Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe InDesign CS4
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial, we'll explain how to create a resume with InDesign using paragraph styles and a grid. We’ll walk you through each step in creating this resume and introduce you to some tools and the use of styles.
Step 1
Open up a new document and set the Page Size to Tabloid with an orientation landscape. Uncheck the Facing Pages box.
Step 2
Got to Layout > Margins and Columns, set the Columns to 8, the Margins to 1p6, and set the Gutter (the space between the columns) to 0p6.
Step 3
The columns setup will help us to set up a nice grid. Choose the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a rectangle filled with a warm gray. I set the size to 13p6 by 63p0. Set the Opacity to 50%.
Step 4
Duplicate the rectangle and align it along the columns.
Step 5
Since we set the Opacity to 50%, the rectangles create a grid themselves where they overlap.
Step 6
Next, select the Text Tool (T) and create a text box stretching over three columns. I created dummy text. You can either copy paste, or select Command + D, and place the text file. This is unstyled text.
Step 7
Open up the Paragraph Styles Palette (F11). I created several styles. Of course with a one page document, you don’t need styles, you could just style the paragraphs directly, but it is a good exercise.
Step 8
Let’s start with the title. Click on the New Paragraph arrow on the right, and then apply the settings below. Set the character color to red.
Step 9
Repeat Step 8 and create the style "title small." Set the font size smaller and choose red as the character color again.
Step 10
Create another style and name it “body_left align.” Choose a different font. Click on the Indents and Spacing tab and set the Alignment to Left.
Step 11
Create another new paragraph style and name it “subtitle_left align.” Choose a different font. On the Indent and Spacing tab, set the Space Before to 2pt and the Space After to 3pt. Click on the Paragraph Rules tab. Choose Rule Below from the drop down and tick the checkbox. Set the type to solid and choose green for the color. Set the line weight to 0.25pt and offset it 1pt. Then set the character color also to green.
Step 12
Duplicate the “subtitle_left align” by right clicking on the name in the Paragraph Styles Palette. There choose duplicate style. This will make a copy of the style. After that, you can rename it to “subtitle_right align.” Leave the settings as is, only change the Indent and Spacing to right align. The rule and color of the character stays the same.
Step 13
The steps to create a new paragraph style stay the same. Create a duplicate of the “body_left align” from Step 10 and rename it to “body_right align” and just change the alignment in the Indent and Spacing tab.
Step 14
Create another new paragraph style and name it “header_right align” and apply the settings in the images below. Make a duplicate of it and name it “header_left align” and only change the alignment to left.
Step 15
Let’s start applying the styles. Select the text box and apply the “body right align” to the text box (press Alt and click on the style).
Step 16
Place the text cursor on the first text line (for the header) and press Alt and click on the style “header_right align” in the Paragraph Styles Palette. This will apply the style. Then select the next line with the text cursor and apply the "subtitle_right align." Then select the next main paragraph (in this case "education") and apply again the header style. Repeat this step to all the headers you might have in your text.
Step 17
Voila, this is the left side on the resume with right alignment and header styles applied.
Step 18
If you’d like, you can turn on the baseline grid (Alt + Command + ‘). You can align the text to the baseline. In the paragraph styles in Indent and Spacing, under the tab Align to Grid, choose All Lines.
Step 19
Let’s set up the next text box. Make a new text box and align it along the column grid. Then import your text.
Step 20
Start applying the styles. You can offset the text on the right by moving it up a bit.
Step 21
Let’s add some extra character styling. Open up the Character Styles Palette (Shift + F11) and create a new style called “body color.” Click on the Underline Options and choose the settings you see below.
Step 22
Now select the text you wish to underline/highlight and apply the Character Style we just created.
Step 23
I added more text and added the Character Style again.
Step 24
This is what we have so far. A text box on the left, a text box on the right, and a text box with contact information. All align to the columns and baseline grid.
Step 25
Create another Text box above the first one on the left, and add the text "Resume," then apply the Paragraph Style "title."
Step 26
Place another text box on the right (aligned with the text box on the right), add text (like your name) and apply the "title small" style.
Step 27
Create a duplicate of the Resume title and place it underneath the original one. Select the duplicate and click on the Flip Vertical button in the menu bar. Then set the Opacity to 45%.
Step 28
Open up the Effects Palette for Gradient Feather (Object > Effect) and with the duplicated “Resume” title selected, apply it with a linear gradient, set to 90 degrees. You can move the Gradient Stops around to get the effect you prefer.
Step 29
This is the resume with text styles and effects.
Step 30
Let’s make it a little bit more interesting. I chose a picture form stock.xchng. We will use this as a passport picture and add it to our resume. Select the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) and place the image (Command +D). With the image still selected, go to Object > Clipping Path > Option (Alt + Shift + Command + K) and select Detect Edges from the Type drop down menu. Since the image has a white background, it will knock the white out.
