Mastering Adobe InDesign

Overview

Subject Area: Art and Design
Level: Year 13, Key Stage 5, A-Level Art & Design Curriculum
Specific Focus: Graphic Design and Digital Media
Session Duration: 45 minutes

This lesson aligns with the AQA A-Level in Art and Design, specifically addressing the development of digital skills within Component 1: Personal Investigation. Students will explore Adobe InDesign as a professional tool for creating visual communication designs, equipping them with industry-standard skills in layout and typography.

Lesson Aims

By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Understand the fundamental interface and tools of Adobe InDesign.
2. Create a simple, personalised A3 portfolio cover template.
3. Apply professional layout techniques, such as alignment, grids, and typography hierarchy.
4. Evaluate how design choices influence visual communication.

Materials Needed

• Computers or laptops with Adobe InDesign installed (one per student).
• Pre-loaded USB drive or shared network folder with:
  • A folder of sample assets: royalty-free photos, patterns, and vector graphics.
  • Typeface files or access to pre-installed fonts.
• Projector or interactive whiteboard for demonstrations.
• Printed prompt cards for warm-up activity.
• Sketchbooks (optional for wireframing activity).

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Lesson Outline

1. Starter Activity: Gestural Typography (5 mins)

• Objective: Introduce the concept of visual hierarchy in typography.
• Hand out prompt cards with phrases like “Year 13 Portfolio” or “Art & Design Showcase 2023.”
• Ask students to sketch 2–3 quick thumbnail layouts for how these words could be visually communicated on a page. Encourage them to focus on size, alignment, and emphasis without worrying about precision.
• Brief class discussion: Which layouts grab attention and why? This links to principles like balance and contrast.

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2. Main Activity: Creating a Portfolio Cover in InDesign (30 mins)

Step 1: Introduction to Adobe InDesign Interface (5 mins)

• Teacher Demo (project your screen to the class):

  • Navigate the workspace: Tools, Properties panel, Pages panel, and Layers.
  • Demonstrate the “rectangle frame tool” for placing images and the “type tool” for adding text.
  • Explain the purpose of grids and guides for professional alignment.

• Quick Task for Students:

  • Ask students to open a new document in A3 format (portrait orientation).
  • Set the margins to 15mm and enable “Baseline Grid.”

Step 2: Collaborative Design Challenge (10 mins)

• Challenge Prompt: Create the base for your personalised A3 portfolio cover design.

• Instructions:

  • Insert a placeholder image in the top half of the page using the rectangle frame tool.
  • Add a text box below the image with your name, class, and “Portfolio” as the title.
  • Experiment with one decorative font for the title and one clean, professional font for your name using the Type Tool.
  • Use alignment tools to centre-arrange or balance elements effectively.

• Teacher Pauses to Check Progress: Walk around and provide individual feedback to ensure students understand how to use layers and locking objects.

Step 3: Refinement and Creativity (15 mins)

• Allow students to explore colour tools to set a cohesive palette for their cover.
• Briefly demonstrate the “Eye Dropper Tool” to sample colours from an image.
• Encourage students to use shapes (e.g., rectangles, circles) to create graphic elements on their layout, adding borders or layered effects for a professional look.
• Emphasise the importance of leaving negative space to avoid visual clutter.

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3. Plenary: Reflect and Share (10 mins)

• Students present their draft portfolio covers on their screens for a quick “gallery walk” discussion. (If time allows, group screens in two rows for easy visibility.)

• Questions to Discuss:

  • What techniques did you use to create balance in your design?
  • How did your choice of font and colours communicate your creative identity?
  • What challenges did you face using InDesign, and how did you overcome them?

• Class Task: Students write a one-sentence “Top Tip” for a peer using InDesign for the first time. Collect these on a whiteboard or display them digitally.

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Differentiation

For Advanced Students:

• Challenge them to explore InDesign’s “Character Styles” and “Paragraph Styles” to create pre-set formatting styles for their text.

For Struggling Students:

• Provide printed screenshots of the InDesign workspace with labelled annotations to use as a reference. Offer one-to-one or peer coaching to ensure understanding.

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Homework

Students are tasked with:

1. Refining their portfolio cover designs at home.
2. Importing additional assets (e.g., custom patterns or logos).
3. Saving their final designs as PDFs.

These will contribute to their final portfolio submission for internal assessments.

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Assessment Opportunities

• Formative assessment through observation during the plenary.
• Peer evaluation of design work during the gallery walk.
• Teacher’s evaluation of homework submission for incorporation in their practical portfolio (20% grading weight based on AQA criteria).

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Teacher Reflection

• How engaged were students with the practical elements of the task?
• Did students demonstrate progress in their understanding of Adobe InDesign?
• Was the differentiation effective, and what adjustments could be made for future lessons?