Foreword: InDesign s Impact

When Adobe came up with the beta code name K2 for the very first version of InDesign, I was intrigued by the choice. You see K2 is also the name of the second highest mountain range in the world and is considered by many climbers to be the ultimate climb of a lifetime. So how do these two entities relate? Well, when K2 evolved into Adobe InDesign, which made a slow but persistent entry into the marketplace , many concerns were raised. Version 1.0 was considered too risky and unstable to use, just as the K2 mountain peak was once considered too risky to climb. Flash-forward to 2003 ‚ as K2 is well-noted as the ultimate mountain climb, InDesign CS has been penned as the ultimate page-layout application.

The original marketing campaign for Adobe InDesign was "Innovative, Interesting, Inspirational, Insightful, Incredible, Ineffable, and Ingenious." And then when Adobe asked "Are you in? " I responded, "Indubitably."

Not only has the release of Adobe InDesign made a major impact on the publishing industry, it has also made a huge impact on my life. If it weren't for Adobe's development of a new page-layout application, I never would have gotten the opportunity to develop and moderate the "Page Layout in Transition" session held at the Seybold SF conference in 1999. This session led to the "The Seybold Shootout: QuarkXPress versus Adobe InDesign" session, which I have developed and moderated every year since the release of InDesign.

I have been involved in many aspects of the print and publishing industry over the last 20 years . I started out as a typographer, which in 1984 was a fancy word for typesetter. I loved the typographic control I could exercise within my compositions. Today, I consult with publishers throughout the country to help them solve production challenges, train their staffs, and stay current in publishing technology. After the demise of photo-typesetting, I thought I would never have the true pleasure of setting type again. Adobe InDesign has given me back the typographic control that I so desire . Thank you, Adobe, for reincarnating the typographer in me.

The publishing industry, just as every other industry, deserves a choice in the production tools that we use to build and complete our projects. InDesign gives you that choice with a robust and complete desktop publishing application. Adobe has listened to its customers just as Kevin Costner listened to the voice in Field of Dreams. The voice told Kevin Costner's character to "Build it, and they will come." We said to Adobe, "Build it, and we will buy it." Well, Adobe built it and I, along with many others, bought it. It was the best software purchase I ever made, no doubt about it. You will feel the same way.

When author Galen Gruman asked me to write a foreword for this book, I did not hesitate a single moment before agreeing. Galen's industry experience has made him a reliable source of information, and he's well respected and trusted. I have read several of his books and magazine articles, which are lively, fun, and educational to the reader. Congratulations, Galen!

Shellie L. Hall
Principal
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