Adobe InDesign used to create powerful election messages
- Published on November 4, 2014
On election night we’re reminded of the importance of print publications, and how design tools such as Adobe InDesign continue to play a role in design, communications and marketing. Candidates for local offices and state-wide positions blanketed voters with political mailings, post cards, flyers, and brochures. These carefully designed promotional pieces are most often created using Adobe InDesign, a design and layout tool. InDesign doesn’t care if you are democrat, republican, or any other political party. As a design tool it helps to create professional looking materials that clearly communicate a message along with any emotional aspects of the design.
InDesign makes it possible to specify the exact position of images within a layout, which images are used, and the relationship between text and images. Designers can also use precise typographic controls to effectively communicate and even use type as a design element. The refined controls available within InDesign are what make it such a popular tool amongst designers creating direct mail pieces, brochures, and flyers.
Adobe InDesign’s ability to create high-quality digital artwork that can be printed on high volume, professional quality commercial printing equipment also plays a role in its adoption by political marketers. Whether creating a campaign post card or flyer, or building signs for rallies or to be placed in front of supporter’s homes and businesses, Adobe InDesign remains the best solution for creating such a wide variety marketing communications pieces.
Regardless of your political affiliation, you can learn InDesign at regularly scheduled public courses. These courses are designed to get you familiar with the tools and capabilities needed to successfully promote a business or initiative. These regularly scheduled InDesign courses are held each month in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. As the election materials demonstrate, printing and publishing are likely to remain a significant role into the future.
About the author
Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which have sold more than one million copies. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers and to large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he delivers Google Analytics training along with workshops on digital marketing topics. He is also the author of more than 10 books on electronic publishing tools and technologies, including the Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for 20 years.
