Create Your Own Zine or Photobook with InDesign
© Edward Ratliff (books/zines by previous students)
Create Your Own Zine or Photobook with InDesign
© Edward Ratliff (books/zines by previous students)
Evening Class

Create Your Own Zine or Photobook with InDesign

Dates: Wednesdays, Feb 19–Apr 23, 2025
Time: 7–9pm (ET)
Sessions: 6 (This class has 5 group sessions plus a private 1-on-1 session and meets Wednesdays generally every other week: Feb 19; March 5, 19; Apr 2, 23)
Limited enrollment: 6 students
Fee: $495
Register Now

Adobe’s InDesign is the most flexible and powerful application to design and layout a photobook or zine. This 6-session class is for students who are new to InDesign and also those who’d like a refresher to work on a project. We’ll discuss developing a visual concept to fit your specific story, and cover step-by-step instructions on workflow, how to best plan and setup a project, how to use the most important InDesign tools, and how to prepare, import, and resize photos.

We’ll discuss working with text, fonts, and typography, and you’ll learn to speak the language of printers and designers. You’ll also get recommendations for where to print your particular project. We’ll look at a variety of zines and photobooks for design inspiration and discuss different design ideas. Students will work on their projects throughout the course, so that by the end (depending on the scope of the project), you could have a layout ready to print. This class is limited to only 6 students to give individual attention to each person’s project. We’ll meet as a group for 5 sessions every other week, followed by a private 1-on-1 session to work together on your specific book or zine.

Please note: No prior knowledge of InDesign is required. Students should have a group of images ready to develop into a book or zine, or just to work with. Adobe's InDesign is available by a monthly subscription that can be stopped and started as you like.
 
We just returned from a week away and found my zine waiting for me! I love it! Many thanks to you both and especially Edward for your time, expertise and patience as I began to learn InDesign. I am grateful and appreciative!
—Lisa (New York)
Edward is a lovely person who gives his time and skills generously and is committed to maximizing the results of the book or zine. It was exciting to start the class knowing nothing about InDesign and to end with a book at the printers! Thank you Edward!
—Ilene (New York City)


Edward Ratliff
photo by Anja Hitzenberger
Edward Ratliff

Edward Ratliff is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. In the visual realm, he’s a graphic designer who works in print and digital media with clients ranging from individual artists to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His film, video, and installation work has been exhibited internationally.

As a composer and multi-instrumentalist, he’s led bands in clubs, theaters, and festivals across New York City and in Europe and Asia, and has received numerous commissions and grants for dance and theater scores. His music has been heard in shows on Netflix, HBO, Nickelodeon, Hulu, PBS, and more — everything from a biography of Dostoyevsky to Real Sex Xtra. He “is best known for making richly cinematic music that captures New York City’s momentum and diversity” (The Wall Street Journal) and has been called “a wonderfully spunky and imperturbable trumpet player” (The New York Times).

Edward teaches movies as inspiration and using InDesign to create zines and books for StrudelmediaLive.