2023 Planner Design Trends I Love Right Now
If you’ve been on the blog or found us on YouTube recently, you probably already know what we consider the most important factor in your planner design:
Creating a planning experience suited for YOUR target audience.
But alongside that design philosophy, it’s also important to be mindful of trends in the industry and what the general market is responding well to year to year.
Below are the top five planner design trends I’ve seen in the market lately and have been loving for 2023.
01. Multi-Format Planners
While some users still prefer a more focused, single-format planner, many planner designs are moving to incorporate multi-format calendar pages by including a mix of monthly, weekly, and daily planning pages in the same planner.
Pro: This is a great design solution that offers a multitude of planning options for the end user.
Con: This design format can result in a LOT more pages—creating a thicker, heavier, and more expensive planner overall.
02. Digital Planners
Digital planners refer to a format designed for devices—phones, tablets, and computers. There is no printed or tangible aspect with digital planners.
Pro: No printed planner means no printing costs and no inventory to manage. Digital planners tend to appeal more to a younger audience who enjoy keeping their planning system streamlined on their devices. They can include as many page options as you like because you don’t have to worry about printing costs. In fact, I designed a digital planner last year that included over 900 pages—the biggest planner I’ve created to date!
Con: Digital planners can be a learning curve for your audience—so it’s crucial to ensure your audience is not only familiar with digital planning, but also partial to this planning style. If there’s an educational gap there, you may consider creating a library of tutorial videos to help your audience understand how to use the planner and make the most of their planning experience.
03. Concealed Wirebound Planners
You’re probably already familiar with wirebound planners—but a newer trend that creates an even cleaner look is to use a cover that conceals the wire binding with a hardcover case, making it look bookbound, but still functions like a wirebound planner.
Pro: This planner binding style not only looks clean and beautiful, but truly lays flat for an ideal user experience.
Note: Contrary to popular belief, it IS possible to have a bookbound planner manufactured to lay flat. This result requires a special binding technique and a skilled production partner to make it happen and is something our team has accomplished many times for previous clients.
Con: Even though it looks bookbound from the exterior, the planner is still ultimately wirebound, which can make writing in the planner difficult for some users. The number one complaint with wirebound planners is that the wire in the middle of the book is an obstacle, especially for left handed users.
04. Minimalist Design
If I had a dollar for each time I heard a new client ask for a minimalist design . . . I could buy my dream house on the coast of Maine. (Only partially joking.)
Gone are the days of fanciful scripts and lavish handwritten fonts. They’ve been replaced by more streamlined, modern fonts, like those designed by the talented Jen Wagner.
Pro: Minimalist design generally appeals to a wide audience and is fairly gender neutral, making it a great aesthetic for many planner styles.
Con: On the flip side, a simple, clean design is more difficult to achieve than you might think. This style can easily come off as generic and lacking personality if you’re not familiar with the nuances of typography, color, stroke, and other design elements that bring more interest to the design.
05. Subscription Purchasing Model
Memberships are all the rage in the planner world lately, with planner companies crafting a unique experience for their subscribers by selling subscriptions that include quarterly planners shipped right to their door.
Pro: Subscriptions can be a smart business move if done correctly. It’s a great way to bring in revenue throughout the year and regulate cash flow. A common problem among planner businesses is the seasonal nature of planners, resulting in isolated sales periods.
Con: If you’re selling dated quarterly planners, inventory can quickly become a nightmare, due to the time sensitive nature of these products. I recommend starting with undated planners until you can determine predictable buying patterns from your customers.
Whether or not you choose to apply any of these planner trends to your custom planner design, it’s important to know what’s performing well AND what your audience is specifically looking for in a planner.
Together, this combination can help you design a planner they’ll love and want to use over and over again.
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.