How we helped create a moon diary for every part of the world

Annual moon diary provides detailed phases of the moon and accompanying advice and images for every day of the year
Bespoke publishing system takes data, text and images and outputs a fully designed, print-ready PDF
The system can even adjust for variations in phases of the moon in different time zones
This makes it possible to publish multiple regional editions quickly and simply

Editions for different parts of the world

7

Hours saved per edition

80

Different data fields for each edition

127

The challenge

Every 29.5 days the moon goes from a sliver of new moon to a full moon and all the way back again. As its phases change, its influence on the earth evolves. Full moons are notorious not only for their high tides but also for causing volatility in human behaviour, for example on psychiatric wards. Research has shown that the full moon can affect sleep, menstruation and mood shifts.

Jenny Florence has created an annual diary for the year ahead that maps out every phase of the moon and its potential effects, giving precise details for each day of the year. Manifest With the Moon Astro-Moon Diary includes the moon’s interactions with astrological signs, images of the moon, and explanations of the impact on mood and behaviour. ‘The diary is a tool,’ says Jenny. ‘It tells you where the moon is and the state of its energy, whether it’s intensifying or easing up. The more you understand it, the more you can harness its energy. There’s no astrological jargon in the diary, so anyone can use it.’

Jenny has built a large loyal following both in the UK and around the world, but the original moon diary is only accurate in the UK. Everywhere else, the moon’s phases occur at slightly different times – enough to throw the diary out by as much as a day. For example, the moon might enter Libra at 7pm on 7 June in the UK but in Australia it might be at 5am on 8 June. That disparity is enough to throw out the diary’s information. As different regional editions would create a mountain of additional work, this effectively ruled out any editions for Jenny’s fans in the US, Australia or other parts of the world.

Our solution

Previously Jenny had painstakingly created her annual UK moon diary using Microsoft Word. Instead we asked her to enter the data, the text and the images into an Excel spreadsheet. We wrote code that would pull the data, texts and images into a FileMaker system, apply a complex set of rules, and lay out a complete moon diary, including cover, introduction, monthly summaries and daily entries (a week per double page spread).

Now that Jenny no longer had to design and lay out the book herself, she could focus on researching, planning and writing.

But that wasn’t all we did. Realising that the same phases of the moon occur in all parts of the world, just at slightly different times, we then wrote further rules that took the GMT information and adjusted it to any time zone. We’ve also added the ability to generate an ebook version.

In the image, moon events are shown on different days in the same week in different editions.

The impact

Today a complete, print-ready PDF of the moon diary can be outputted at the touch of a button, once the data, text and images are entered into the system. This is true not just for one UK edition, but for numerous editions globally.

Previously Jenny only had time to research, plan, write, design and publish a single edition. Now she has published moon diaries for the UK, US east coast, US west coast, central Europe, India, Japan and Australia. The publishing system has effectively multiplied Jenny’s audience by many times.

“Now the diary can reach a lot more people. I have a following but they’re scattered across the world. The difference Decent has made is that I can now produce accurate timings for their location. We could even do a print-on-demand system for whoever wants an edition. It’s exciting! It means those who find the diary really useful can get the information they need.”

Jenny Florence

Author of Manifest With the Moon Astro-Moon Diary

The transformation journey

Publishing process analysis

We analysed all the different elements in the moon diary, what design rules applied to each, and which elements varied depending on global location.

Bespoke software design

Based on the needs of the publication, we created a set of rules which would take each image and piece of text and lay them out to create a finished publication.

Ongoing development

We have continued to refine the system so that it can produce ebooks as well as potentially publish new editions on demand for specific time zones.

The moon diary can be purchased from moonmagicmastertarot.shop, and a 2026 edition will be available in the autumn.

“Working with James is great fun. He is very direct and straightforward and it has been an excellent way of working.”

Jenny Florence

Author of Manifest With the Moon Astro-Moon Diary

Services used

Automated layout tool

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Bespoke software

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