As sure as night follows day, everyone needs a way of keeping track of where they are in the month or year and those important dates that will soon be looming.

Technology may mean we increasingly do this via digital means. However, a visual representation of our upcoming plans, events we dare not forget and dates to look forward to will always provide an at-a-glance prompt rather than having to click-to-view.

However, the proliferation of internet diaries and smartphone apps also means that it’s never been so important to ensure that printed calendars look great, stand out and are - ultimately - supremely usable.

Check out these five calendar design tips to make yours the one that your clients, customers, partners or family members will refer to throughout the year. Get it right, and they’ll not only remember what it is they’ll soon be doing, but they’ll remember you or your organisation at the same time.

1. Highlight important dates

This requires a little thought about your audience. If you’re a teacher designing a calendar for colleagues or pupils then term dates, exam season or notable hand in dates might be the standouts. If it’s for a charity, it's a good idea to highlight important fundraising events or campaigns in the year. If the calendar is for a business, then key milestones during the year are useful to note, but also think about an event your staff might look forward to rather than just impending deadlines.

2. Think beyond the theme itself

Every good calendar design needs a theme that flows through it. It keeps the message and core idea tidy and shows continued purpose. However, adding a theme for the sake of it loses track. For example, rather than it all being a variation of company colours, consider how the theme, colours and images can actually reinforce your brand or even your company strapline, motto or mission statement.

3. Be functional

Of course, your calendar should be attractive and presentable, but there’s a big difference between one that simply hangs on the wall showing nice pictures and one that people will use and interact with to engage with the message you’re conveying all year long.

4. Think of your calendar as a portfolio

If you’re a creative solo or a team then a calendar is an opportunity to showcase what you do. On each page, present a masterpiece that you’ve produced. The same applies if you’re a business - it doesn’t matter if you manufacture machine parts, produce items of food or offer a service - your chosen design, image and ultimate message should convey the very best of what you can offer.

5. Leave something to the imagination

That said, it always pays to leave the viewer curious to find out more. Say you are a fashion designer, then presenting 12 images of the very best things you’ve ever created may soon fall flat if everything else in your locker isn’t quite as ‘good’ if there is a follow-up. Come the turn of the day, the month and the year, you want your customer, potential client or network contact to be sufficiently intrigued to find out what else you’ve got. Then, you need to impress them all over again. Again and again.

Finally, always go for professionally printed calendars. You may consider your skills to be top-notch, but chances are, the products you'll create are unlikely to look as good as professionally made products.

If you're looking for high-quality printed calendars, shop our range at Wee Print Ltd today.