Step 31
Select the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a scotch tape like shape. Rotate it with the Transform Tool (E), fill it with white and set the Opacity to 50% (Top menu bar).
Step 32
Duplicate the scotch tape shape and place them around the images.
Conclusion
This is the final image. You can print out your resume and fold it in half.
I hope you enjoyed this InDesign tutorial.
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By Simona Pfreundner
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Very nice!
We need MORE InDesign tutorials!
thanks Simona.
Rafa.
Looks interesting… here’s a pro tip for resumés, though… be sure to spell check it before sending it off. You don’t want to say that you’re interested in “graphic desig”.
I like some things about this tutorial, and i don’t like somethings about this tutorial.
Likes
• Good use of the grid system, that most designers forget to use on projects.
• Color scheme works well. Doesn’t leave you overwhelmed and it’s simple. Good use for a resumé
• I like the use of the picture. The vintage works well here. I personally would do all the clipping in PS and then just import the PSD, it’s a lot more accurate and quicker to edit, especially if you have to use the ‘Edit in Photoshop’ feature in InDesign.
• The Reflection: That’s a good one. Most don’t know you can do that in this program.
Dislikes
• Is this for print or web? I noticed in the tut’ that your swatches are both RGB and CMYK. If this is for web, convert everything into RGB (vice versus for print), then use the ‘Select All Unused Swatches’ option to get rid of colors you don’t use. Plus, converting to the correction color profile will ensure that you will see the intended color.
• I’m not in love with the layout. Although it’s eye catching, it’s not practical. Right justifying the introduction makes this awkward to read. Although this is not the case in all countries or languages, we tend to read left to right. I’d hat to have this resume get tossed because of an element like this, but hey, sometimes you can’t play by the rules all the time, right… just my opinion.
OVERALL GOOD TUTORIAL. I’d like to see more InDesign ones down the trail.
First! Wow, this is cool… a good thing to break the traditional resume layout. :)…
Nice format, though I strongly disagree with the offset of the text. You’re going through all the trouble of designing it to a grid, but you’re not using it entirely through the resumè layout.
Nice tutorial showing the capabilities of the software.
I would agree with Jeff’s point about the legibility of the text, but also agree with Chris, because this is your resume (or CV for us in the UK) so you should express your own design and layout skills.
What would put me off as an employer is the ‘n’ left off of ‘Design & Tools’ and the extra space between the ‘e’ and ‘s’ in ‘Professional’.
But that’s just nit-picking ;-) Nice step by step tutorial Simona.
Using the paragraph styles saves a lot of time and makes sure that the styles are constant through the whole project. I am also a big fan of aligning the text to a grid.
I think that using a tabloid size for a resume isn’t a good idea though. While it may stick out, from the rest, chances are it will either be folded in half or thrown out (if it is printed off). Also I think that it makes it look like there is less experience because of all the extra space.
Overall I like the design, just maybe condensed on a 8.5″x11″ or whatever the norm is where you are from.
Horrible design for a resume. This designer will never get a job.
I like the concept But few more alteration here and there whilemake looks better. cheers
This sucks. Hard.
Great design and tutorial, I just think there’s too much space.
Bad spacing, bad fonts, bad images, bad textures, bad layout, bad resume.
Only models and actors should have their pictures on their resumes.
Personally i’d say CV’s/resumes have to be on white backgrounds unless you’re having them printed professionally or not allowing employers to print them off.
There are so many things wrong with this resume, the overall design is really bad.
I have been dying to read some InDesign tutorials, although the design itself isn’t great ( It’s more about the learning of the software than the overall outcome), the explanation and the tutorial is great. More of the same please!
OK first things first: Yeah we all know this is not the most appealing visual design any of us have seen but I think there is more relevance in the techniques described than the design itself. Some of the points, like using paragraph and character styles and the base line grid can be useful for any aspiring designer.
The overall look of the design will be that of the individual designing the resume and I don’t believe the purpose of this TUT is for designers to copy it inherently.
Good to see an Indesign TUT thanks.
Great tutorial. Especially the reflection effect and the paragraph styles. Though I would rather use Photoshop for clipping the image.
For a more traditional resume style for InDesign, check out http://indesigntemplate.com/stylized-combination-resume-template/ . Nothin fancy, but its great for any other job!
Great tutorial, and vey inspirrational.
Can you also design that in Illustrator?
There are a few things off on this resume design which are kind of fatal flaws. The intensely long lines of text are hard to read and make the resume awkward to read (introduction, interests) so I would suggest shortening those lines (follow the grid!) to make it readable.
As others have said I was surprised to see such an in-depth tutorial on InDesign. Usually I can’t find anything useful for ID which is why I never use it. If I could find more great detailed tuts like this one then I’d be tempted to use the program myself.
This is a really cool resume. I may actualyl think about doign something similar to this. Thanks for sharing.