Adobe Creative Suite applications. Their clients include Starbucks Coffee Company, Kraft Foods, Nintendo, XEROX, BowTie Inc./Fancy Publications, and Russell Investment Group, to name a few. Brian has been an Adobe Certified Expert (A.C.E) in InDesign since version 2.0, and is also an Adobe Certified Instructor (A.C.I) in the program.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (August 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321348729
• ISBN-13: 978-0321348722
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #581,446 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It even includes demo movies, September 15, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a process oriented tutorial that teaches readers core principles, techniques, and tips in a hands-on training format. That's a lot of words. What it really means is that this book is aimed at the beginning to intermediate user and is intended to get him started with the 20% of the software that he will really use 80% of the time. It uses a combination of text with drawings of what the screen should look like, and even a few short QuickTime movies (on a CD-ROM that comes with the book) that show some processes that are difficult to explain with words and static pictures.

The book does not require any previous experience with page layout programs. However, if you have experience with QuarkXPress or PageMaker, the first chapter talks about using your experience to give you a head start with InDesign.

By chapter 2 you are looking at the pretty butterfly on the InDesign Welcome Screen and quickly moving on to the InDesign workspace. One problem beginners often have with InDesign is keeping track of all the palettes, toolboxes, and shortcuts. Chapter 2 also talks about these and helps you get the workspace set up the way it's comfortable for you.

The subsequent chapters are about what you would expect, chapters on text, on bringing in graphics, on vector artwork. By the end of the book you'll know enough to use InDesign to product the documents you need. And you'll find it easier to read the manual to find out the more advanced features you will need from time to time.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Training for Indesign CS2, March 23, 2006

By	Dennis C. Duer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I work for an architect firm in which we used the old Pagemaker for doing our marketing and proposals brochures. We upgraded to Indesign CS2. I have never had any formal training in using Pagemaker or any marketing software. I simply edited over previous brochures to launch my new projects. So I really felt overwhelmed when I first opened the software and didn't know where to begin. I went to a large book store and took off the shelf every training book I could find on learning InDesign CS2. There were a couple dozen books out there. I choose this book because I could relate to it. It explains very clearly everything you need to know to get started using it. It has pictures or diagrams on just about every page showing you exactly where to go and how to do what they are explaining. Then you are directed to a practice exercise or video (on the training disk which comes with the book) to reinforce what you have learned. In my opinion if you are "green" to this software this is the best book for the average lay person. I even tried taking an 8 week class on InDesign CS2 which used the Adobe "Classroom In A Book". I ended up dropping the class because I thought I could learn more efficiently on my own using this book. I can't tell you exactly why but I did not like Adobe's Classroom In a Book as well as Brian Wood's Hands-On Training.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best InDesign Training Manual for a Beginner, March 17, 2006

By	Conspicuous Consumer "punctilious" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are a new InDesign user and/or do not understand concepts like bleed & slug/kerning &leading, then read Lynda.com's Hands On Training (HOT) first. Otherwise, you may want to consider Adobe's Classroom in a Book. HOT does a better job of covering the basics and the included videos are superb. But Classroom in a Book is also excellent and carries you a bit further than does HOT, particularly if you are producing a book with chapters.

In addition to reading both of these texts, I went through the entire Total Training Video Workshop that ships with the CS2 and found it less useful than the books but still interesting and helpful. I also subscribed to Lynda.com's online video training (after watching all the free movies first) which may be the easiest way to pick up tips or understand something you can't quite qet. Neither of the two books (nor Adobe's own literature) were particularly useful at explaining the Bridge or Version Cue but videos on Lynda.com's website that helped me understand how to use them.