Free InDesign Templates
Some graphic designers like to use Photoshop, and I suppose that works for them. But, I come to design from a book design background. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to layout an entire book or magazine in Photoshop!
As a result, I typically use Adobe InDesign to layout the various print products that I prepare as a photographer. I’ve used it to create custom photo greeting cards, modeling comp cards, mini accordion books, and full fledged books. Since there’s little point in re-inventing the wheel, I’ve decided to share some of these blank documents so that other designers or photographers can use the templates to jump start their own projects.
Looking for a specific type of template that I haven’t shared here yet? Drop a line in the comment section, and I’ll see what I can do. No promises though, if you’re looking for something uber-complex. You may also want to browse through the InDesign tag on this site, since this isn’t necessarily everything I’ve done – just a highlight of some of the most popular / useful templates.
As a legal formality, let’s say that all of these designs are released under the Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Follow the link and read for the details, but in short that means you can re-use these designs for any purpose (including commercial). However, please include some kind attribution along with it. Go to the bottom of this post for information on attribution.
Finally, a note on file formats. I recently upgraded to Adobe InDesign CS5.5, and the INDD files I create are only compatible with InDesign CS5.5. However, I have also exported all of these projects as IDML files. This file format is definitely compatible with InDesign CS5, and I believe it is backwards compatible to InDesign CS4 as well. So choose accordingly.
One Sided, Four Image Comp Card for Models
Here’s a layout for a modeling comp or zed card. It is one sided, 5.5″ x 8.5″. It includes frames for a larger headshot and three smaller images. There are also text frames for the model’s name and stats.
Read the post for more information: Free InDesign Template: 4 Picture Model Comp Card.
Download the Adobe InDesign File:
Two Sided, Five Image Comp Card for Models
This is a more traditional layout for a modeling comp or zed card. It is two sided, 5.5″ x 8.5″. The front includes a frame for a headshot and the model’s name. The back has four frames for full body shots and a text frame for the models stats.
Read the post for more information: Free InDesign Template: Basic 2 Sided Model Comp Card.
Download the Adobe InDesign File:
Two Sided, Five Image Comp Card with Background
This comp / zed card design is a bit more flashy. The yellow background was just the first decent thing I found at sxc.hu – you can feel free to change that to another texture or design that you have.
The card has a large image frame on one side, and four smaller, overlapping image frames on the other. Both sides have a background image frame. Read the post for more information: Another Comp Card: Two Sided with a Background.
Download the Adobe InDesign File:
“Thank You” Photo Greeting Card
This is a design for a thank you card that I had printed at Costco. It includes frames for six photos and a text frame for a short message.
Read the post for more information: Free InDesign Template for a Photo Thank You/Greeting Card
Download the Adobe InDesign File:
Attribution for Reuse of Designs
I’ll be frank; the CC license and the attribution requirement is more of a formality than anything else. I probably won’t go after anyone for re-using these designs without giving me proper attribution. After all, I did design them specifically so that other people can re-use them. Nonetheless, it would be very nice if you did include some kind of attribution for the design. Any of the following attributions would be fine:
- Design by Brian Rock
- Brian Rock of Olinda Gibbons Photography
- Brian Rock @ olinda-gibbons.com
- Brian Rock @ digital-photography-howto.com