FOCUS ON – PLANNERS AND DIARIES RIGHT TOP: Physical planners resonate with Papier’s audience. RIGHT: Bright, bold designs from The Completist.
The Power of Planning The growth in sales of planners, organisers and diaries can be linked to more people working from home, but there’s also a move towards physical products as people choose to disconnect from screens.
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lanners have evolved significantly over the years to cater to diverse needs and preferences. While dated diaries are still popular, there are many more undated products, featuring to do lists, goal setting and mood trackers, for example, as well as monthly, weekly, daily layouts. And although digital tools are fully integrated into our way of life, there is still something very satisfying about writing things down. “There’s certainly been increased demand for tangible products, driven by people working from home,” says Jana Starcevic, co-founder and creative director of The Completist. “We saw an uptick during the pandemic when WFH was at its height. Personally, I use digital calendars to keep track of time-sensitive things where I might need a reminder, but I use paper products to get my ideas and plans down. There’s something
really satisfying about getting lists down on paper and ticking them off.” Combining a physical product with digital is key for Papier’s customers, with Taymoor Atighetchi, founder and ceo commenting: “It’s rarely either-or, but more about finding balance with the appeal of putting pen to paper in an increasingly digital world. Our data reveals that 65% of our customers integrate planners with digital calendars, showing a desire for both analogue and digital organisation tools. Much of this is linked to the fact that over a third of millennial consumers increasingly choosing to disconnect from their screens and, in particular, social media, turning to physical products that help with their productivity and mental wellbeing.” This hybrid approach to planning is something that Michele Ferron, founder of Good Tuesday has noticed
NEW FOR 2025 New to the planners and diaries category is Storigraphic, a design studio known for its bold designs on notebooks, journals, gift wrap and cards. Co-founder, Roz Nazerian explains why they’ve decided to take the leap into this category: “Over time we received numerous requests from our customers for planners and diaries, and knew we would develop them one day but wanted to take our time with the design. We love how everyone uses planners in their own unique way, some being incredibly creative by personalising them with illustrations, quotes, tape, grids, stickers, markers, and sketches.”
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as well. “Even in an increasingly digital world, the paper planner continues to thrive. Research supports this: a study by Columbia Business School found that paper calendar users develop higher-quality plans and achieve them with greater success than digital users. Similarly, the Keller Center for Research highlighted that paper planner users have a better ‘bigpicture view’ of their plans and are more likely to follow through on tasks. It turns out, analogue planning is more Storigraphic brings its distinct designs to a range of diaries and planners.