How to Create Customizable Planner Rings for Your Digital Planner: A Step-by-Step Guide

This video and tutorial will guide you through the process of creating customizable planner rings for your digital planners. By the end of this tutorial, you'll not only have beautiful planner rings but also learn how to apply different styles and automate the editing process using some advanced techniques in Affinity Publisher and Affinity Designer.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Workspace

Before we dive in, make sure you have your digital planner file ready. For this tutorial, I'm using the same file I used in a previous video where I created a leather-look cover. However, this time, we’ll be working on a double-page spread to create our planner rings.

Step 2: Creating the Planner Ring Shape

1. Draw the Base Shape using the Rounded Rectangle Tool to draw out a shape on your canvas.
2. Zoom into the shape to see it clearly.
3. Apply a fill colour so the shape is visible, then round the corners fully and position it in the centre of the page.
4. To make the Rounded Rectangle a more appropriate shape right-click on the shape and select Convert to Curves. You can then click in the middle of the top and bottom edges and drag upwards slightly. This will add a slight curve to the top and bottom edges, giving the ring a more realistic appearance.

Step 3: Adding Punch Holes

1. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool again to draw a shape that will serve as a punch hole.
2. Round the corners of the shape fully to make it resemble a circle.
3. Fill the shape with a grey colour and position it behind the curved planner ring.
4. To add depth to the punch hole, duplicate the punch hole shape, make the duplicate smaller, and fill it with black.
5. Apply a Blur Effect to the smaller shape to create a shadow, making the punch hole again appear more realistic.
6. Group the two punch hole shapes together to create one punch hole.
7. Duplicate the group and move it to the other side of the ring.
8. Flip the duplicate horizontally so the shadow aligns correctly.
   

Step 4: Finalizing the Planner Ring

1. Add a highlight by drawing a diamond shape on top of the planner ring using the Pen Tool.
2. Fill the diamond shape with white, then use the Node Tool to convert the sharp corners into smooth corners.
3. Apply a Blur Effect to soften the highlight, giving the planner ring a slight sheen.
4. Select all the layers that make up the planner ring and group them together.
5. Name this group "Completed Planner Ring" for easy identification later.

Step 5: Duplicating the Planner Rings

1. To easily change the colour of your planner rings later, apply a Global Colour to the "Completed Planner Ring" group.
2. If you don't have a document palette, create one and add the Global Colour.
3. Select the "Completed Planner Ring" group and press Command + J to duplicate it.
4. Move the duplicate down to create the second ring. Repeat this process until you have the desired number of rings (11 in this case).
5. Select all rings and use the Alignment Tool to ensure that the rings are evenly spaced vertically on the page.

Step 6: Customizing the Planner Rings

1. To change the colour of all the rings simultaneously, edit the Global Colour you applied earlier.
2. Select a single ring and apply an Object Style from the Styles Panel to change its appearance (e.g., metallic finishes like gold, silver, bronze).
3. If you want to apply the style to all rings, select a single instance of the planner ring and use Select Same > Name to select all rings with the same name ("Planner Ring" in my example) and apply the style.

Step 7: Advanced Editing with StudioLink

1. If you have Affinity Designer, switch to it from the top toolbar selecting Designer Persona to activate StudioLink mode.
2. Create a Symbol from the "Completed Planner Ring" group. This allows you to edit one ring and have all duplicates update automatically.
3. After creating the Symbol, return to Affinity Publisher by clicking the Publisher Persona button on the top toolbar.
4. Any changes you make to the original ring (like altering the shape or adding additional elements) will automatically update across all duplicated rings despite Affinity Publisher having no interface to create Symbols.

Recap

In this tutorial, we covered:

• Designing planner rings using basic shapes
• Adding depth and highlights to the rings
• Duplicating and aligning the rings for a consistent look
• Customizing rings with Global Colours and Object Styles
• Advanced automation using StudioLink and Symbols in Affinity Designer
  

By following these steps, you can create and customize planner rings for any digital planner, ensuring they fit your specific style and needs.

Thanks for following along, and happy designing!