The Muji Chronotebook is a welcome change from the linear graph-like day planners we’re used to seeing. In place of grids and dates, the Chronotebook features a blank page with a blank analog clock. Instead of writing your appointments down line by line like a regular day planner, you block out parts of your day and annotate them as needed.
The Chronotebook probably wouldn’t be a great planner for someone with 20 or 30 appointments a day. However, for someone (like me) who would appreciate a more accurate graphical representation of their day, being able to imagine appointments and events in chunks of clock time is far easier.
Click through the gallery to see how the Chronotebook is used. The planner won the Judges’ Prize in the Muji Award 02 International Design Competition in 2007, and is carried at Muji stores all over the world.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Analog Planners
- Graphic day planners that use analog clocks instead of linear grids for scheduling appointments.
- Visual Time Blocking
- Blocking out time using graphics instead of lines for more accurate representation of time available and appointments.
- Customizable Scheduling
- Allowing users to visualize, annotate, and customize their daily, weekly or monthly schedules.
Where This Applies
- Stationery
- Companies producing graphic day planners that incorporate analog clocks instead of linear grids to help schedule appointments.
- Productivity Apps
- Developers building apps to allow users to view their schedules in blocks of clock time with visual representations of time.
- Planner Accessories
- Companies producing accessories that help users visualize, annotate, and customize their daily, weekly or monthly schedules using graphics.
