2025-10-18 - DDM Indesign Exercise / Studio Based Assignment.

INDESIGN INTRO TUTORIAL EXERCISE

Quick recap

The meeting focused on teaching Adobe InDesign as the third software in the curriculum, with Brian Williams demonstrating its capabilities for creating multi-page documents and presentation boards. The class learned about the design process, including reverse engineering successful presentation boards and creating wireframes, with emphasis on principles like alignment and hierarchy. Brian introduced a studio-based assignment worth 15% of the grade, requiring students to create an 11x17 presentation board in InDesign using content from their previous ritual project, with a two-week completion deadline.

Next steps

• All students: Complete the class activity on Miro board by Wednesday

• All students: Submit Exercise 4 - deprioritize if needed in favor of current InDesign work

• All students: Complete InDesign exercise and submit by Sunday

• All students: Create wireframe for 11x17 presentation board using ritual project content and submit within 2 weeks

• All students: Design final 11x17 presentation board in InDesign using either grid layout or main image concept and submit within 2 weeks

• All students: Choose one design concept for the presentation board

• All students: Watch recommended YouTube videos on designing architectural presentations

• Brian: Upload class recording video within next couple minutes

• Brian: Reopen Miro board for editing before Wednesday to allow all students to complete the class activity

• Ashauni : Resolve InDesign grid display issue - turn off grid setting

Summary

Positive Affirmations and Approvals

The transcript appears to be a series of positive affirmations and approvals from Brian Williams, with no substantive discussion or decisions made. The content consists mainly of repeated phrases like "好" (good) and "過牌" (passing cards), suggesting a non-verbal or automated recording rather than a meaningful meeting.

InDesign Introduction and Assignment Updates

The class discussed the current status of assignments and introduced InDesign as the third Adobe software in their curriculum. Brian explained that InDesign is used for desktop publishing, combining text and graphics in a way that Word cannot handle, and emphasized its importance for architectural presentation boards. He noted that while some students were still working on previous exercises, they should prioritize the new InDesign activity, which would contribute to an upcoming class assignment. The class also briefly discussed the overlap between different design software tools, with Brian encouraging students to recognize the versatility of different programs for achieving similar results.

Design Software Distinctions and Strategy

Brian explained the differences between various design software, emphasizing that InDesign is primarily a desktop publishing tool for multi-page documents, distinct from Illustrator's focus on vector graphics and Photoshop's image editing. He highlighted that while InDesign can handle vector graphics like Illustrator, its strength lies in laying out complex multi-page documents, comparing it to how AutoCAD is essential for architectural drawings. The session concluded with Brian introducing a four-step "design funnel" strategy for creating effective presentation boards, which will be the focus of the next assignment.

Design Funnel Method Introduction

Brian introduced a new method for creating digital presentations called the "design funnel," which involves starting with a theme and then organizing and filtering content to create an effective layout. He explained that themes can be derived from various sources, such as graphics or architecture, and demonstrated how to reverse-engineer a presentation board to identify information zones and design blocks. Brian instructed the class to practice this method by creating wireframe diagrams of their own presentation boards, focusing on organizing content and applying their chosen themes.

Reverse Engineering Presentation Board Layout

Brian led a session on reverse engineering presentation boards to help students understand the layout and information flow in design work. He demonstrated how to break down a board into its components, including information zones, graphics, and text, using simple shapes and colors to map out the structure. The students were tasked with spending 15 minutes reverse engineering their own selected presentation boards, focusing on identifying the rhythm and organization of information and graphics. Brian emphasized that effective presentation boards don't just happen by chance, but require a methodical approach to design and organization.

Mastering Presentation Design Fundamentals

Brian led a session on reverse-engineering successful presentation boards, focusing on the distinction between information and graphics zones. He demonstrated how to create wireframes using tools like Mirror, emphasizing the importance of trimming down data and mapping out zones before adding text or graphics. Brian encouraged participants to complete the exercise, which will remain open until Wednesday, to ensure everyone understands the fundamental concepts of presentation design.

Design Principles and Wireframe Basics

Brian led a discussion on the design process, focusing on wireframes and the importance of principles like alignment, hierarchy, and repetition in creating effective presentations. He explained how these elements help "grind down" a design to a final product, using examples from his own experience to illustrate the process. The class was instructed to continue working on their presentation layouts, with an emphasis on applying these design principles. Brian also mentioned that the whiteboard would not be available for editing, and the session would focus more on class activities.

InDesign Tutorial and Layout Basics

Brian led a tutorial on using InDesign, covering its interface, tools, and basic functions. He demonstrated how to create a multi-page document layout, including a cover page, internal pages, and a back page. The class discussed how to use frames as containers for images and text, and Brian showed how to adjust margins and document settings. Ashauni encountered some technical difficulties with the grid display in InDesign, which Brian helped troubleshoot. The session concluded with Brian explaining the importance of planning layouts before starting to work in InDesign.

InDesign Text Layout Techniques

Brian demonstrated how to use InDesign to create a refined layout, including adding text, using guidelines for precision, and adjusting font styles and sizes. He explained the concept of text boxes and how to manage text within them, as well as the importance of budgeting space for text in design. Brian also showed how to use the fill and stroke features for both text and shapes, and he guided participants through aligning and formatting elements on the page.

InDesign Design and Image Integration

Brian demonstrated how to work with InDesign, focusing on inserting Photoshop files into frames, adjusting image placement, and using color picker tools. He explained features like overprint view, screen modes, and text frame capabilities for coordinating design with content. Brian also showed how to create guides efficiently using the Layout menu and discussed the importance of coordinating text length with design constraints when collaborating with team members.

InDesign Document Creation Basics

Brian Williams demonstrated how to use InDesign by creating a document with three projects, each with a title and description. He showed how to insert and manipulate images, adjust text formatting, and use precision tools to center and align content. Brian also explained the difference between the blue frame (which crops content) and the brown frame (which represents the actual image size) in InDesign. He demonstrated how to edit linked files in their original programs and how to use the Links panel to manage file links and updates.

Adobe InDesign Design Assignment Demo

In this meeting, Brian Williams demonstrated how to use Adobe InDesign for creating multi-page documents and presentation boards. He showed features like linking files from Illustrator and Photoshop, adding page numbers, and working with frames. Brian then explained a studio-based assignment where students need to create an 11x17 presentation board in InDesign using content from their previous ritual project. He provided two design concepts (grid layout and main image) and suggested using wireframes before starting the final design. The assignment is worth 15% of the grade and students have 2 weeks to complete it, with the first part being a class exercise to be submitted by Sunday.

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