Indesign flyers - Graphic Design Courses

Designing flyers in Adobe Indesign usually follows the same workflow each time. We show you how in our Indesign courses.
To create the example here, go to: File > New > A5 > Landscape > Bleed 2mm (if printing commercially). To create the Duotone background image, first open an image in Adobe Photoshop. Then go to: Image > Mode > Grayscale > Discard colour information. To give it a greater tonal range: Image > Adjustments > Levels > then pull the black & white stops in a bit, and adjust the midtone gray stop. File > Save As > save as a new file. Never save over your originals.
Then return to the Indesign file and go to: File > Place > and place the grayscale image > scale if necessary. Select with Selection tool (black arrow) > and click on yellow swatch (this changes the lights to a colour). Deselect the image and go to: Swatches > New colour swatch > 240,180,90 (pale orange). Select image with the Direct Selection tool (white arrow) > and click on the new swatch (this changes the darks to a colour). If the orange is too light, double-click on the swatch label > and change the values to: 240,140,90 > tick Preview.
To cut out the bottle and glass image, first open in Photoshop. Then with the Magic wand tool (or other selection tools) select the background. Then Select (top menu) > Inverse. Copy & Paste, and note the new layer that’s created > drag the Background layer to Trash. Then: File > Save As > Type: PSD file (Photoshop Default – this saves layers). Now go back to the Indesign flyer: File > Place > place the PSD file. Right-click > Effects > Bevel & Emboss > adjust the angle > you could also try the Drop Shadow effect. Repeat this process with the company Logo.
To create the red swirl select the Pen tool > click & click to create a geometric shape; click & drag to create a smooth curve. To create a combination as in the swirl: click to create the corners, then click and drag to create the S-shape. Adjust the points with the Add Anchor Point, Delete Anchor Point, and Convert Anchor point tools. Use the Eyedropper tool to sample the red of the wine.
Next create the text box with the Rectangle tool > give it a White fill > with Opacity 50%. Object > Corner Options > Round and None. Add some text (Best Wine 2014, 48pts high) and make it transparent by adding No Fill.
Finally create the PDF: File > Adobe PDF Presets > High Quality Print (check with your print provider first). Tick View PDF after Exporting, and if printing commercially: Marks & Bleeds > All Printers’ Marks & Use Document Bleed Marks > OK.
More tips can be found at the Sydney Indesign User Group which meets regularly in the city, and is a free forum for designers to discuss topics and the latest Indesign features. See many examples of our own clients’ work on our Facebook page.
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