Advanced Guide to Adobe InDesign CC: Tables & Effects from Coursera

This course is all about taking your editorial layouts and workflow even further. Your course instructor, Kate Silver, will dive deep into tables, text data management, object styles, blending modes, and subtle effects to give your designs that polished, professional edge. If you’ve been doing things the long way in InDesign, I’ll show you faster, smarter methods.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

* Build clean, data-driven tables and stylish timetables

* Apply object styles, shadows, and graphic effects with confidence

* Remove image backgrounds using clipping paths

* Use tools like the Story Editor, Gridify, and Find/Change to save hours

You’ll design projects like a table-based coffee book, flyers, and an editorial-style timetable, all while learning 60+ tools and time-saving tricks.

This class is perfect for designers looking to improve their technical layout skills and produce print or digital pieces for real clients.

You’ll need a working knowledge of InDesign and some experience using paragraph styles and page layout features to succeed.

Instructor bio:

Kate Silver is a graphic and shoe designer, Top Teacher on Skillshare, and instructor at the UK’s leading Adobe training center in London. She creates beginner and advanced courses on design software including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Canva, and more.

With experience designing for brands like Jimmy Choo and Sophia Webster, Kate brings hands-on expertise to her classes, making complex tools simple and accessible. Her lessons focus on clarity, practical projects, and smart shortcuts to help students build real skills with confidence.

What's inside

Syllabus

Mastering Tables in InDesign

Unlock the power of tables in InDesign. This module will guide you through converting data into tables, designing structured layouts, and enhancing them with visual elements like images and graphics to boost clarity and professionalism in your documents.

Career center

Learners who complete Advanced Guide to Adobe InDesign CC: Tables & Effects will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Layout Designer

A Layout Designer is responsible for arranging text, images, and other graphic elements on a page to create visually appealing and organized documents, whether for print or digital distribution. This course is exceptionally well-suited for aspiring or current Layout Designers as it directly focuses on advanced techniques in Adobe InDesign CC, the industry-standard tool for this profession. Learners will gain expertise in building clean, data-driven tables, applying object styles and graphic effects, and mastering multi-page document creation. The emphasis on faster, smarter methods and building cohesive documents using parent pages and style saving tools ensures that those seeking to excel as a Layout Designer will develop efficient, professional workflows and deliver polished, client-ready presentations.

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Graphic Production Artist

A Graphic Production Artist is a detail-oriented specialist responsible for preparing digital files for print or digital output, ensuring technical accuracy, color consistency, and proper formatting. This course is highly beneficial for an aspiring Graphic Production Artist, as it delves into the technical aspects of layout and design within Adobe InDesign CC. Learners will gain expertise in critical tasks such as removing image backgrounds using clipping paths, applying object styles for consistency, and understanding blending modes and graphic effects to achieve precise visual outcomes. The emphasis on clean, structured layouts and time-saving tricks helps a Graphic Production Artist to efficiently prepare files that are error-free and meet the rigorous specifications required for professional printing and digital distribution.

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Editorial Designer

An Editorial Designer specializes in creating the visual layout for publications such as magazines, newspapers, books, and digital articles, focusing on readability and aesthetic appeal. This course is particularly relevant for an Editorial Designer, as it dives deep into editorial layouts and workflow. Learners will master converting data into structured tables, which is crucial for presenting complex information in publications, and enhancing them with visuals to boost clarity. The course's focus on automatic updating methods for tables of contents and building multi-page documents using parent pages and style saving tools directly equips an Editorial Designer with the skills needed to manage large-scale projects efficiently and maintain thematic consistency across extensive publications.

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Ebook Layout Specialist

An Ebook Layout Specialist formats and designs digital books for various platforms, focusing on readability and a professional visual experience across different devices. This course is highly relevant for an Ebook Layout Specialist, as it provides advanced skills in Adobe InDesign CC, which is crucial for creating well-structured digital publications. Learners will gain expertise in building clean, data-driven tables and applying object styles for consistent formatting, essential for ebooks that contain complex data or visual elements. The emphasis on mastering multi-page document creation, using parent pages and style saving tools, directly translates to efficiently preparing cohesive and visually sharp digital books, ensuring a polished and professional reader experience for various electronic devices.

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Book Designer

A Book Designer crafts the interior and exterior appearance of books, including typography, page layout, and cover design, to enhance readability and visual appeal. This course provides a strong foundation for an aspiring Book Designer, focusing intensely on the intricacies of multi-page document creation within Adobe InDesign. Learners will gain expertise in constructing clean, structured layouts, managing extensive text data, and applying consistent styling through object styles and parent pages. The practical application of designing a table-based coffee book and mastering table of contents creation ensures that a Book Designer can effectively organize complex information and achieve a polished, professional aesthetic required for print-ready publications, streamlining their design process considerably.

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Information Designer

An Information Designer specializes in presenting complex data and concepts in a clear, understandable, and visually engaging manner, often utilizing infographics, charts, and structured documents. This course offers valuable tools for an Information Designer, particularly through its deep dive into mastering tables in InDesign. Learners will convert data into clean, structured tables and enhance them with visual elements like images and graphics to boost clarity and professionalism. The techniques for applying object styles and effects, alongside the focus on efficient layout management for multi-page documents, enable an Information Designer to create compelling visual narratives that effectively communicate intricate information, ensuring that designs are both informative and aesthetically polished.

