Discover the Best InDesign Classes in Chicago
InDesign is a software application that is used for page layout and desktop publishing. It was first released in 1999. According to Adobe, this app changed desktop publishing by making it accessible to more people. Adobe explains, “InDesign was introduced to the world on the heels of the desktop-publishing revolution when personal computing and print publishing became more accessible to the masses. For the first time, individuals, businesses, and organizations—large and small—could directly design, layout, and publish almost any content effortlessly.”
Today, InDesign is an industry-standard program for publishing design. Designers can use it to create a wide variety of content including magazines, brochures, books, newspapers, business cards, stickers, and flyers. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud and is often used in combination with other Adobe apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Best InDesign Classes & Schools in Chicago
There are a number of different places to learn InDesign in Chicago. Ledet Training, an Adobe Authorized Training Center runs in-person InDesign classes in Chicago. Its Adobe InDesign Bootcamp takes 5 days to complete. Tuition is $1,599. Participants in this class learn a wide range of different skills including graphics file management, layers and document setup, quick keys, exporting complicated files, working with styles, working with tables, and utilizing transparency. This class is appropriate for beginners, and will take them to an expert level of mastery in InDesign.
Computer Training Source also offers InDesign training courses for Chicago residents. InDesign Part 1 is designed for beginners and covers InDesign’s basic tools and features. Students learn to create a document and customize it with color, gradients, swatches, and styles. They also learn to manage the elements of the page, add tables, and prepare the page for delivery. Computer Training Source offers classes in the Chicago area and online. Tuition for this class is $649, and there are two class meetings.
For students who want to advance beyond the basics, ONLC Training Centers runs a class called Adobe InDesign Core Skills: Level 2. There are two class sessions, and tuition is $795. Students learn to work with objects, flow text, edit text, work with color and styles, work with typography, import and modify graphics, create tables, work with transparency, and print and export. ONLC Training Centers was founded in 1983 and has hundreds of physical training center locations across the United States.
Noble Desktop is a New York City-based school that was founded in 1990 and offers a range of different design and coding classes, both in-person and live online. For students who want to learn InDesign, it offers a class called InDesign in a Day, which costs $395. In this 6-hour class, students learn the fundamentals of InDesign including how to work with text, pictures, and pages. They will learn how to layout pages, control typography, add photos, and use colors. Students also work on a brochure and a two-page magazine ad. All Noble Desktop classes include the option of a free retake within a year.
Chicago students who want to learn live online will also find a number of other options. InDesign Fundamentals: An Introduction to InDesign CC is offered by Future Media Concepts, which is a training school for IT professionals and content creators. This class is designed for professional designers who are new to using InDesign. Students should have some experience with Photoshop. The InDesign class covers the basic tools and features of InDesign including setting up a document, working with objects, editing and flowing text, working with color, working with typography, working with styles, importing and modifying graphics, creating tables, and printing and exporting. This class has three sessions and costs $1,195.
Lumenbrite Training runs a bootcamp called InDesign Training: Bootcamp, which has 4 sessions, and costs $1,595. The class takes students from a beginner to intermediate level of mastery. The instructor covers a wide range of InDesign skills including creating flowing text, incorporating graphic frames to import images and background, and using color and typography concepts in the workflow. Students also learn to master pages, paragraphs, and character styles so that they can build layouts, and they learn to export a PDF file with the best settings. In addition, the class covers using quick keys, importing and exporting complicated files, nesting of styles, working with tables and graphics within tables, using transparency, and adding files from Photoshop and Illustrator. Lumenbrite is a school that offers a range of different Adobe classes for content creators. It was founded in 2003, and is headquartered in Texas.
Chicago Industries That Use InDesign
According to the City of Chicago government website, Chicago has a population of almost three million people, and is the third largest city in the country. As a result, it has a busy economy, with a wide range of different businesses. These include many publishing, marketing, and design companies, which are industries where InDesign is often used. There are also many tech companies in Chicago. The Flatiron School says, “These days, Chicago is a growing tech hub where major tech companies and tech startups are embracing the future of technology. Chicago is one of the largest tech employers in the United States.”
InDesign Jobs & Salaries in Chicago
InDesign is commonly used in publishing, marketing, and graphic design. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a federal agency that provides job information about all of these fields. The agency reports that the Chicago metropolitan area is the fifth highest-paying metropolitan area for desktop publishing, with an annual mean salary of about $63,000. For graphic design, it has the third-highest employment level, according to BLS.
Glassdoor is a website that compiles salary information for a range of different occupations. It finds that a content creator in Chicago earns about $50,000 per year, a digital media specialist makes close to $60,000, and for a graphic designer, the average yearly salary is about $55,000. BLS reports that graphic design jobs in the United States are expected to increase by about 3 percent over the next ten years. Desktop publishing jobs are predicted to decline, however, there is expected to be growth in online publishing.
