Adobe InDesign CS One-on-One

Rating:
Summary: One-on-One books are great for beginners.
Review: I volunteer for a non-profit. I needed to produce the directory for this organization recently. I asked the printer what software they recommended. Indesign was one of them. I was working under a time deadline and having no knowledge of Indesign I looked at many Indesign books. I borrowed one from a friend. It was ok, but didn't give enough detail. I purchased a different one after briefly scanning through the book at the local bookstore. I returned the one I purchased and got the Adobe Indesign One-on-One book and was almost instantly finding and creating what I needed. The directory looks fabulous and it gives the organization many options on printout. I will definitely look into purchasing the One-on-One for Photoshop, since I am the one who takes the digital photos for this organization.

Rating:
Summary: Instructive in form and content
Review: I was very impressed and happy with this book. Not only is the content of the book an excellent introduction to InDesign, the book itself is also wellspring of layout ideas. It gives you some perspective on what can be done with InDesign as the book itself is laid out with the tool.

This is not a course book with questions at the end of each chapter. It's a introductory book that starts with the basics of creating documents, and finishes with the management of large documents, like books. Chapters include text layout, importing graphics, using transparency. The full spectrum of what's available to you in the application is described in full color with illustrative examples.

This is an excellent book. It gets my full recommendation for users of InDesign.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Of all the applications in the Creative Suite, InDesign is the one I have the least experience with. After acquiring the Adobe Photoshop CS one-on-one book (and loving it) I thought I would get a hold of this book to see if it could help me become, at least, comfortable with InDesign - and possibly help with putting it to good use rather than be the application I ignore from the Creative Suite.

For all the reasons people like the Photoshop book in this series, people are going to like this one as well. It is visually elegant, bright, and colorful. The same "Pearls of Wisdom" break up the text to provide you with various insights and "Oh, by the way"s. As a novice InDesign user, I can't really speak to the content and coverage of InDesign, but it was plenty for me to familiarize myself with the features and functions.

I also enjoy the author's relaxed tone and humor, which makes the book a lot easier to read than the stiff "Do A, then B, then C" voice of some tutorials. Be warned, some of the jokes will elicit a groan - but you'll be smiling when you do. =)

I now have a great book to help me out when the time comes to fire up InDesign. =)

Rating:
Summary: A real treasure
Review: This gorgeous, well designed and well written book is the perfect complement to those who use Adobe InDesign and want to get more out of it. I happen to be one of those people--I have to use InDesign on my job, but because I am learning to really appreciate the program, I have been using it on my club's newsletter for several months also. Coming from a longtime QuarkXPress user, that is really saying a lot.

This book feels heavier than other books the same size. It is because the paper is of exceptional quality, even a little glossy. The graphics are all in full color.

Perhaps the best part is that it comes with a 2-hour Total Training CD with the author, Deke McClelland giving tips and showing how to do things with InDesign.
The book is also for training and is made up of 12 lessons (the files are on the training disc and can be copied to your hard drive). The book lessons are in addition to the tips and training on the CD.

If you have ever watched a Total Training video with Deke McClelland, you know he is good. He keeps my interest and I find myself forgetting the time as I am watching. Of course, the videos can be paused or stopped at any time. They are organized and easy to get back to where you left off. Videos on CD or DVD are the way to go.

I have discovered tons of shortcuts and tricks I didn't know about with InDesign, thanks to this book and CD. Knowing how to get the most out of a program makes it much more fun to use.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about InDesign CS.