Graphic Design
Our Adobe InDesign courses are designed for both beginners looking to build a strong foundation in page layout and document design, and experienced users wanting to develop more advanced publishing and production workflows.
Delivered in Belfast, Dublin, and across the UK, these instructor-led courses provide practical, hands-on training in creating professional layouts for print and digital publishing using Adobe InDesign.
The Beginner course focuses on core skills and essential workflows, helping learners understand the InDesign interface, document setup, typography, image placement, page structure, master pages, and exporting professional documents for print and digital use.
The Advanced course is designed for users who already understand the fundamentals and want to refine their skills through advanced layout techniques, long-document workflows, style automation, interactive publishing features, professional prepress setup, and efficient production processes.
Suitable for marketers, designers, publishers, communications professionals, and business users, the courses emphasise practical workflows, strong design principles, and real-world publishing techniques used across brochures, magazines, reports, presentations, marketing materials, and digital publications.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to confidently create polished, professional documents and layouts using efficient Adobe InDesign workflows for both print and digital publishing projects.
Understand raster vs vector graphics
Know when to use Photoshop vs Illustrator
Identify real-world use cases (photography, marketing, social, web)
Navigate the Welcome Screen
Create new documents for print and digital
Understand pages, spreads, and pasteboard
Customise workspaces and panels
Properties Panel (CC 2026)
Control Bar
Pages Panel
Tools overview
Set up documents correctly from the start
Choose bleed, slug, margins, and columns
Understand facing pages vs single pages
Add, delete, and reorder pages
Work with facing-page layouts
Navigate large documents efficiently
Create and apply master pages
Add repeating elements (headers, footers, page numbers)
Override master items safely
Rename and organise parent pages
Use multiple parent layouts
Maintain consistency across documents
Create and resize text frames
Link text frames across pages
Identify and fix overset text
Use Character and Paragraph controls
Adjust leading, tracking, kerning
Align text professionally
Create paragraph styles
Apply character styles
Update styles globally
Avoid manual formatting
Build scalable documents
Maintain consistency in long documents
Place images correctly (linked vs embedded)
Scale and fit images proportionally
Understand resolution warnings
Use frame fitting options
Crop images non-destructively
Align images within layouts
Use rulers, guides, and baseline grids
Align text and objects consistently
Build structured layouts
Align objects precisely
Distribute spacing evenly
Use smart guides effectively
Understand CMYK vs RGB in layout
Create and manage swatches
Use global colours for branding
Update colours across documents
Prepare files for brand guidelines
Maintain colour accuracy for print
Create and format tables
Apply table and cell styles
Align tables with text styles
Use automatic page numbers
Create text variables
Build structured multi-page documents
Create multiple layouts from a data file
Automate repetitive content
Use data merge for simple personalisation
Use AI-assisted layout suggestions
Speed up formatting tasks
Maintain creative control while using automation
Identify missing fonts or images
Fix colour and resolution issues
Prepare documents for print
Export print-ready PDFs
Export interactive PDFs
Understand bleed, marks, and compression settings
Avoid common InDesign mistakes
Work efficiently on large documents
Collaborate with printers and teams
Decide when to combine InDesign with Photoshop and Illustrator
Set up documents for scalability
Plan page architecture before design begins
Avoid structural mistakes that slow production later
Build complex parent page hierarchies
Use multiple parent pages within large documents
Apply and override parent items safely
Manage page numbers, running headers, and folios
Use text variables for dynamic content
Maintain consistency across large publications
Build advanced paragraph and character style systems
Use nested styles and GREP styles
Control typography across hundreds of pages
Manage complex text reflow
Control widows, orphans, and hyphenation
Use baseline grids effectively
Create and apply object styles
Combine object styles with text styles
Update layouts globally with confidence
Use smart suggestions to speed up formatting
Reduce repetitive manual tasks
Maintain creative control while using automation
Manage linked assets efficiently
Control image resolution and colour profiles
Avoid common print and export issues
Use Creative Cloud Libraries strategically
Maintain brand consistency across documents
Update shared assets across multiple files
Build and style advanced tables
Use footnotes and endnotes correctly
Create live cross-references
Manage Book (.indb) files
Synchronise styles across documents
Handle large-scale publishing projects
Use Data Merge for bulk content
Build personalised layouts efficiently
Combine Data Merge with styles for clean output
Speed up work using Quick Apply
Use scripts to automate tasks
Reduce manual production time
Manage CMYK, RGB, and spot colours
Use global colour updates
Maintain brand colour accuracy
Build custom preflight profiles
Catch errors before export
Prepare documents confidently for print
Create print-ready PDFs
Export interactive and digital PDFs
Control compression, marks, and bleed settings
Package files correctly for printers or teams
Deliver clean, organised projects
Avoid common production handoff mistakes
Claire Youd
Both course content and instructor knowledge is exceptional – fresh, engaging and relevant. The ongoing support that Big Rock Designs provides is a real plus. I plan to attend future courses and would recommend other do too!
Joanne Doherty
Although my Photoshop knowledge was very limited, I found the organised sessions very easy to follow and I was over the moon at the amount I had learned. I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice in the coming months ahead.
Lorna McGivern
As someone who has attended numerous digital workshops and training I can honestly say Big Rock Academy’s introduction to Photoshop was the best I’ve ever experienced. They excelled in teaching us the logic behind the main tools in a very easy to understand way.
Rachael Weir
I just completed the Advanced Photoshop course at Big Rock Academy and I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve learnt. I now feel equipped to put it into practice in my job. I had a great teacher and I was able to really get to grasps with the software very quickly.
Live, instructor-led training in graphic design, marketing & video production.
Copyright © 2025 Big Rock Academy