In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will start building our template kit. We will be using the Artboard feature to create a multi-page document. We will create one artboard for each type of grid layout, such as manuscript or two and three column layouts. We will also have an artboard for some of the most used components, such as placeholder text, writing lines and dot and squared grids.

Let's open your 001_baseDocument file in to Affinity Designer. At this point, the document is not on an artboard. So that will be our first task.

1. Select both layers in the Layers panel (see screenshot).


2. Click on the Artboard tool at the top of the Tools panel.


3. Next, click the Insert Artboard button in the Context toolbar.


4. In the Layers panel, rename the Artboard 1 to baseDocument.


5. Deselect the baseDocument.

Next we will create two empty artboards which we will use to hold placeholder components such as titles, dots, squares and lines.


6. With the Artboard tool selected, click the Insert Artboard button again to get an empty artboard with the same dimensions as the baseDocument artboard.


7. In the Layers panel, rename the second artboard fillerPapers (see screenshot).


8. Still in the Layers panel, drag the new artboard below the baseDocument artboard.


9. On the canvas, drag the new artboard below the baseDocument artboard.


10. Repeat the previous steps to create a third artboard named components.

Now that the baseDocument is an artboard, we can duplicate it several times. We well then build a different layout template in each of these artboards. When done you will have a template for five 8 px grid layouts, which are the manuscript, two column, three column, weekly and yearly layouts.


11. Go back to the baseDocument artboard in the Layers panel. Right-click and choose Duplicate.


12. Still in the Layers panel, rename the bottom baseDocument artboard to manuscriptLayout (see screenshot).


13. On the canvas, drag the new artboard to the right of the baseDocument artboard.


14. Repeat the previous steps to create two more artboards named twoColumnLayout and threeColumnLayout (see screenshot).

Let's save this new document in the startUp folder and in the Affinity Designer Template format.


15. In your startUp folder, click File - Export as Template. Name it 002_digitalPlannerTemplateKit.

Now that we have the artboards finished, we will start building the templates for the two and three column grid layouts.

Create a Digital Planner Template Kit - Series Index

Screenshots used by permission of Serif (Europe) Ltd. This article is not endorsed by Serif Ltd.
Screenshots used by permission of Time Base Technology Limited.