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Publication Designer

A Publication Designer creates and manages the visual design of various published materials, including reports, brochures, newsletters, and annual reviews, ensuring brand consistency and effective communication. This course offers highly valuable skills for a Publication Designer, enabling them to produce print or digital pieces for real clients with a professional edge. The curriculum's focus on building data-driven tables, applying sophisticated graphic effects, and mastering multi-page document design using tools like parent pages and style saving will prove indispensable. Furthermore, the ability to streamline workflows by using tools like Story Editor and Find Change allows a Publication Designer to efficiently handle extensive content, ensuring that all publications are well-organized, visually striking, and consistently branded.

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Brand Guidelines Designer

A Brand Guidelines Designer creates comprehensive documents outlining a company's visual and verbal identity, ensuring consistency across all brand touchpoints. This role often involves extensive multi-page layouts. This course can significantly assist a Brand Guidelines Designer by providing advanced skills in creating cohesive, multi-page documents. Learners will master using parent pages, color swatches, and style saving tools to maintain thematic consistency and apply consistent object styles throughout a complex document. The ability to design structured layouts, manage text data efficiently with tools like Find Change, and apply professional graphic effects ensures that a Brand Guidelines Designer can produce detailed, organized, and visually sharp brand manuals that are both functional and aesthetically refined for clients.

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Marketing Materials Designer

A Marketing Materials Designer creates visual assets such as brochures, flyers, posters, and advertisements to promote products, services, or brands. This course can significantly elevate the capabilities of a Marketing Materials Designer by providing advanced skills in Adobe InDesign CC, a crucial tool for creating high-impact collateral. Learners will gain proficiency in applying object styles, blending modes, and subtle effects to give designs that polished, professional edge, directly enhancing the visual appeal of marketing pieces like flyers and brochures mentioned in the course projects. Mastering efficient workflows and the creation of multi-page documents ensures that a Marketing Materials Designer can produce cohesive, client-ready presentations and compelling promotional materials effectively and consistently.

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Content Marketing Designer

A Content Marketing Designer creates visual content such as infographics, e-books, whitepapers, and blog post graphics to attract and engage target audiences. This course may be helpful for a Content Marketing Designer by equipping them with advanced layout and design skills essential for creating professional, visually appealing content. Learners will gain expertise in building data-driven tables for presenting statistics and complex information clearly, and applying object styles and graphic effects to enhance visual appeal. The focus on creating multi-page documents, like e-books and brochures, using efficient InDesign techniques can empower a Content Marketing Designer to produce high-quality, client-ready content that stands out in a competitive digital landscape.

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Technical Documentation Specialist

A Technical Documentation Specialist creates manuals, guides, and other support materials that explain complex products or processes clearly and concisely. These documents often require precise formatting and structured layouts. This course may be useful for a Technical Documentation Specialist due to its strong emphasis on mastering tables and structured layouts within Adobe InDesign. Learners will gain proficiency in building clean, data-driven tables to effectively present technical specifications and data, enhancing clarity and professionalism. The skills in applying object styles for consistency and streamlining text management with tools like Story Editor and Find Change can help a Technical Documentation Specialist to efficiently produce well-organized, visually sharp, and easy-to-understand technical documents.

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Corporate Communications Specialist

A Corporate Communications Specialist manages internal and external communications for an organization, often creating reports, presentations, and publications to convey key messages. This course may be useful for a Corporate Communications Specialist, particularly for enhancing the visual quality and professionalism of their printed and digital materials. Learners will master building clean, data-driven tables, which is invaluable for presenting company data and reports with clarity. The ability to apply consistent object styles, create cohesive multi-page documents using parent pages, and streamline workflows can help a Corporate Communications Specialist produce high-quality annual reports, internal newsletters, and presentations that reflect a professional and organized brand image.

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Presentation Designer

A Presentation Designer creates visually engaging and impactful presentations for various purposes, often for corporate clients, educational settings, or public speaking. While many use dedicated presentation software, complex, data-rich presentations can leverage InDesign. This course may be useful for a Presentation Designer looking to elevate the design quality of their work. Learners will master building clean, data-driven tables and applying sophisticated object styles and graphic effects, which can significantly enhance the visual appeal and clarity of presentation slides. The focus on structured layouts and cohesive multi-page documents, using parent pages and style saving tools, helps a Presentation Designer to create professional, branded templates and complex slide decks with efficiency and visual consistency.

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Advertising Designer

An Advertising Designer creates visually compelling advertisements for print, digital, and out-of-home media, aiming to capture attention and promote products or services. This course may be useful for an Advertising Designer looking to refine their technical layout skills and achieve a polished, professional edge in their print and digital ad designs. Learners will gain proficiency in applying object styles, blending modes, and subtle effects, which are critical for creating impactful visual advertisements. The course's focus on faster, smarter methods for layout and design, along with the ability to produce client-ready presentations, can help an Advertising Designer to efficiently develop sophisticated and engaging advertising campaigns that effectively communicate their message.

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Visual Storyteller

A Visual Storyteller uses images, graphics, and compelling layouts to communicate narratives and ideas across various media, from digital platforms to print publications. This course may be helpful for a Visual Storyteller seeking to enhance their ability to present complex information and create engaging visual experiences. Learners will explore converting data into structured layouts and enhancing them with visual elements like images and graphics to boost clarity and professionalism. The techniques for applying non-destructive visual effects and mastering multi-page document creation, while maintaining thematic consistency, can equip a Visual Storyteller with the skills to craft impactful narratives that are both aesthetically pleasing and effectively communicate their message through sophisticated design.

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