Blueprint: Design Your Life

Blueprint: Design Your Life was a women's-interest magazine published by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia during the company's effort to broaden its audience beyond the established Martha Stewart brand. The publication was designed for women approximately 25 to 40 years old, a younger demographic than the traditional audience associated with Martha Stewart Living. Its editorial proposition centered on practical lifestyle guidance and design-oriented content, placing it in the same broad competitive field as Real Simple and Domino. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced plans for two test issues in 2006 before committing to a regular bimonthly schedule. The first issue appeared on May 1, 2006, followed by a second planned test issue in August. The launch was reported with an initial base circulation of 250,000 copies. The test phase allowed the publisher to assess demand and refine the concept before the proposed 2007 transition to regular bimonthly publication. The magazine's creation was part of a wider portfolio strategy. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was seeking to diversify its interests, develop products and media properties for younger consumers, and become less dependent on the core Martha Stewart identity. Blueprint therefore functioned both as a standalone editorial brand and as an experiment in extending the company's lifestyle-media model into a more contemporary segment. Tom Prince, identified as a former editor of Real Simple, headed the new magazine. His association with an established competitor reflected the publication's ambition to compete directly for readers interested in organized living, home design, personal style, and other practical lifestyle subjects. The magazine's positioning also brought it into proximity with Domino, another design-conscious title serving a relatively young, style-oriented audience. The experiment did not continue as a regular print publication. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia closed Blueprint after the January/February 2008 issue. The company subsequently shifted the brand to the web and used it in connection with special issues of Martha Stewart Weddings. Blueprint is therefore best understood as a defunct magazine brand whose principal historical significance lies in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's attempt to reach a younger audience and extend its publishing portfolio beyond its flagship title.

Blueprint: Design Your Life emerged in 2006 as a magazine-development project at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. The publisher intended the title to complement, rather than simply duplicate, its established Martha Stewart publications by addressing women between roughly 25 and 40. This audience strategy was significant because the company was trying to make its media portfolio more competitive with younger-oriented lifestyle titles and to diversify beyond the central Martha Stewart brand. The title was introduced through a planned test phase. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced that it would publish two test issues, scheduled for May and August 2006, with an initial base circulation of 250,000 copies. The first issue was released on May 1, 2006. The publisher expected to evaluate the response and then begin regular bimonthly publication in 2007. This approach reflected the economics and uncertainty of launching a new consumer magazine: the test issues provided an opportunity to establish editorial identity and gauge advertiser and reader interest before a fuller schedule was adopted. Blueprint's intended editorial and market position placed it among lifestyle magazines serving readers interested in home, design, organization, and practical personal interests. It competed for attention with Real Simple and Domino. Tom Prince, described as a former editor of Real Simple, headed the new magazine, linking Blueprint's editorial leadership to an established competitor in the target category. The title's concept was therefore not simply an extension of Martha Stewart Living's existing formula; it was an attempt to create a more contemporary and age-specific product within the same broad lifestyle-media sector. The launch formed part of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's wider effort to expand its business interests. The company was seeking additional media properties and ways to engage consumers who might not identify as strongly with the flagship Martha Stewart audience. Blueprint offered a vehicle for experimentation with a younger readership and with a design-conscious editorial tone, while still drawing on the company's experience in lifestyle publishing. The print experiment proved short-lived. The publisher closed Blueprint after the January/February 2008 issue. Rather than abandoning the name entirely, it moved the brand to the web and incorporated it into special issues of Martha Stewart Weddings. This transition ended Blueprint's run as a regular print magazine while preserving some of its editorial identity in digital and related publishing formats. The available record does not document a later independent relaunch, ownership change, or return to regular print publication.

1. 2008Print publication closes

   Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ended the print magazine after the January/February 2008 issue and redirected the brand to web content and Martha Stewart Weddings special issues.

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2. 2006Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announces the test launch

   The publisher announced plans for two test issues of Blueprint, with an initial base circulation of 250,000 and a proposed regular bimonthly schedule beginning in 2007.

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3. 2006First issue published

   The inaugural issue of Blueprint: Design Your Life was released on May 1, 2006.

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A contemporary lifestyle and design magazine for women aged approximately 25–40, positioned as a younger-audience extension of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and a competitor to titles such as Real Simple and Domino.

• Blueprint: Design Your LifeWomen's-interest magazine2006

  The core product was a lifestyle magazine aimed at women approximately 25–40 years old. It was conceived as a younger, contemporary counterpart within Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's publishing portfolio and competed with Real Simple and Domino for readers interested in practical lifestyle and design-oriented content. The magazine began with test issues in 2006 and was later discontinued in print after the January/February 2008 issue.

• Blueprint web contentDigital lifestyle publishing2008

  Following the closure of the print magazine, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia moved Blueprint to the web. The available reference material confirms the digital continuation but does not provide enough detail to characterize the site's specific sections, publishing schedule, or later operating status.

• 2008Move the brand from print to web and related special issuesStrategy

  After a brief print run, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ended the regular magazine while retaining the Blueprint name and concept.

  What changed. The publisher closed the print edition after the January/February 2008 issue and shifted Blueprint to the web and to special issues of Martha Stewart Weddings.

  Aftermath. Blueprint ceased to operate as a regular print magazine. The available sources do not establish the duration or later outcome of its digital and special-issue presence.

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• 2006Test-launch Blueprint for a younger readershipProduct launch

  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia wanted to compete more effectively for women aged approximately 25–40 and broaden its media portfolio beyond the core Martha Stewart brand.

  What changed. The company introduced two planned test issues, beginning with the May 1, 2006 issue, using an initial base circulation of 250,000 and considering regular bimonthly publication from 2007.

  Aftermath. The title did not become a lasting regular print publication and was ultimately closed after its January/February 2008 issue.

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• 2008Blueprint print magazine is discontinued

  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia closed the print publication after its January/February 2008 issue and moved the brand to the web and to special issues of Martha Stewart Weddings.

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• 2006Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia launches Blueprint: Design Your Life

  The first issue of the new women's-interest magazine was released on May 1, 2006, following the publisher's plan to test the concept with two issues and an initial base circulation of 250,000.

  Product launch
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1. Blueprint: Design Your Life