About
Russell has been doing this a long time. This year he celebrates 41 years as a professional in, and around, the publishing world. He also celebrates 25 years as a public speaker and trainer.
"When I started as a reporter/photographer we had typesetters and darkrooms," Russell laments. "I don't miss either."
Russell started in the "desktop publishing" world with PageMaker in 1987 and has used all of the industry tools extensively since.
In addition to training, he is hired to work on projects that allow him to push the limits of the software so he gets to practice what he preaches. "I don't show anything to an audience that I haven't used on a real project," Russell said. "It allows me to know the nuances of a feature...the things you don't know until you really push it."
You can catch Russell's live stream, which he does with Julia Zieger, regularly on Behance.
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Speaking at these events
Presentation Design Conference 2026
The essential how-to event for anyone who creates, designs, or delivers presentations.
The InDesign Conference 2025
Join the world’s most knowledgeable InDesign experts as they share their wisdom, tips, and techniques for building documents of every size and format.
Design + AI Summit 2025
Artificial Intelligence is creating a once-in-a-generation revolution for designers, writers, and artists. Learn how to put the power of generative AI tools to work for...
The Design + Accessibility Summit 2025
Available for purchase through December 19. On-demand access ends September 19, 2026. Learn how to design accessible documents with InDesign, Acrobat, PowerPoint, and more at...
CreativePro Week 2025
Available for purchase through September 6. On-demand access ends June 6, 2026. CreativePro Week is the world’s best how-to conference to master the tools of...
The Design + Marketing Summit 2025
Master design and production techniques for social media, email, print, video, and more.
The Design + Accessibility Summit 2024
Learn how to design accessible documents with InDesign, Acrobat, PowerPoint, and more at our four-day online event on October 8–11, 2024.
Presentation Design Conference 2025
The essential how-to event for designers who need to create compelling slide decks, interactive experiences, and impactful presentations.
Articles
See all articlesInterview with Russell Viers, Publishing Pro
Q&A with Russell Viers, who is presenting at the The InDesign + Long Documents Summit for CreativePro
Super-Long Document Techniques with InDesign
A collection of recommendations and techniques for creating super-long documents with InDesign
How to Link Text Between Two InDesign Documents
Find out how to link text in one InDesign document to a completely separate document, using conditional text and even an InCopy feature.
Transforming Type
You can make some nifty type effects with InDesign alone, but for unlimited creative freedom, you need the help of the “ultimate plug-in”: Adobe Illustrator.
Threading Text From One Document to Another
A 20-year quest is fulfilled with InDesign CS4 and a little ingenuity!
Swapping Color Swatches with Swatch Switcher
Just when you get a comfort level with InDesign, because it works so well, something jumps out and surprises you. Case in point: Switching color swatches. The project I was working on that brought this problem to light was a template that is built using a swatch palette of about 16 colors, all in the […]
