Adobe Indesign Cs2 One-On-One [With DVD-ROM]

by Deke McClelland

Book Overview

Digital publishing guru Deke McClelland has written over 80 books on computer design and imaging that have won numerous industry awards. An Adobe Certified Expert, Deke is a featured speaker at The InDesign Conference and a member of the PhotoshopWorld Instructor Dream Team. Deke hosts the exhaustive and entertaining DVDs Total Training for Adobe Photoshop and QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign CS-Making the Switch. In 2002, Deke was inducted...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0596100973
• ISBN13: 9780596100971
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 3.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.0" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Beginner to Expert with one book

We're using this book in my Page Layout class at College and it's one of the best "text books" I've ever used. Deke provides lots of extras on the CD to help visualize the steps and end results quickly. He also gives many details as you work through the lessons to get you to an expert level as quickly as possible. I'll look for the One-on-One books for future software training and especially Deke's books.

If it wasn't for Deke....

I would never have tackled InDesign CS2 without this book. Deke lays it out, so to speak, in every way. Do-along lessons, The DVD and the large pictures showing you what it should look like create a visual safety net. You almost can't go wrong. The book lessons are so clear and Deke takes you through every way to do a thing in each lesson. If you're a keyboard freak there are keyboard shortcuts galore, include Deke Keys which you can install with the lessons. I am more of a mouse person and Deke makes sure to outline all the ways you can use the mouse to access pallets and work with graphics and text. Deke is enthusiastic about the software but brutally honest about it's few shortcomings. Best of all, he takes you through the trickiest parts of the learning process and manages to be funny all the while. I always love Deke's lesson plans. Instead of using a stuffy business format for the sample documents he presents you with projects like Little Pupper Friend's Cookie Recipe or Professor Shembops 1970's pop music quiz. It all feels less intimidating. Another good thing is the way Deke explains things for those of us who have been using PageMaker or QuarkXPress. Adobe InDesign CS2 One on One is a wonderful way to learn. The book is great for design people who are not particularly "techie". Still, InDesign CS2 is not for sissies.I know this sounds nutty, but I feel like Deke is right here with me every step of the way.

How to Desktop Publish

Using plain language and a no-assumption approach, Deke McClelland succeeds in teaching a very difficult concept to just about anyone. You do not have to know anything about desktop publishing, typography, layout, color, or special effects let alone anything about ANY Adobe program to read this book. If you want to learn about any of these concepts, you will enjoy the quick, indulging read as well as be shocked at how easy Mr. McClelland makes this entire industry seem yet keeps you checked into reality onto how expansive it can be. Pros: - Easy to read - Covers the entire program - Assumes nothing - Teaches very well Cons: -Repeats some things a little too much but that might be because this is geared towards everyone. Overall: This is an excellent book for any designer wether you are in publishing or not. Check it out.

A good introduction to a very powerful program

If you know nothing about digital publishing, typesetting or page layout, this book will surely change that. If you already know anything from MS Publisher to Quark Express or Pagemaker, this book will probably convert you to InDesign. The book really is like having a personal instructor, and the step by step exercises give accurate, hands-on training in the many features of this program. If you are an amateur and have no idea what "leading", "kerning", "bleeds", "slugs" or other typograhical terms mean, you won't be lost in the jargon any longer. McClelland explains these and other terms in the text and graphically, and he does it most effectively. There are generous numbers of screen shots, and they are done in color. This makes it really feel as if you are in a classroom, able to see exactly what things ought to look like. The illustrations alone set this book well ahead of many others. I only have two complaints, and one may be my system's fault. The first is that even though I installed the author's set of keyboard shortcuts, they don't all work correctly. Some, like holding Alt to dock a palette, don't work at all. But there are many ways to do each thing, so I don't worry about it too much. The second complaint is with the accompanying video. The author is evidently in love with keyboard shortcuts. I am sure that when I have the program's features down, I will want to know these shortcuts. But there are so many of them, they confuse the issue for those just starting out. And, he spends way too much of each lesson listing and demonstrating the keyboard shortcuts, both built-in and custom. By the end of the video lesson, your head will be spinning. Since he describes both Mac and PC shortcuts each time, the confusion is increased. (After the fiftieth time you probably know that Alt=Option and Command = Ctrl, already!) Complaints aside, I recommend this book to InDesign users of beginning or intermediate level. It's a bargain even at list price.