Planning a Planner v2018, Part III August 10, 2017 05:00

Becky and I kicked-off our planning for the 2018 UPstudio Planner by first sitting down to review all of our own personal feedback from using the 2017 UPstudio Planner. We generated a list of goals from that meeting. The next step was going back through all of the feedback we had received over the past year. We read all blog post comments, social media comments, texts, e-mails, etc. We took time to consider each comment. We then added all of these items to our initial list of improvement ideas. We reviewed our list and prioritized which items we wanted to tackle in 2018 and which ones we felt were a bit riskier or a financial stretch that we would aim for in 2019. 

Planning a Planner v2018, Part I: We shared improvements on our list regarding the graph pages.

Planning a Planner v2018, Part II: We revealed the new 4 page layout dedicated to future planning for the upcoming year.

Today, we're going to share some upgrades to the folders in the 2018 UPstudio Planner.  

The two items that came from our master list were:

1. The front folder needed to be a bit more versatile and easier to access.
2. We wanted to upgrade the folders to look more finished and polished.

Regarding item 1, we decided to have the front folder be more similar to the back folder, the difference being that we still wanted to access it from the top.

The 2018 UPstudio Planner sample we received confirmed that we liked this change. We think the folder will be much easier to use and will be more durable.

We spoke at length about how we wanted to tackle Item 2. We looked at other planners we've used in the past to determine the differences between our folders and theirs. Was it the type of paper that made the difference? Was it the paper finish? After lengthy conversations we felt that:

1. The front folder didn't feel finished because it was a single paper thickness and a rough edge. We wanted the edge to be similar to that of the back folder where it folds over. This way the edge wouldn't be as rugged and the edge would also be double the thickness. So the modification we made for versatility and durability killed two birds with one stone.
2. We also found that the bulk of other planners on the market have fabric sides to their folders. This simple difference we felt made the folders seem of higher quality. So we asked our printer if this was an option, and they said yes. Even better, it was a minimal increase in price!

 Join us next week for Planning a Planner v2018, Part IV!