Design with Adobe Photoshop and InDesign
- Course Code: VG160
- Dates: 07/06/24 - 02/08/24
- Time: 18:00 - 21:00
- Taught: Fri, Evening
- Duration: 9 sessions (over 9 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Gita Hahn
Course Code: VG160
Duration: 9 sessions (over 9 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
On this practical course you will learn the basics of how to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, world leading programs for publishing and image editing. You will get the opportunity to integrate a range of techniques for page layout, design and typography, as well as enhancing images and creating cut-outs.The course will cover relevant art and design principles. The course is taught on Apple Macs but skills learnt can be applied to Windows PCs.
Adobe® Creative Cloud will be used to teach this course. You will need access to the software to participate on this course.
What will we cover?
Please note: this course is usually oversubscribed. Those that sign up for it are expected to participate fully and will be required to do homework each week.
Fundamentals of InDesign and Photoshop for print and and online viewing
Introduction to the InDesign and Photoshop environment:
- Workspace, tools and terminology
- Saving files: file types and their uses
- Colour modes for print and screen
- Placing (importing) Photoshop files in InDesign
- Photoshop and InDesign integration
- Saving and exporting work to different file formats
Photoshop
Working with pixels based/photographic images to:
- Crop and straighten
- Adjust tonal and colour values
- Define refine and edit selections
- Retouch and repair photographs
- Combine images to create a basic photomontage/collage
- Create cut-out images to place in InDesign
- Work with Adjustment layers.
InDesign
Working with page layout and text to:
- Compose and layout using grids and guides
- Plan and layout different types of documents
- Place (import) images and text
- Explore typographic features
- Format text and create Paragraph Styles
- Wrap text around image frames (containers)
- Package work (collect components into a folder) for future development.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Identify the main differences between and the uses for Photoshop and InDesign
- Save a body of work for future development.
Photoshop
- Manipulate and edit images using a variety of Photoshop features
- Select and isolate specific areas of an image
- Create a cut-out – a Photoshop clipping path to place in InDesign
- Apply colour adjustments to images.
- Combine several images together to produce a photomontage
InDesign
- Layout page/s with text and images
- Format text and save a Paragraph style
- Wrap text around objects
- Place, then update a Photoshop image from InDesign
- Export images for web and print.
- Package work for future development.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
No prior knowledge of Photoshop or InDesign is required. However, students should be confident and competent computer users on a Mac or Windows PC and be proficient with a mouse and keyboard in either a creative software, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or equivalent and should be able to download, upload, save, open and retrieve files. Some awareness of design for print or any other art/design practice would be useful.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information, and will be invited to take part in group discussion. You should be able to use numbers and be able to do simple measurements and calculations.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught using a range of techniques including short lectures, demonstrations, practical exercises, tutorials, group and individual assistance.
Student preparation and homework outside class times is strongly encouraged i.e. planning rough designs on paper and finding images you would like to work on in class. Should you wish to practice outside class time you will need to have access to your own Adobe® Creative Cloud licence for Photoshop and InDesign (the core software).
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
A pen and paper to take notes. Step-by-step instruction, with demonstrations where appropriate, will help you grasp the concepts. You may also find that having a couple of sheets of A4 paper and a ruler to hand would also be useful. Handouts for this course will be provided electronically in Google Classroom and are best viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader (or, if you have full Creative Cloud, Acrobat DC) so may want to have Acrobat on your personal home computer. You might want to bring a USB so save your own work.
As a City Lit student, you may be entitled to student discount on Adobe Creative Cloud applications.Please visit the Adobe website Creative Cloud education webpage https://www.adobe.com/uk/education.html?marketSegment=EDU for full details.
Unfortunately, due to the range of hardware and software used by students at home, the College is unable to provide advice on installation issues.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Please click here to view our courses in the Adobe Creative Cloud.
Gita’s practice as a graphic designer and illustrator spans many years and disciplines within the field. She has worked in print and screen-based media across major broadcast, corporate, NGO, publishing and state sectors. Gita went digital in 1991. She brings her experience and knowledge to teaching Adobe Creative Cloud apps for design and Illustration in different departments within Visual Arts at City Lit. She started teaching evening and weekend courses at City Lit in 2006, having previously provided bespoke workplace-training for companies and organisations. Her classes are regarded as fun, friendly and challenging, with extensive resources for both in-and-after course study.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
