So many artists and designers have asked me the question:
“What time of year should I design a calendar?”
The answer is a bit more complex than a simple date. It depends on the kind of calendar you want to make, how quickly you work, and where you’re going to sell your calendar.
I’m currently designing calendars for my third calendar season and my biggest lessons from past seasons are:
1) start earlier
2) design more calendars
Let’s talk about why:
demand is high, supply is low
While you may notice that your local mall or bookstore is full of calendars around November – February, very few of them are truly unique, artist designed calenars.
There is a huge hole in the market when it comes to artist-designed calendars, and consumers are willing to pay a little extra for unique art all year long.
I have heard people getting discouraged by the sheer number of calendars out there, but in the end, it doesn’t matter what is “out there” it matters what is on the platform where you are selling. I sell my calendars on Etsy and have found year after year that customers are asking for more calendars in an artist designed style! The same goes for local venues like galleries and shops.
here is your schedule
I created a full schedule to help you go from calendar hopeful to calendar designer in a few months, starting with the most important task — choosing a sellable theme!
We’ll go through every step inside this guide and you can use the printable checklist to mark things off as you go. ✅
bi-monthly check-in
Your calendar design personal trainer (that’s me) will be checking in every other week to:
- share my personal experience about each stage of designing a calendar
- give you some tips for moving past sticking points
- provide some motivation to stay on track for your calendar goals
join bootcamp:
Sign up for my email list to get the Calendar Bootcamp Guide and Schedule in your inbox. I only send out iPad art and design resources, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
calendars are evergreen
Calendars are one of the few design types I’ve ever made that keep paying me every single year. I’ve sold my botanical calendar for two years in a row and not only do people not complain (I think that is artists biggest worry!) but some folks have begged me to date the calendar for the next year so they can give it as a gift to a friend.
Every calendar you create is a new asset added to your business that you can re-date every single year and sell as a brand new calendar (without all the work).
These two lovely artists proved that point as they just released their new calendars (aka reused calendars from last year with new dates!).
choose your format
You can create calendars with big boxes for writing holidays (known as an appointment calendar) or do a more art-focused calendar with small dates in the corner or bottom of the page. These can double as art prints and your customers can simply cut out and frame your art after the month is over! Less waste + cool art on the wall = happy customers.
bootcamp starts now!
Come grab all the tools and dates you need to go from “I want to design a calendar” to “Look at me, I’m designing a calendar!”.
I created this guide so you don’t have to guess at artwork sizing, dates for publishing, and strategies for designing calendars that sell.
Ready to join the calendar bootcamp?
Sign up for my email list to get the Calendar Bootcamp Guide and Schedule in your inbox. I only send out iPad art and design resources, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
I always thought designing calendars was so hard, until I made one. Now I realize that it’s not hard, it just takes some planning and organization. I wrote it all out for you, so all you have to do is follow the schedule and put your beautiful style into the templates. Easy peasy. See you in Calendar Bootcamp!
~Liz
