What to Know About Using Color in Your Planner Design
Maybe you’ve always envisioned a more minimal color palette in your custom planner design . . .
Or maybe you LOVE the idea of introducing color in a big way, through navigational tabs, design accents, colorful, full page bleeds, and more.
The use of color in your design can dictate the overall aesthetic and feel of your planner. But before you get too far into the details of your design process, there are a few things to consider when it comes to color usage in your planner.
3 Factors to Consider when Choosing Your Color Scheme
01. Cost
The use of color can drastically affect the overall cost of your planner production.
For instance, one-color printing is the least expensive option and achieves a cleaner, more minimalist aesthetic for your design. When you start to introduce two or more colors in your design, you’ll also be looking at a cost increase for the final product.
02. Your Specific Planning System
If your unique planning system relies on differentiating specific days, areas of life, or routines, a multi-color format could be helpful in providing the end user guidance on how to structure their tasks.
For example, if the goal of your planner is to help someone create routine and rhythm throughout their day, you might consider adding color to different chunks of time on each day — morning hours are yellow, afternoon hours are peach, evening hours are blue, etc. This gives the user visual clues on how to break up their day and arrange their schedule or tasks accordingly.
Tip: Love the inclusion of color but want to be mindful of cost? Consider designing a one-color interior, but then introducing color in the tabbed pages or cover of the planner for a pop of color your ideal customer will love.
03. Audience
It’s crucial to keep in mind who your target audience is and what they would be most drawn to as a user of your planner.
For example, a one-color or neutral color palette will generally appeal to a wide variety of people. This is a great approach for gender neutral planners, or for people who love to decorate their planners with stickers, highlighters, and washi tape. The more neutrally-designed the planner is to begin with, the more each user is able to customize it to their own personal style.
Color Options to Consider for Interior Planner Design
01. One Color
A one-color planner design refers to the use of ONE color throughout the interior pages. This may be black, gray, or even a single Pantone (PMS) color. This is the most conservative and clean option from a design standpoint, best suited for a minimalistic look and feel—but one-color planner designs don’t have to be boring. Using different shades of your one chosen color is a great way to introduce more variation and interest in your planner design.
02. Two-three Colors
In this instance, you would be selecting two to three Pantone colors for your interior planner design. This is a great way to align your design with your brand color palette with the goal of creating a recognizable product that customers would immediately associate with your brand.
03. Full Color CMYK
Printing in full color in your interior generally includes four or more colors. Choosing this route for your color plan means your planner will print in CMYK, and this is a great option if you have imagery or illustrations throughout your planner design. Detailed artwork will always print more fully and beautifully in full color than only a few.
At the end of the day, your choice around color usage in your planner design is dependent on several factors, including your design, cost, planning system, and audience.
The most important factor to remember is to design the planner for your ideal customer’s needs. This approach will always lead you in the right direction and ensure you’re creating a design they’ll love 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.