Et tu Martha? A Deziginer Eulogy to Blueprint

So Blueprint was axed in December. It was a sad time for all of us here in my department, mostly because we pretty much worshiped that magazine every month. It seems like only yesterday that my friend Megan showed me a copy of the first issue.

I'm a little upset they only gave the bimonthly a little over a year to produce profits or ad pages or whatever they were needing. I think given another two, Blueprint would have gained a lot of readers. Unfortunately, this publication was the victim of a bad economy and a small company (publishing-wise) and they just couldn't keep it afloat any longer.

In honor of their last issue, I wanted to post my top FIVE favorite things about Blueprint:

1. WHITE SPACE. They took Real Simple's idea and ran with it. Their tiny columns surrounded by empty space made the rest of us look like simpletons with our lack of text.

2. TYPOGRAPHY. They brought back Victorian elaboration in a quirky new way that worked with modern sans serif types. I could stare at that ampersand for ages.

3. INNOVATION. Not ones to just keep things the way they were bought, they came up with creative craft projects that made anyone think they too could decopague their own chest of drawers. It was a ReadyMade, but with sophistication.

4. COLORS. Their pallet wasn't just limited to the basic pastels. Everything in the book was so soothing to look at, and yet they changed with the seasons.


5. AND FINALLY EASE and CONFIDENCE. They actually left the space to show you how to create these fantastic pieces. I am totally making that shadowbox jewelry case. And you'd be surprised how easy the steps are. They weren't ashamed of taking a project to kinkos or using spray paint...and that made it even easier for me to think I could create this stuff.

I'll miss you Blueprint!