There are many ways to design a planner, but the best way to design is using a ready-made template. You will also find a lovely free 10-page planner template which you can edit in InDesign or Canva.
In this video tutorial below however, I will show you how to design an elegant yearly planner using this ONE specific template page in InDesign.
How to Design an Elegant Yearly Planner in InDesign
The beauty of our InDesign template goes beyond just personal use – it opens up exciting possibilities for commercial ventures as well! Whether you want to create a planner to sell, offer it as a freebie to your audience, or even start your stationery business, this versatile template has got you covered.
Personal Use
Organize Your Life
The primary purpose of the Yearly Planner Template is to help you streamline your life. Use it to set goals, plan your schedule, keep track of important dates, and jot down your thoughts and ideas. With its user-friendly design, managing your personal and professional life becomes a breeze.
Personal Customization
Tailor the template to match your personality and preferences. Customize the colors, fonts, and layouts to create a planner that feels uniquely yours. Add personal touches like inspirational quotes or fun illustrations to make your planner truly special.
Stay Focused
With dedicated sections for yearly goals and monthly overviews, you can stay on track and work towards achieving your dreams. Regularly reviewing your progress using the planner will keep you motivated and accountable.
Commercial Use
Sell Your Creations
Thanks to the commercial usage rights, you can take the final design created with the InDesign template and export it as a PDF to sell in your online store or marketplace. Offer it as a digital download or even have it professionally printed for physical distribution.
Create Products for Your Audience
If you have a blog, website, or social media presence, you can use the template to create planners as freebies or opt-in incentives to grow your audience. People love beautifully designed planners, and offering them as freebies can boost engagement and brand loyalty.
Start Your Stationery Business
Are you passionate about stationery and planning? The InDesign template provides a ready-made foundation for launching your stationery business. You can expand your product range, adding various planner formats, such as daily or weekly planners, and target different niches or demographics.
Collaborate and Customize
The template allows you to collaborate with other creators or businesses to offer co-branded planners or design unique editions for specific events or seasons. The possibilities for collaboration are endless, and it can help you reach new audiences.
Exporting as PDF
Once you’ve personalized the InDesign template to perfection, you can easily export the final design as a high-quality PDF. PDFs are universally compatible, ensuring that your planner can be viewed and printed on various devices without losing its original layout and design.
Remember to respect copyright laws and avoid using copyrighted elements or materials that you don’t have the rights to use commercially.
Why Use a Planner Template?
Before we dive into the step-by-step process, let’s understand why using a template can be an incredible tool for your productivity, organization and to simplify your business. We’ll also explore the incredible benefits of utilizing a ready-made template.
Save Time
Designing a planner from scratch can be time-consuming and tedious. With a template, all the hard work is done for you. Simply plug in your information, and you’re ready to go!
Consistency
A well-designed template ensures uniformity and consistency in your planner layout. This consistency makes it easier to navigate and find information quickly.
Professional Look
Templates are often designed by graphic designers, giving your planner a polished and professional appearance without any graphic design skills required.
Focused Planning
Templates are structured to include essential sections for yearly planning, such as goal setting, monthly and weekly overviews, and spaces for notes. This ensures you remain focused on your objectives throughout the year.
Customization
While templates provide a structured framework, they are still highly customizable. You can add personal touches, change colors, and adapt the layout to suit your preferences.
How to Design an Elegant Yearly Planner Using Our Free Template
Step 1: Download the Template
Download our Free 10-Page Essential Planner Template below. Save it to your preferred location on your computer.
Step 2: Personalize Your Planner
Open the template using your favourite editing software – InDesign or Canva. You can also add your name or a motivational quote to the planner to give it a personal touch. In this tutorial, I’m using Adobe InDesign.
Step 3: Step and Repeat
Repeat Step 2 for other planner pages. Use different fonts, clip arts or background images in your planner to further personalize the pages to your liking. Make them unique and eye-catching to stand out from your competition.
Step 4: Export as PDF
Once you’ve finished designing, remember to save your document. Once saved, export it as a PDF or an Interactive PDF (InDesign).
Step 5: Print and Assemble / Sell Online
For Personal Use: Once you’ve completed the design of all your planners, review your planner for accuracy. Print the pages and assemble them in the desired order. You can use a binder, spiral binding, or any method that suits your preference.
For Commercial Use: Once you’ve exported the planner pages into a PDF, create a new product listing in your online store or your preferred online marketplace like Etsy. Write a good description with its features, a fair price and remember to upload or attached the finalized planner PDF to your product listing.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now have an elegantly designed Yearly Planner 🙂
By using our free template, you’ve saved time and effort while enjoying the benefits of a professionally designed layout. Now, all that’s left to do is put your planner to good use and embrace a more organized and productive life! Or if you’re running a digital product planner business, save more time designing your planner by using our template and sell the ready-designed PDF in your preferred store or online marketplace.
InDesign Cheatsheet
As you know, designing can be complicated with so many tools available in InDesign. For this reason, I have created a quick InDesign Cheat Sheet. Did you know that InDesign contains about 407 shortcuts? It’s probably more by now.
This is almost impossible to remember and that is why I’ve created a ONE-PAGE InDesign Cheat Sheet that I usually use while working on my printable in Indesign. They are the basic shortcuts which is really all you need to get started with InDesign. Leave me a comment below if this cheatsheet has been helpful for you.
Get Creative
With this InDesign template, you have the freedom to explore your creativity, stay organized in your personal life, and tap into exciting commercial opportunities. So, let your imagination run wild, get started with our template, and embrace a world of endless ideas!
Click here to download your free 10-page Essential Planner Template.
If you love this tutorial, then check out this tutorial on How to use an Indesign Template to create a cool printable design.
If you’ve found this post helpful, please pin this image to your InDesign Tutorials/Graphic Design Tutorials Boards.
Become an Inspired Printables Club Member
Want this Yearly Planner printable for free? The good news is, you can now download this bonus Yearly Planner printable (from my tutorial) when you join the Inspired Printables Club!
You can get this and other future bonus printables from my tutorials when you become a lifetime club member today. If you want more printables like these and get more value, join the club today and pay what you want!
Learn Basic InDesign for Beginners
In addition, if you want to learn the very basics of InDesign, I have a mini InDesign course for beginners which I think you will appreciate. You will also get my bonus practice sheets, templates, cheatsheets and more.
Want to learn Adobe InDesign without the overwhelm? Then enroll in my Basic InDesign Mini Course for Beginners and learn how to create a lovely vision board printable with 4 easy lessons in under 1 hour. Enrolment is now open! Enroll here today.
Printables, design elements, graphics and any digital products provided on this site are for personal use only. You may NOT modify them or redistribute them for free or monetary gain without the written agreement from the author, Janice Banks. You may share these with your classes or co-workers (educators/teachers/tutors) as long as they are not modified in any way. Please share the link to the blog post if you want to share these digital resources with others.
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