InDesign: Elements of a Layout

Learn how to set up and create a magazine template using Adobe InDesign. Graphic designer Nigel French explains body text, headlines, subheads, and images.

Each element of a magazine should support and work in harmony with the other elements. This course deconstructs the elements that make up a typical magazine layout. Looking at examples from newsstand magazines, it examines the purpose of body text, headlines, subheads, captions, straplines, and more, as well as their typical usage. It then shows how such elements can be created in InDesign, with an emphasis on efficient techniques that emphasize flexibility and consistency.

Graphic designer Nigel French shows how to create a magazine layout using a modular approach that improves the ongoing usability of the document template and the appearance of the resulting designs. In this course, Nigel uses a magazine layout to explain the purpose of each layout element and to demonstrate the use of InDesign features. He explores text elements, picture elements, and page elements. He demonstrates how to set up a document and how to format logically with Styles, Layers, and CC Libraries.