StretchLearn Course

Design publications that look like they came from a professional studio

Master the InDesign systems that make layout work fast, consistent, and print-ready — from master pages to packaged press files.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Intermediate9 hr 3 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Adobe InDesign is the industry standard for print and publication design, yet most users only scratch the surface of its real power. This course digs into the features that make production work fast, consistent, and client-ready: master pages, paragraph and character styles, baseline grids, advanced typography, swatch management, and complete prepress packaging. You will work through realistic projects — a tri-fold brochure, a magazine spread, a multi-chapter book — so every skill lands in a professional context. By the end you will be producing work that looks polished, holds up under print scrutiny, and can be handed off to any print vendor without rework.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Build and apply master pages, section markers, and automatic page numbering across multi-page documents

Create a complete paragraph and character style system that enforces typographic consistency throughout a publication

Set up and work within baseline grids and column grids to achieve professional editorial alignment

Apply advanced OpenType and optical margin alignment features to elevate body text and display typography

Manage process and spot color swatches, tints, and color groups for accurate print color

Package documents, preflight against a custom profile, and export press-ready PDFs with correct bleed, marks, and color settings

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Document Architecture: Masters, Grids, and Structure

Establish the underlying structure of a professional InDesign document — master pages, section markers, column and baseline grids — so that layout decisions are consistent, scalable, and easy to update across dozens or hundreds of pages.

3 lessons

Master Pages That Actually WorkContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Column Grids and Baseline GridsContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Sections, Numbering, and Long-Document NavigationContent · 38 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Style Systems: Paragraph, Character, and Object Styles

Build a complete style framework that enforces typographic and layout consistency across every page — paragraph styles, nested character styles, GREP styles, and object styles — so that reformatting a 200-page document takes minutes, not days.

3 lessons

Building a Paragraph Style System from ScratchContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Character Styles, Nested Styles, and GREP StylesContent · 48 min

LMS Access

Object Styles and Repeatable Layout ElementsContent · 42 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Typography at a Professional Level

Go beyond font selection to control every dimension of type quality — optical margin alignment, OpenType features, justified composition, hyphenation, and the micro-adjustments that separate professional type from amateur layout.

3 lessons

Advanced Typography: Optical Alignment and Hanging PunctuationContent · 45 min

LMS Access

OpenType Features and Typographic RefinementContent · 46 min

LMS Access

Justification, Hyphenation, and the Paragraph ComposerContent · 43 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Color, Output, and Prepress

Manage color from swatch creation through spot color specification to prepress packaging and press-ready PDF export — the complete output workflow that professional print designers and print vendors require.

3 lessons

Color Swatches, Spot Colors, and TintsContent · 44 min

LMS Access

Preflight: Finding and Fixing Problems Before They Reach the PrinterContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Packaging, PDF Export, and Handoff to PrintContent · 52 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

InDesignlayout designpublication designtypographyprint productionmaster pagesprepresseditorial design