3 Planner Design Details You MUST Consider
If you’re in the process of designing a custom day planner, STOP. And read this first.
There are so many details that are built into the interior layout of a planner. Truly. The calendar planning pages are just the beginning.
Once you’ve decided what format of planning pages you’d like to use, have a handle on your unique planning philosophy, and have a pretty solid idea of who you’re building this planner for, it’s time to dig into a few very important details before building out the official layout.
Below, I’m diving into three crucial factors you’ll need to consider as you’re developing your interior planner design.
01. Holidays
The incorporation of holidays in your planner can be a headache . . . but vitally important to the end user and, thus, to your planner design. And I’m here to share a few tips to make the process of deciding which holidays should be included a little easier for the sake of your sanity.
The most important thing to consider here is where your planner is being sold and to who? You’ll want to add diverse holidays to your planner to broaden your market within our country and beyond.
For instance, do you plan to sell your planners in Canada? If your shop ships internationally, chances are people outside of the US will buy your planners, and you want to make sure that your product is functional for them so they continue to buy it year after year. Consider including major, country-wide Canadian holidays for this very reason.
Also consider listing holidays for many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism to appeal to a global market. By including a diverse list of holidays in your planner, you’ll be able to broaden your market and gain higher sales. Additionally, if you’d like to sell your planner in the UK, Mexico, Australia, make sure you include important holidays for those countries, as well.
02. Sunday vs. Monday Start
Ah, the big Sunday vs. Monday debate. Which do you prefer?
Personally, I’m torn. As a traditionalist, I like to view my monthly calendar with the week starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday. But, as a perfectionist, I like to keep Saturday and Sunday together (meaning the week starts on Monday).
Anyone else cringe when entering a weekend long event into your planner and having to break up your text between two different weeks? It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Regardless of your preference, I recommend keeping it consistent throughout your design. If your monthly view starts on Sunday, make sure your weekly view does too and vice versa. Otherwise, it can be a little confusing for the user.
03. Numbering the Weeks of the Year
This is a fun addition to your planner, especially if your planner focuses on goals. Adding week numbers can help the user track habits or a countdown to accomplishing a big goal—like paying off debt or completing your masters degree.
Here’s a pro tip: some years have 53 weeks instead of 52. So make sure you do your research before including this information in your design.
While there are even more design details we consider and build into our planners for our custom planner design clients, these three factors are crucial to understand and implement in your design, no matter what kind of planner you’re creating.
Have you been feeling inspired and ready to kick off the design process for your own custom planner?
I created a guide featuring 5 things your day planner MUST include . . . and it’s available now at the link below.