Custom A5 Journal Sample Request: Building Two Self-Care Journal Designs for Totes & Things

A custom journal project often starts with more than a product specification.

For lifestyle and self-care brands, the journal itself is part of the brand experience. Cover color, paper tone, lettering, binding, and small functional details can all affect how the finished product feels in the customer's hands.

A recent inquiry from Totes & Things, a U.S.-based self-care and lifestyle brand, is a good example of this process.

The brand owner, Monique, contacted us about developing custom A5 journals and specifically wanted to order samples before moving forward with a larger production order.

Starting With Samples Instead of Bulk Production

Monique was interested in creating two different journal designs:

• “Becoming Her”

• “Pour Into You”

Rather than immediately moving into bulk production, she wanted to evaluate the physical samples first.

Her priorities included checking:

• Cover and material quality

• Color accuracy

• Customization options

• Paper color and feel

• Binding construction

• Available finishing methods

• Overall appearance of the finished journal

This is a practical approach for a custom stationery project, particularly when color and branding are important.

The requested sample order was two journals, representing the two designs.

The Requested A5 Journal Structure

The basic journal format was an A5 size of approximately 5.8 × 8.3 inches.

The requested construction included a soft-touch PU leather hardcover, with several additional features:

• Lined interior pages

• Cream or off-white paper instead of bright white

• Lay-flat or flexible binding, if available

• Pen loop

• Ribbon bookmark

• Elastic closure

• Interior or back pocket

• Built-in tabs, if available

Not every feature is necessarily available in every journal construction, so the sample stage is useful for confirming which combination can be produced together.

For a custom journal, the structure matters just as much as the artwork. A cover may look right in a digital mockup, but the final product also needs to work as a physical notebook.

Two Designs With Different Visual Directions

The two journal concepts were designed to have their own visual identity while remaining connected to the same brand.

“Becoming Her”

The first design was intended to use a deep burgundy or wine-colored PU cover.

The requested front cover included:

“Becoming Her”

The title was intended to have an elegant script-style appearance, with gold, cream, or another complementary finish.

The brand name:

“totes and things”

would appear smaller toward the bottom of the cover.

The overall direction was feminine and refined without requiring an overly complicated cover design.

“Pour Into You”

The second journal was planned around a warm neutral PU cover, such as cream, beige, or taupe.

The main title would read:

“POUR INTO YOU”

The requested typography was an elegant, clean serif style, with burgundy or wine-colored lettering if the material and finishing process allowed it.

Again, “totes and things” would appear smaller near the bottom of the cover.

This created a visual contrast between the two journals: one using a rich dark color and the other using a warm neutral tone.

Color Was an Important Part of the Project

For this project, color was not simply a secondary specification.

The customer specifically wanted to review available burgundy/wine and neutral PU materials before approving the samples.

This is important because the appearance of a digital color reference can differ from the actual PU material.

The customer therefore asked to see:

• Available burgundy/wine PU colors

• Available cream, beige, and taupe options

• Color swatches

• Pantone options, where applicable

• Photos of available materials before sample production

For branded products, comparing physical material options before production can help reduce the risk of approving a color that looks different from the intended brand direction.

Choosing the Right Cover Finishing Method

The customer was also open to different customization techniques.

The requested possibilities included:

• Foil stamping

• Debossing

• Other suitable finishing methods for PU material

The choice of finishing can change the appearance of the same artwork.

For example, a simple title can look very different depending on whether it is foil stamped, debossed, printed, or produced using another finishing process.

For this reason, the final recommendation depends on the actual PU material, artwork, lettering size, and desired appearance.

Interior Paper Is Part of the Brand Experience

Another detail that stood out in the inquiry was the paper color.

Instead of standard bright-white pages, the customer preferred cream or off-white lined paper.

This may seem like a small detail, but for a self-care or lifestyle journal, the paper tone can contribute to the overall feel of the product.

The customer also wanted information about available:

• Paper colors

• Paper weights

• Custom interior pages

• Custom tabs

These questions would need to be confirmed with the production team based on the selected journal construction and order quantity.

Why the Sample Stage Matters

For a project like this, the sample is not simply a smaller version of the bulk order.

It is an opportunity to check whether several different elements work together:

Material → Color → Artwork → Finishing → Binding → Paper → Functional Accessories

A burgundy PU cover may look good by itself, for example, but the customer still needs to see how the selected lettering finish looks against that specific material.

The same applies to the warm neutral version.

The physical samples can help answer questions that are difficult to resolve from photographs alone.

What Happens After the Design Is Reviewed?

The next step is to review the customer's artwork and reference images.

For the two Totes & Things journal concepts, the useful design information includes:

• Front-cover artwork

• Logo

• Preferred typography

• Reference images

• Color references

• Any existing brand guidelines

• Preferred finishing method, if already selected

Once the artwork and references are available, the production requirements can be checked more specifically.

This allows the sample quotation to be based on the actual designs rather than making assumptions about the customization.

A Practical Approach to Custom Journal Sourcing

This inquiry illustrates a common pattern in custom product development.

A brand may know exactly how it wants the finished product to feel, while some manufacturing details still need to be worked out.

In this case, the customer already had a clear brand direction:

deep burgundy + warm neutral + feminine typography + functional journal features

But questions such as the exact PU color, finishing technique, paper specification, binding, and tabs still needed to be confirmed.

Starting with two samples provides a practical way to evaluate those details before committing to a larger production run.

For Totes & Things, the immediate goal is to turn the two concepts—“Becoming Her” and “Pour Into You”—into physical journal samples that can be reviewed for material, color, construction, and customization.

From there, the sample results can guide the specifications for the larger order.