Planner - Influences

Jane Audas outlines the history of wall planners and looks at a few of the references used for the creation of our new Penfold Press Planner. 

The evolution of the paper-based time management system, or planner, is somewhat jumbled up on the internet. Planners are lumped in with the history of diaries and calendars, almanacks and, er, personal organisers. The printed calendar certainly reached a mass market in the Victorian period, often in the form of advertising giveaways to pin on the wall; bottled sauces with your appointments, madam?

In the 20th century some memorable paper organising was decorated by Eric Ravilious. In 1933 he illustrated a Notebook for Birmingham’s Kynoch Press (who also printed Diaries) with his trademark vignettes of beauty. And his Monotype calendar of the same year included a riotous set of illustrations picturing games and dancing typefaces. In 1939 Ravilious (him again) illustrated a Beautiful Britain calendar for Country Life, a magazine that gave good calendar. Then taste in calendars went really tasteful. In 1966 the Stendig calendar, designed by Massimo Vignelli, using Helvetica gridded to within an inch of its life, swept the board as winner for calendar as design object.

Jane Audas