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LA117 — Design Communication II — Adobe InDesign

InDesign Reference Cards

12 reference cards covering InDesign from document setup through layout structure, typography, narrative, and final deliverable output. The final two cards address the distinct purposes of the poster and the project pages — read both before beginning layout work.

InDesign is the last tool in the semester and the one where everything converges. The images are from Photoshop, the diagrams are from Illustrator, the spatial base is from AutoCAD and Rhino. InDesign arranges all of it into a coherent argument. The quality of that argument depends as much on layout decisions as on the quality of the individual images.
01

Foundations

Interface, document setup, master pages, and image linking — the structural decisions that everything else builds on. Set these up correctly before placing any content.

Card 01
Vocabulary Reference
InDesign is a page layout application. Every other Adobe tool you've used this semester produces content. InDesign arranges it.
Card 02
Document Setup — Posters and Portfolio Pages
A poster and a portfolio page have different spatial logic. Set up the right document for the right deliverable.
Card 03
Master Pages
Edit once. Update everywhere.
Card 04
Placing and Managing Images
InDesign does not store your images. It points to them. Every link must be intact at submission.
02

Layout and Composition

Grid structure, white space, and reading sequence — the spatial decisions that determine whether the layout communicates its argument or merely displays its contents.

Card 05
Grid Systems and Layout Structure
The grid is what makes a layout feel designed rather than decorated. It is a starting point, not a cage.
Card 06
White Space, Visual Flow, and the 10-Foot Test
White space is not the absence of content. It is the pressure that gives weight to the content it surrounds.
03

Type

Typography as a graphic element — the settings and decisions that determine whether text works as part of the composition or competes with it.

Card 07
Typography as a Graphic Element
Text in a presentation layout is not just words. It is a visual component with weight, texture, scale, and spatial relationship to everything around it.
Card 08
Paragraph and Character Styles
In LA117, you'll likely copy styled text frames. For portfolio work beyond this course, styles are the tool that makes multi-page consistency manageable.
04

Narrative and Identity

What the layout says and how it says it — the difference between arranging content and making an argument.

Card 09
Storytelling, Narrative Voice, and Sequence
The layout is not a display case for your work. It is an argument about what your work means.
Card 10
Color, Palette, and Visual Identity
The graphic language of a presentation should feel like it came from the same sensibility that produced the design.
05

Output

Preflight, export, packaging, and the distinction between the poster and project pages — the final production steps before submission.

Card 11
Preflight, Export, and Packaging
The work is not done when the layout looks right on screen. It is done when a clean package and a correct PDF have been produced and checked.
Card 12
Poster vs. Project Pages — Two Deliverables, Two Purposes
The poster sells the design. The project pages tell its story.
LA117 — Design Communication II — David Barbarash — Purdue University InDesign — 12 Reference Cards