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August 24, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 8:43pm

Postage changes prompt design mag to draw up new Blueprint

By Press Gazette

Blueprint, the design and architecture magazine, is to relaunch in September in a smaller format to adjust to new Royal Mail tariffs that are based on size as well as weight.

The 23-year-old title, which uses its large format to showcase architecture and design, will lose a centimetre off its width to fall into a smaller postage bracket, saving it tens of thousands of pounds a year.

Vicky Richardson, editor of Blueprint, said the move was in response to developments in the design and architecture worlds, as well as the changes to postal rates.

"The changes were really content driven," said Richardson. "We wanted to go beyond conventional ideas of design and focus more on the process. That was something our old format wouldn't allow. We wanted to turn the postage problem into an advantage."

The changes will help the magazine reposition itself in response to increased competition from the Sunday supplements and magazines such as Wallpaper*.

Richardson said that expansion in the creative industries was increasing the number of younger general readers who have a strong interest in design. As well as appealing to its core readership of designers and architects, the relaunched magazine will look to attract these new readers.

The savings in postage and printing costs will allow for an increased paper thickness and the addition of a glossy cover for the first time. A bespoke typeface has also been designed for the relaunch by renowned typographer David Quay.

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