The Take A Note A5 Bound Planner: A First Look
For 2024, I, in a fit of impulsive late night shopping, decided to add to my planner/journal stack the Take A Note A5 planner, as well as a canvas washable kraft cover made in collaboration with 1983ER.
As noted on the Take A Note website, this planner is the “first planner in Taiwan to be recognized by the Japan Good Design Award”, and I can definitely see why.
I ordered mine directly from the Take A Note store, so shipping did take a little bit since it was going from Taiwan to Canada.
The box it came in is very sturdy and pretty, with some lovely gold foiling on it. The planner is delicately wrapped in white tissue paper, and it comes with these two extra letterpress cards - a thank you card, and a slim calendar for the year.
I chose to get the A5 version in English, hence the rose gold foiling on the front cover. They’ve recently made it easier to differentiate the Taiwanese version with relevant holidays, and the English version by black foiling or rose gold foiling. They also offer other planners in A6 and B6, though I’m not particularly fond of small planners anymore.
One of the first thing the planner offers is a yearly overview of the calendar, and a gantt chart on the same spread for habit tracking. I’m pretty bad at following up with habit tracking (my memory is not so great), so I don’t think I’ll be using it as a habit tracker, but I may give it a shot again for 2024!
The monthly spread (which I also tend to abandon, oops!) is very airy and roomy. Compared to the much darker and more colourful design of the Hobonichi, the “TAN” has a lot more room for if you have notes. I find the simple colours to be much easier on the eyes, as well - and this will be more complimentary to whatever pen colour you choose.
Here’s the most unique thing about this planner - unlike the “one page a day” layouts like in the Hobonichi, or the vertical weekly overview, the A5 puts a week across two spreads. On the first spread of a week, you get a small snippet on the left page that provides a small overview of the week, and then you have three days on this spread, and four days on the next spread. I think it’s nice compromise for how much space you may need - sometimes I found the vertical weekly to be a bit restrictive in size, but the full cousin page a day I know is daunting (because some days I just don’t find myself that busy).
Also just as an aside, the “TAN” does lay flat with the specific binding they’ve chosen. They also have included only 4 blank grid pages at the back of the book.
The TAKE A NOTE x 1983ER Canvas Washable Kraft Paper Book Cover
The Kraft cover I purchased as part of a bundle deal during the pre-order period. The planner is a snug fit, but fits quite well. The exterior of the cover is the brown canvas, and the inside is a thick kraft material. It came with a little bookmark (cute!), and instructions.
