This week I’ve been continuing to play around with a trial of InDesign. As I explored it’s features all I could think is, “Why on earth have I never used this before?”

I’m pretty pleased. As I’ve written previously, InDesign is very much a professional tool. There is no hand-holding. Even things like specific character styles need to be set up manually for a project, InDesign assumes users have basic page layout and publishing concepts well in-hand. As such, it leaves new projects as a blank canvas. In order to function, designers have to either mix their palettes by hand, or load saved versions into the file. To work with InDesign means taking on the role of artist.

I love it.

This week I experimented with importing formatted text, and even found a script which allows me to import Markdown into a project ¹, complete with a matching style palette. I played with setting up a grid of pictures using a mini-bridge, and explored setting up shape masks and other decorations. I learned how to create a table of contents and save a format to use in the future. I practiced importing images into wireframes, and round-tripped images from photoshop back into an InDesign project. I practiced how text could be made to wrap around objects, and fiddled with layers. All this experimentation generated something of actual use. The image attached to this article is actually a flyer I’m working on for an upcoming event at Central ².

The interface does take some getting used to, but I loved the incredible freedom it gave me. For years I’ve always felt constrained by desktop publishing applications – there were always features I felt should be able to be done, only to discover the applications I had couldn’t do what I wanted. InDesign was the first time I found myself asking, “Well what about this?” and never a limiting wall. If anything, every time I tried to find a comfortable corner, the walls ended up falling down around me – leaving me exposed to yet another lay of power at my disposal.

For many people, this could be too much freedom and power to have in an application. Even for me, a long-time design hobbyist, it’s almost too much. Imagining what I could accomplish with this tool once I become more familiar with the interface, however, makes me genuinely giddy.