Let's reorder the Business Diary

Hello, I’m a researcher at Labovarde.


Created through countless internal discussions,
the Labovarde Business Diary has received a great deal of love from many of you.
Today, I’d like to share the story behind our redesign and reorder process.





Chapter 1. The Start of Ideation

At Labovarde, analysis and continuous improvement are at the center of everything we do.
Naturally, our reorder process began with each team member analyzing areas
where the original planner could be improved.


After thorough discussion, we identified three main areas for improvement:

- Adjusting the planner’s margins
- Introducing a new weekly section
- Optimizing the total page count

Let’s take a closer look at each item below.



Chapter 2. Adjusting the Margins

The original planner used a near-centered margin layout.
While it wasn't overly uncomfortable,
we realized that adding extra margin at the top would offer better visual balance and greater writing comfort.
We tested multiple layout versions and, after extensive discussion,
landed on the optimal proportion to incorporate into the new design.

Chapter 3. Introducing the Weekly Pages

This was the most challenging step in the redesign process.
The original goal-setting and project pages were created after much thought,
making us hesitate to overhaul them.
However, we reminded ourselves that everyone uses a planner differently.
To bridge those subjective differences, we needed to stick to the fundamentals. As the saying goes,
"Back to basics"—the simplest structure often delivers the greatest practical utility.

So, we merged the two sections into a brand-new weekly layout where you can:




- Organize your weekly schedule at a glance
- Track your progress using task checklists
- Reflect on your week in the dedicated review section

The weekly review section was directly inspired by our team's internal workflow.
We noticed that taking time to reflect on the week
—and noting areas for growth and refinement—leads to remarkably consistent progress.

Chapter 4. Optimizing the Page Count

Our business planner is designed as an undated 6-month planner.
Although our goal was always a lightweight and efficient tool,
working with premium bio-leather made us worry that too few pages might feel underwhelming.
As a result, we were overly generous with the page count in our first edition.

In actual use, however, the planner felt slightly too thick for a 6-month format,
placing it in an awkward spot.
We decided to trim away the non-essentials,
creating a more compact layout that highlights the planner's core strengths.


The newly refined planner was crafted with care and continues to be loved by our users.
If you haven't yet, we hope you give it a try.

Thank you, as always, for being on this journey with us. 😊