In this tutorial, I share a step-by-step process to design a 30-day fitness plan using Affinity Publisher’s Data Merge feature.
By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a fully designed and automated workout plan layout that you can customize for any project.
Step 1: Set Up Your Document
- Create a new A4 landscape document in Affinity Publisher
- Set margins to 10 mm on all sides
- Add two pages to the file and ensure they are not set as facing pages
- Set up a document palette with Global Colours for easy styling
- Add any necessary Text Styles for headings and content
Step 2: Define Column and Row Guides
- Head to the Master Page and go to View > Guides on the menu
- Set 5 columns and 5 rows in the Guide dialog box
- Set the gutter between guides to 2 mm
- Click Close and ensure the Guides appear on both content pages
Step 3: Create the Day Block Layout
- Use the Rounded Rectangle tool to create two rounded rectangles
- Set the width to match one column and the height of the first block to 5.6 mm
- Set the height of the second block to 30 mm and position it below the first
- Group the two rectangles and label them as Day Block
- Optionally, convert the Day Block into a Symbol using the StudioLink feature (requires Affinity Designer)
- Name the Symbol Day Block
Step 4: Design the Data Merge Layout
- Move the Day Block off the page for now - use the backslash key () to toggle the view of items placed off the page
- Toggle any placeholders you may have for the layout, which will guide your content placement
- Select the Data Merge Layout Tool from the toolbar and draw a Data Merge Layout into the top-right corner covering 4 blocks
- Set the gutter to 2 mm to match the column guides
Step 5: Add Content to the Data Merge Layout
- Cut and paste the Day Block into the first cell of the Data Merge Layout
- Add a Text Frame for the day number at the top of each day block
- Add another Text Frame for the bullet points underneath
- Add a Picture Frame for the icon or image placeholder next to the bullets
- Centre and format the text as required, using Text Styles where possible
Step 6: Connect to Data Source
- Open the Data Merge Manager from the Window menu
- Add your data source file, ensuring it has the correct fields (mine were Day, Bullet 1-5, Icon path)
- Assign Fields from the data source to the text and image placeholders
- Preview a record to check everything is aligned and formatted correctly
Step 7: Duplicate and Adjust the Layout
- Once satisfied with the first Data Merge Layout, duplicate it and reposition the copies on the pages
- Adjust the number of rows and columns for each copy as needed, using the Data Merge Layout tool
Step 8: Add Finishing Touches
- Toggle off placeholders and toggle on the final content such as headings and images
- Add titles and any other required elements, like background images, to the layout
- Make sure everything is aligned and visually balanced on both pages
Step 9: Run the Data Merge
- Open the Data Merge Manager and click Update to ensure everything is updated to the latest version
- Once updated, click Generate to run the Data Merge and create your final output
Conclusion
That is how I recreated a viewer's requested layout in Affinity Publisher. In this case it was a 30-day fitness plan layout but you can customize this for any 30-day challenge. We covered everything from creating a single "Day Block”, setting up and linking a data source, adding text, image placeholders, and duplicating layouts. This process allows you to automate repetitive tasks and create highly customizable designs in record time.
Try it out with your own data and layouts!
If you enjoyed this tutorial and want more tips and tricks, be sure to check out my free training at ElaineGiles.com/VIP. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new tutorial.
If you have any specific tutorial requests, feel free to reach out - I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and watching, and see you next time!
