With lots of articles and planners in the market, here at KIKU we tested some of the most popular ítems that we have in stock to provide the latest guide for beginners and pros in the world of Stationery and Journaling.
We compile different aspects of each brand with a description that highlight the most attractive of each planner and the less interesting or more specialized.
Before you decide to purchase your next journal we recommend take on mind this aspects:
Dated or Undated: depends of your habits, dated journals comes with the information of date ready allowing to plan in advance or led information of pass events. Undated planner are more like open to your needs but takes time to complete you decide calendar or timming. Dated cons are the waste of pages, undated cons are the time consuming for prepare your agenda.
Undated planners are divided in: plain planners, dotted, square, linear
Kept on mind: some journal combine clear pristine pages with dated format, please check MD Paper and Karst as an option.
Daily, weekly or Montly format: This helps you to decide if you need your journals as a note reminder, project tracker or just as a portable calendar. The amount of information is important as well.
Size: some professionals prefer small or pocket-sized planners, other like artist or managers prefer A5 or A6 planners.
Minimalist style or Full designed with extras: Planners are very different in therms of tastes. Starting in total clear paper to well designed with charts, quotes, check ins and other. For minimalist journals we recommend our list of accessories , this wide collection allows to include stickers, dates, notes keeping the purity of your agenda style.
Paper Quality and color: for the most stricts paper quality is a great factor in the purchase process. Japanese paper is well recommended. Midori, Travelers and Kokuyo are well recommended. Don’t forget about the weight of the paper, acidity, ink dryness.
Cover and Binding: Durability, writing habits and texture tastes affect your selections. We have covers in paper, hard paper, leather, plastic as well as spiral binding, traditional stitchs bound or glued –in pages.
Horizontal or Vertical Layout: most of the planners comes vertical oriented but if your need are making notes or doodling users prefer horizontal layout.
Physical or Digital: One of the frequently question that we receive is Why not a digital planner?? Our answer is the same: Depends on your habits and the purpose of your notes. We recommend paper planners for the experience and focus that demand this type of activity but as well we know by first hand of people that are well organized with digital agendas and planners, in this cases we recommend paper journals as complement and small pocket size for fast notes.
Don’t forget this terms:
Feathering: the way that inks reveal in paper from bleeding edge of lines to crispy letters lines.
Bleeding: ink cross throughout the paper or even surpase the next page.
Ghosting: ink is visible in the other side of the paper.
Tooth or Thootiness: refers to the paper texture, more thoot better for pencil, Charcoal pencils adherence is better than others that are smooth.
Midori MD Notebook (A5)
Minimalist design with slightly toothy paper, Midori Notebook has a perfect cream-color. With different options fomr blank/graph version to doted or grilled. Midori combines Aesthetic and functionality ideal for doodling, sketching or planning.
The structure of Midori notebook plus smaller sections bounding allows to lie flat. Thing of this feature and the silky green ribbon bookmark that makes felt apart from other notebooks.
To consider…
- Thin plastic cover different than sturdy cardstock.
- Paper in this journal makes smudge significantly specially gel pens.
Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5
The best softcover notebook with a perfect size kind trade paperback book, quality of the paper allow ink from rollerballs and Fountain pens shows brilliant and shine. Knowing as the best paper feeling. Thanks to its off white eggshell color perfectly blend yellow soft bright with grey line running, this planner has an strurdy structure with high quality stitched binding.
To consider..
- It doesn’t comes with ribbon page marker but includes an small index as well no numbered pages but mostly agendas do not include that feature.
- Extra smooth paper brings a different sensation than traditional paper.
Traveler’s Notebook
The most popular of the compact style journals, this leather cover folio with a nice and secure elastic band allow to hold thin notebooks inside according to your needs, we recommend use Travelers Refill Sketch Paper Notebook____ but you can use other brands, there are dozen that fits the measure but the experience will be different.
Travelers Notebook is an all in one organizer pocket size advantages, makes this planner one of the best option ideal for begginers. With the pass of the years leather takes it own personality and bring more soft and beauty. People who use to use it loves the swapping system and the fun of interchange during the time.
To consider..
- Leather cover: At the purchase time, leather looks pristine but because is a natural material with the time scuffs and scratches comes visible. In addition some tastes do not allow leather as personal preferences.
- This notebook comes with a blank notebook by default, but we recommend to purchase one extra refill unit.
Our final recommendation is take the time and select the most convenient for your needs trying different options as an exploration journey.