This sleek minimalist calendar design is one of the best I've seen

Physical calendars might not be quite the staple product they once were, but they're still pretty handy to have on hand to help visualise and plan the year ahead. We thought we'd probably seen just about every form they could take, but one startup has come up with a 2024 calendar design that aims to make us see the year differently.

Iota Inc has designed what it calls the Minimalist's Wall Calendar with the intention of making 2024 "feel like a breath of fresh air". Instead of dividing the year into 12 months of just over four weeks each, Iota has opted for an refreshingly simple approach that serves as a reminder of just how short a year is (for more clever presentations of data, see our pick of the best infographics).

The Minimalist's Wall Calendar has no flip pages. instead, it fits the entire 366 days of the year (2024 will be a leap year) on one 24 x 36in side of 80lb paper. The days of the year are presented in rows, with each row covering two weeks. The first day of each month is underlined to make it easier to find, but the months aren't separated from each other, so there's none of those empty spaces that you often get on a calendar design.

"Seeing the entire year ahead of you is a bit motivating in that it doesn't look like that much time, and so, as a result, you end up, you know, moving a bit, the calendar's designer says in the video presentation above. But the result much sleeker in its design than the traditional year planner. This is a calendar designed to be framed.

"Plan vacations, birthdays, or anniversaries. Make a colored Gantt chart. Start bullet journaling. Count the days as they pass. This calendar provides just enough structure without getting in the way. The funny thing is, it looks so nice, that you might just want to leave it alone," Iota Inc says.

The calendar was designed in Cambridge, US, and is printed in San Francisco.A limited number of early bird copies of the Minimalist's Wall Calendar can be ordered via Kickstarter for $49. 

For more seasonal presents for creatives, see our festive gift guide (or take a look at the KFC perfume!). And if you're decorating, don't miss our pick of the worst Christmas design decoration fails from Reddit.