How to make a printable weekly planner in Illustrator

Do you want to create a resource library or to offer printables to your readers? The easiest way to do that is by creating a printable weekly planner in Illustrator. Once you learn how to create a simple planner sheet, you can start to customize it and create awesome resources for your readers and grow your newsletter subscribers.

InDesign is usually the go-to app for printables, but I love to use Illustrator for simple planners and worksheets. I use InDesign for more complex documents, like e-books.

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How to set up a new document

Open Illustrator and create a new document. I’m going to make a large planner that is the size of an A4 paper (11.69 x 8.27 in). You can use Illustrator’s Print presents and make some small changes to the document.

Set the orientation to landscape, the color mode to CMYK, and a resolution of 300ppi.

Don’t forget to add a bleed of 0.125in.

How to design the printable

Once the document is ready, you can start designing the printable. There are many ways to do this, but I’m going to show you how to make a simple and modern printable, that’s also printer-friendly.

Create the title area

I’m going to use the Rectangle Tool (M) and a light blue (#f1f7f4) to make a rectangle that’s wider than the artboard. After that, I’m going to switch to the Selection Tool (V) and rotate it a bit.

Next, we are going to delete everything that’s outside the artboard. Using the Rectangle Tool, create a rectangle that’s the same width as the artboard and move it at the top.

Select both shapes. Go to the Pathfinder menu (Shift+Ctrl+F9) and click on Crop.

We have the background, and now we are going to add the title. I’m going to use a free font called The Secret. I will set the color to black, the size to 72pt, and write “This Week” using the Type Tool.

When you are done, select both items and group them (Ctrl + G). Then go to the Layers panel and lock the group.

Create rows

I’m going to use the Line Segment Tool and the Blend Tool to create the first column.

Select the Line Segment Tool (\) and draw the first row. You can click on the artboard to open the Line Segment Tool Options. Set the length to 2in and the angle to 0. Change the color to gray (#939598) and the stroke to 1.

Then open the Stroke Options (Ctrl + F10), set the cap to Round Cap and make sure Dashed Line is checked. Enter 4pt in the first box.

Copy the line by clicking on it while holding down the Alt key (or Option if you are using a Mac). Then drag it under the first line. Hold down the Shift key while you move the line to align it with the first line. The first line will be your top row and the second line will the last row.

Now we are going to use the Blend Tool (W) to make the rest of the rows. Double-click on the Blend Tool to open the options menu. Set the Spacing to Specified Steps and enter the number of rows you want. I want to have six rows, so I’m going to enter 4 because I already have 2 of them.

Using the Blend Tool, click on the first row and then click on the second row. You should have 6 rows now.

Use the Type Tool to add the first day of the week. I’m going to use a font called Aristelle Sans at 32pt. This is not a free font, but you can use Amatic SC instead.

Use the Align panel to center the title.

Add columns for the days of the week

Once you have the first column, you can make the other columns by selecting both objects and copying them. You can copy the group using Edit > Copy (Ctrl + C) and Edit > Paste (Ctrl + V). Or you can hold down the Alt key while clicking on the group and dragging it to the right. Create 4 columns for the first row, then use the Type Tool to change the names of the days.

Use the Align panel to center the titles and make sure they are spaced equally.

Select the four columns, copy them, and move them down. Add the names of the other 3 days of the week. You can leave the last column for notes or for a to-do list.

Select all the layers and group them. If they are larger than the artboard, you can resize them and then center them.

You can use the Rectangle Tool to add colors behind the titles. I’m going to add a small pink rectangle (#faedf3) behind “Notes” and I will rotate it a bit. Send it to the back by right-clicking on it and selecting Arrange > Send to back (Shift + Ctrl + [ )

Unlock the title area, select all the shapes and group them.

How to save the weekly planner printable

I always save a copy as an Illustrator file. Just go to File > Save (Ctrl + S) and give it a new name.

If you want to save a printable PDF, go to File > Save as (Shift + Ctrl + S), choose Adobe PDF as the file type, and give it a name. If you want to add trim marks, go to Marks and Bleeds and select Trim Marks. Save your PDF.

That’s it! You can now share them with your readers or print them and use them to plan your week.

Download the free printable weekly planners

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The free daily and weekly planners are for personal use only, please do not sell or redistribute as your own.

Do you offer free printables to your readers? Will you create a printable weekly planner in Illustrator?