Walking to work this morning, I saw an ad on the side of a bus for a new hospital in San Francisco. The ad stated that they weren't just making a plan for better healthcare, but a blueprint.
Ironically, it wasn't an actual blueprint, but rather a regular print on blue bond.
The point is, I got to thinking about the word "blueprint" and how difficult it was for us and the industry to distance ourselves from that "dirty" word. It was nearly impossible. That word just stuck with people and it's obvious that it has a clear and easily understood message for the general populace.
Instead of tearing your hair out over whether you are called a blueprinter, maybe the adage of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" is best here.
What if you could could re-popularize the term blueprint? What if you could take the power back from that word by giving it a different meaning? Make blueprint cool again by having it mean something totally different. Don't change the word; change what it means and what it says about what you do.
"Blueprint" is actually a pretty good word, it just has a bad connotation for reprographers. It's only 2 syllables, 1 word and pretty much everyone understands what you mean when you say it.
I know that we spent a lot of time and money trying to get rid of that word and erase it from our customers' minds, but maybe it's time to put that word to work for us, and not against us.
Jared Willis
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