How do you start designing a calendar yourself?

2 September 2025 /

Designing a calendar from scratch is complex. All dates must be correct and public holidays/weekends must be marked. Mistakes can easily creep in. Here in our own studio, we have our calendars proofread by two additional people. To make things easier for yourself, you can start with templates that we have already set up for you. All you have to do is add your own personal touch.

Zelf kalender ontwerpen vanaf een indesign template

How to make our calendar templates 100% yours (in Adobe InDesign)

Before you start

  1. Download the desired template
  2. Open in Adobe InDesign
  3. File > open… and select your template

1. Adjust the corporate colour

  1. Window > Open Swatches
  2. Adjust the existing colour swatch to the CMYK values of your corporate identity
  3. Click Save. The adjusted colour will now change throughout the entire document

2. Adjust fonts

  1. Open Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles
  2. Go to the style you want to adjust, e.g. CALENDARIUM
  3. Double-click on the style you want to change
  4. In the dialogue box, adjust the font, size, line spacing and colour. Tick Preview to see the change immediately

3. Check or adjust public holidays

  1. In some templates, public holidays (statutory and special days in Belgium) have already been marked.
  2. These may vary by region or by company. So check carefully to make sure they are correct.
  3. Public holidays and weekends are usually marked with a separate character style or circled.
  4. Unnecessary public holiday? Delete it or reset the style to CALENDARIUM.

4. Place images, logo and additional information

  1. File > Place (⌘/Ctrl+D), select your image and click/drag it onto the page.
  2. You can also choose to place your logo in the design. Use .ai/.eps/.pdf as the file format for a razor-sharp result.

5. Please note: Wire-O calendars

When selecting a calendar or diary with wire-O binding, please ensure that you leave a safety margin of at least 15 mm for text and images. More space is preferable. Otherwise, there is a risk that your text will run through the holes in the wire-O binding and become illegible.

6. Export to print-ready PDF

  1. File > Export… → Adobe PDF (Print)
  2. Preset: PDF/X-4:2010 (safe for transparency and modern workflows)
  3. Crop marks and bleed: 3 mm
  4. Compression: 300 ppi
  5. Export. Done!

Checklist

1. Double-check the calendar

Once your design is ready, double-check that all the dates in the calendar are correct. Sometimes a day may have been moved when adjusting the size or changing the font.

2. Don’t forget public holidays!

The public holidays that need to be marked are different for everyone. Check carefully that all the desired public holidays are included.

3. Have all styles been applied correctly?

Are there any overwrites? Check that the styles have been applied correctly throughout.

Is your pdf ready?

Send it to us or upload your PDF with your quotation request.

Also read: “Curious about the cost of printing an end-of-year campaign?”

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