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Adobe InDesign — Graphic Design Layout Techniques that Produce Accessible PDFs

Scheduled at 9:00am in Denver 1-3 on Tuesday, November 12.

#39638

Speaker(s)

  • Bevi Chagnon, Designer, Senior Accessibility Trainer, PubCom.com

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 5-6-hr
  • Format: Lab
  • Expertise Level: Intermediate
  • Type of session: Pre-conference

Summary

Hands-on Lab: Day-long pre-conference session teaches how to construct InDesign files that export "graciously" to accessible PDFs with minimal remediation afterwards. Step-by-step workflow controls tags and reading order to produce “clean” tag trees in the exported PDFs. Lots of tricks, tips, strategies, and design hacks. Prerequisite: This is an intermediate-level class and requires that attendees know the basics of making documents with Adobe InDesign.

Abstract

Learn how to make accessible PDFs from Adobe InDesign, the publishing industry's leading graphic design and layout program. From start to finish, this hands-on lab covers each step of the publishing workflow for any type of Adobe InDesign project — books, long documents, academic research, classroom materials, campus/administrative items, marketing and other public-facing materials.

Focus: How to create InDesign layouts that convert to accessible PDFs with minimal remediation in Acrobat … that is, PDFs that are nearly 100% accessible right from InDesign with the right tags, correct reading orders, Alt Text, accessible hyperlinks, TOCs, etc.

Software: We’ll work in both Adobe InDesign and Adobe Acrobat DC Pro.

Topics: — How InDesign handles text frames, threaded stories, articles and reading orders. — Methods for placing text into a layout. — Using styles to quickly format and control accessibility. — Designating tags for accessibility. — Adding Alt Text to graphics and hyperlinks. — Formatting tables, TOCs, and footnotes for accessibility. — Export to PDF and check for accessibility compliance.

Taught by Bevi Chagnon, an award-winning art director, designer, and accessibility maven, this session also includes design hacks and tips that produce great design + accessibility.

Prerequisites: This intermediate-level class requires that attendees know the basics of making documents with Adobe InDesign.

Keypoints

  1. Learn how InDesign styles reduce production time and creates tags in accessible PDFs.
  2. Maximum accessibility features in the InDesign layout ensures maximum accessibility in the PDF.
  3. Once learned, InDesign can create the most accessible PDFs for all users.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Accessible Course Design, Other, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Bevi Chagnon

Bevi Chagnon has been active in the standards community for 25 years, and currently is a US Delegate to the ISO committees for PDF and PDF/UA. With a long career in publishing, she’s an expert for Adobe InDesign, Acrobat, MS Office, and accessibility. She’s a professional educator, award-winning designer, and former faculty member at Washington DC-area colleges/universities. Bevi is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and a contributor on many forums, including the Adobe Community Forums where she is an invited Community Expert.