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An Industry Staple
January 17, 2020

An Industry Staple

Jennifer Hess | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Adobe InDesign

We use Adobe InDesign for design projects such as brochures, booklets, or sometimes single-page flyers (depending on the content). We are a small organization, and I am currently the only designer, so I am the only one who uses it. However, I serve as Marketing Director for some of my clients, and I manage other junior design team members there who also use it. InDesign is great for multi-page components, particularly those with dedicated sections or templates which need to be organized and displayed a certain way. It's also great for text-heavy projects, or those which use a lot of linked assets. Through use of shared Adobe Creative Cloud libraries and folders, it allows easy sharing between design teams, and avoids the need to package & send files between designers.
  • Include linked assets from Creative Cloud library for easy sharing.
  • Ideal for building page layouts and master templates for multi-page document formatting.
  • Can be difficult for beginners to understand tools and functionality.
  • Can sometimes be difficult to decide when to use InDesign vs Illustrator, depending on the project.
  • Adobe Suite is fairly expensive overall, even if only purchasing one or two apps, which can be cost prohibitive to a new designer or small business.
  • Purchasing InDesign as part of Creative Cloud bundle allows me to provide the best design solutions for my client at a lower rate than if purchased individually, which improves margin on projects.
First, Microsoft products are notoriously difficult to work with, so the bar is already set pretty low. In my limited experience with MS Publisher in the past, the tools were not intuitive and the files did not save / share well outside of MS platforms. It has been many years since I last used it, so I don't have much other insight aside from a negative initial experience and the desire to never have to use it again.
Adobe support is ok but not great. Chat support often doesn't initially understand the question at-hand and it takes awhile to get to the right agent. Phone support has long wait times, and though I've had more luck there, it does take quite a time investment if you are looking for help. However, Adobe does have some online learning solutions available as well as a knowledgebase for frequently asked questions. If you're looking to learn how to use the platform, there are lots of resources which can typically be found in a few Google searches. If you have a technical issue with the system, that's going to be a bit more of a time investment as far as getting a tech's assistance to resolve the problem.

Do you think Adobe InDesign delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Adobe InDesign's feature set?

Yes

Did Adobe InDesign live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Adobe InDesign go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Adobe InDesign again?

Yes

Adobe InDesign is an industry standard, and I would not trust a professional designer who did not at least have an intermediate level of knowledge in InDesign. It's best suited for multi-page documents, such as book publication, brochures or pamphlets. Its tools allow designers to build wireframe layouts, roughing in placement of images, text or other linked elements. The ability to create multiple page 'masters' allows for implementation of different template components for each document section. For example, the sections can use their own numbering systems, start at different intervals, have different background design components, and if the tools are used properly, they can be used to dynamically generate Table of Contents layouts which saves designers a lot of time. Content can be flowed between sections, so if additional text is added or the text area gets smaller, the text will flow to the subsequent linked text box. Additionally, it's well suited (and intended) for design all the way through the production process, so its print-ready export settings will typically accommodate professional print vendor specifications, supporting bleed, trim, gutter, and complex PDF export options.