3 Units
Advisories: MAT 110 and MAT 170
Prerequisites: None
Acceptable for Credit: CSU
Lecture 2.5 hours, Laboratory 1.5 hours
Course Typically Offered: Fall
This course introduces students to Adobe InDesign, the page layout software program used by professional graphic artists to publish ads, business cards, brochures, postcards, newsletters, magazines, books, and more. It involves considerable hands-on instruction and projects similar to those faced by today’s designers. Students learn how to prepare documents for professional publication, how to format type, import images, use styles, generate tables, create swatches, and apply shortcuts. Students learn typographic and publishing techniques, basic design principles, and how to apply spot and process color. Students will examine, troubleshoot, and package digital files for output to a commercial press and for the Web.
In-depth knowledge of Adobe InDesign is critical for the graphic artist whose primary focus is output for print. MAT 180 is an emphasis course for the Graphic Design Certificate and for the AA in Graphic Design. It is recommended that you complete this course within your first year of pursuing a certificate or AA in MAT, or as soon as possible after that.