InDesign

Creating columns:

Select Layout
Select Margins and Columns
Select the number of columns you want

Creating a gradient colour:

This is essentially for a textbox, but if you use the rectangle tool to cover your page, you can apply the
gradient colours to the whole page. This is probably not the most storage efficient way to apply colour
to the page.

Place your textbox on your page.

Select your textbox using the pointer tool.
Select the Swatches window (through > Window > Swatches, if necessary).
Click the Show Color Swatches or Show All Swatches.
Select the Gradient window (through >Window > Gradient, if necessary).
Drag the colours you want onto the gradient line.
You can reposition the colours along the line to change the level of each and drag any colours
you want to remove off the line.
Select type: linear or radial. Linear gradients can be angled by typing the angle into the angle
textbox and hitting enter.
Double-click on the sample to add to your swatches.
If your new swatch isn't showing in the Swatch window, click Show Gradient Swatches.