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Australia’s first taste of the well-known InDesign Conference will be held at the Crown Promenade Hotel, Melbourne, from October 14-16 2004, and has far outstripped the demand that it was initially expected to generate. The InDesign Conference will host the largest group of InDesign experts assembled in a single training event. One of the most valuable aspects is the chance for attendees to gain one-on-one mentoring time with world-renowned InDesign specialists, including:

David Blatner, a consultant specialising in InDesign, QuarkXPress and Photoshop; and Tim Cole, Adobe Systems’ Senior InDesign evangelist will headline the event, as will Sandee Cohen, an author/trainer who co-authored Acrobat 5 Master Class as well as penning books on InDesign, Fireworks, FreeHand, Illustrator, and desktop publishing.

Cohen says, "Most graphic designers are familiar with people like David Blatner and Deke McClelland; but the InDesign conference gives attendees a chance to see and speak to David and Deke directly. But it’s not just the American imports who are important. Australia has quite a few heavy hitters, such as Shane Stanley and Eliot Harper who will be speaking.

"There are other benefits as well. The sessions themselves are the attendees’ chance to see the most intricate and sophisticated features in InDesign. Instead of just reading how to do a certain feature, visitors will see how the expert does it right in front of them."

Cohen believes one of the most important aspects of the event is the networking opportunities it presents.

"The best part of the conference, for me, has always been the coffee breaks between sessions. This is where attendees mix with the presenters to ask questions or otherwise shmooze about the programme. It’s not at all rare to see three or four people huddled around a portable computer figuring out the solution to a particularly perplexing problem. In fact, I’ve heard attendees say that the answer to just one question made the entire trip worthwhile," she says.

"There’s also the chance to interact with fellow designers. You’d be surprised how many times attendees can hook up themselves to discuss workflows, printing issues, file formats, and more. Sometimes I don’t even have to answer a question. One attendee does it for the other."