Adobe InDesign - from Dissertation Layout to Poster Design (online training)

This online course teaches you how to design attractive and functional layouts for different types of academic publications using Adobe InDesign. You will explore the tools of Adobe InDesign needed to create attractive and functional layouts, such as books, posters, resumes, and figures. You will be introduced to the program’s workspace and work with tailor-made exercises. By the end of the training, you will know how to combine photos, illustrations, tables, and text easily. You will receive a printed manual with the theory to refer to at any new design challenge.

Learning objectives

You will learn to create different layout formats with text, images, and tables. You will understand the use of parent pages (templates) and styles, which are your base for creating complex layouts. The first two sessions focus on the PhD dissertation layout. The last two sessions cover the layout of single-page documents, such as a figure, a poster, a CV, or a brochure.

Please note that this course focuses on creating lay-out designs using Adobe InDesign. For creating illustrations & infographics, we advise you to follow Adobe Illustrator - Scientific Artwork and Infographics with Adobe Illustrator.

Instructional method

All sessions of the course will have theoretical and practical parts. The assignments are tailored-made to practice the tools and methods discussed. You will also get to work with ongoing projects and recreate templates given in the course or found online. Extra attention will be given to the importance of print and screen colors so you will never have to deal with unexpected results. The exercises and the manual of the course are provided beforehand.

Important

You need a laptop with Adobe InDesign installed in English. A mouse or a graphic tablet is recommended. Since the course is online and the sessions interactive, it's mandatory to have a microphone and a camera on your pc. If you are not able to attend all sessions, please contact the trainer (info@agilecolor.com). You will receive the course’s participation certificate only if you follow 80% of the sessions. This means you cannot miss one whole day of the course.

Study load

In addition to the scheduled sessions, you should consider an extra study load of approximately 12 hours. This study load generally consists of homework assignments in preparation for the next session.

Reviews

You will get a good overview of the program's different possibilities with a professional's tips and tricks.

The methods we learn will be extremely handy for Ph.D. students who want to design an attractive poster or even their thesis.

What excites me most is that I can now literally create a dissertation and a poster, just as the title of the course promised.

You will be able to use InDesign to design your thesis within 4 mornings of teaching.

Teacher

Iliana Boshoven-Gkini (1981) has completed two masters in Landscape architecture, Floriculture, and garden design, in the Agricultural University of Athens and Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After completing her studies, she started working independently (2012) (AgileColor design studio | AgileColor.com) and focused, among others, on helping PhD students with their thesis books and scientific artwork. From 2015 she started teaching Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign and Infographics courses in Wageningen and Utrecht Universities and gave guest lectures/training to numerous other occasions in the Netherlands and Switzerland. From 2019 she is a certified teacher in the Netherlands (CRKBO, Centraal Register Kort Beroepsonderwijs). She lives in Koedijk Alkmaar with her husband and three children.

General Information

Target Group:	PhD's and Post-docs from Wageningen University & Research. If there are any spots left PhD's and Post-docs from other universities can apply too
Group size:	8-15 participants
Course duration:	4 days from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm
Language:	English
Credit points:	1.1 ECTS
Self-study hours:	We recommend at least 12 hours of self-study and practice after the course
Name lecturer:	Iliana Boshoven-Gkini
Venue:	Online

Programme

This course starts with basic theory in Adobe InDesign and goes into depth practice of all the necessary tools to create stunning layouts. We will pay special attention to the creation of a PhD dissertation or book, poster/document layout and figure design. You will work on several exercises during these two days.

The first 2 days are focused on the dissertation design and multiple pages documents, while the second day we will create layouts such as posters, figures etc. In InDesign you can also design figures, workflows, illustrations and vector graphics which you will practice on the second day. Step by step exercises will be provided so that you feel comfortable with the tools and panels of the program.

The following topics will be covered:

Adobe InDesign Basics

• Work area
• View commands and Zoom
• Guides - Rulers

Tools & Panels

• Toolbox overview
• Selection tools
• Drawing tools
• Typing tools
• Transformation tools
• Modification and navigation tools
• Stroke and Fill
• Tool panels

Create & Edit Documents

Text and text frames

Tables 

Master pages

Objects - Graphics & Images

Table of contents

Documents Settings & Export

• Color
• Printing requirements

In practice

• Step-by-step import of word documents in InDesign

At the end of the course you will be equipped with the necessary knowledge to combine photos, illustrations, tables and text with a remarkable ease

Fee

Reduced fee: • PhD candidates of Wageningen University with an approved Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) who are registered at one of the WU graduate schools (EPS, PE&RC, VLAG, WASS, WIAS, WIMEK) • Postdocs of Wageningen University who are registered at one of the WU graduate schools	€ 150
University fee: All other PhD candidates / Wageningen University postdocs and staff	€ 300
External fee: All other participants	€ 600

Fee includes study and training material, coffee/tea and lunches.

Cancellation condition

You may cancel free of charge up to four weeks before the start of the course. After this date you will be charged the University fee. Unless:

• You can find someone to replace you in the course and supply the course coordinator with the name and contact information of your replacement.
  In this case you will only be charged a € 50,- cancellation fee.
• You (PhDs and postdocs of Wageningen University) have a valid reason to cancel (illness or death in the family 1st or 2nd degree).
  In this case you will be charged the reduced fee and your supervisor/PI must send a mail indicating the reason for cancellation.

Information

For more information please contact marijn.blok@wur.nl