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September/October 2005 Sixteen Dollars www.commarts.com

by Ellen Shapiro

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mi brings design to the masses, and masses of work to design ers and agencies .

B

een to a Target store lately? Gabriel Santiago has. A doorman who lives in the Bronx, Mr. Santiago cakes his wife and three teenage daughters to the Target in Nyack, New York, to buy sweatshirts and socks, stock up on paper towels and bottled water, and get stuff like this spring's $6.99 electric-blue and sea-green translucent plastic storage bins. On a recent afternoon Mr. Santiago exulted in finding good deals on Sony video games. "I got NBA Showdown for $10 less than at the video store downstairs," he exclaimed.

But it isn't just price that brings the Santiagos to Target.

"The logo is cool, I love the red and white look," he said.

"I've never had a bad experience here. The store is so well designed and everything is color-coordinated."

Design-speak is becoming part of the American vocabulary, thanks to Target. "This place has style," said Eryn Todd, a young mom from upper Manhattan perusing the baby section with her ten-month-old daughter. "I can't afford my expensive castes. This suffices for me. I buy everything here." Even tourists like the Paz family from Pardes Hanna, Israel, are filling their shopping carts on trips to the U.S. "I learned about Target from relatives," said Sari Paz. "We're buying shoes and jeans for all three kids. We left room in our suitcases."

If Target is a good experience for shoppers, it's even better for designers: for the 300 employees who work in the advertising department and on the design of store-branded and co-branded merchandise, and for the 40 or so design firms and agencies that work with Target. Target made architect Michael Graves a household word and rescued fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi after his financial backers at Chanel U.S.A. pulled the plug in 1998. Since then, Mossimo Giannulli, Liz Lange, Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig have entered into deals; designer labels are now attached to everything from dog collars and dinnerware to

maternity tops. Of course, Target also sells name-brand goods like GE light bulbs and Dyson vacuum cleaners and OshKosh children's wear, much of which is made to Target's specifications. Target is the place to buy your Zest soap and the "Swell" hoc pink and green striped soap dish co put it in.

For more than three years, TV commercials, print ads and billboards pairing the everyday with the high style have touted the Target "Expect More, Pay Less" promise. This spring the brand burst forth in a really big way with the launch of the "Design for All" campaign. With its fresh new TV spots and circulars with photography that says Elle or Metropolitan Home more than big-box discount chain, Design for All might even be giving Manolo Blahnik sleepless nights. Why buy $600 metallic gold Manolos when the Mossimos at Target go for $16.99 and look almost as good? Why shop at pricey boutiques when you can get 100% silk toss pillows for $14.99?

No wonder so many Americans say Tar-jhay, not Tar-get.

Design for All means that the kind of stuff that was once exclusively in the purview of the rich and the design-educated is now available to ordinary folk who aren't yet patrons of the Museum of Modern Art or owners of a Case Study house.

We'll show you what's cool, modern and fun, the ''Anthem" commercial seems to be saying. And you can afford it, coo.

The spot opens with the word DESIGN made from yellow Post-It notes stuck co a painting in a MoMA-like setting.

Crossword-puzzle typography spelling out DESIGN (down) and INSPIRES (across) accompanies images of a Mizrahi Flower dinner place, a Graves egg timer and a blue Senseo coffeemaker. "Say Something New," sings the soundtrack, as images proclaim that DESIGN SHAPES (Noguchi-type lamps),

This page : "As part of its community giving, Target partnered with the Central Park Conservancy in New York City to present Target Benchmarks Central Park. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Central Park, this innovative public art project featured 53 one-of-a-kind park benches design ed by notable New York artists, architects, designers and celebrities, which were displayed in the park and then auctioned off at Christie's in November 2003 .

Hartung Kemp was asked to design an art bench for Target. The Target art bench design developed out of a logical inspiration : the omnipresent icon ic tool of shopping at Target - the cart!" said Mary Kemp Murray with Target. Stefan Hartung, HartungKemp, art director; Jennifer O'Brien, HartungKemp, designer; John Mayhew, Target, associate creative director; Eric Ericson, Target, creative director; Atomic Props, production company; HartungKemp (Minneapolis, MN). design firm.

Right : Target Home Catalog . Target, art direction/design .

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Michelle Chang Left: "This is one of my favorite pieces. It is one of two paintings I did to submit to the RSVP Drea m s competition , which I won that year. I had just seen the Dali retrospective and that's probably how the lamp post found its way in the composition . I started with a picture I had of a car crash and I just let my mind wander. Water is a common element in many of my illustrations as I've always had a fasc ination for it .

That probably explains why I' m such an avid diver.

Mainly, I knew I wanted to create a serene yet somewhat unsettling scene ." 13 X 14.

"Vibe magazine was reviewing Tweet's newest CD and the only art direction they gave me was to make some referral to her lyrics. Most of the songs were love songs, though one that stood out had to do w ith how sometimes love leads to heartbreak, but hope always follows .

I translated that into how winter is always followed by spring . Tweet is painted in very warm tones, with the cold winter landscape behind her, but with touches of warm flowers and song birds to convey the coming spring . Increasingly, I find myself liking the combination of line work with areas that are fully painted ." 12 X 14%.

Michael Friel, Vibe, art director.

"The Don't Kill Anyone, I Love You cover illustration

was for a very original and interesting story by Gojmir Polajnar set in wintery Slovenia that deals with , among other things, love, religion, bureaucracy and betrayal.

There is much theater here, both literal and non -literal, so I decided on a stage setting with touches of surrealism .. .a snowy landscape with some of my favorite imagery, like bare trees and curtains . The focus is the main character whose sexual ambiguity is a central theme throughout the story. I wanted to portray him as a man, with a more subtle suggestion of his complexity." 17 X 13%.

Tod Tilleman , Spuyten Duyvil Publications, designer.

This page: "This was for a feature article for Time called 'The Princess Paradox' about whether contemporary women can have it all : The prince, the family, the career.

The main requirements were an image of Cinderella and the two clearly distinct choices she needs to make . The article exposes the Cinderella myth and supports the reality which is that women 'still' cannot have it all. This job required a straightforward solution. To do th is, I simply placed Cinderella squarely in the middle of the composition to create two separate spaces on either side of her to illustrate her two choices . I' m happy to say this illustration did make it to final publication , unlike some of the other jobs I've done for Time in which photos got the final nod ." 13 X 13%. Janet Michaud, Time, art director.

"I really enjoyed working on this job as the subject was the complex life and thoughts of Sylvia Plath . This illustration was for Smith Alumni Quarterly and it accom panied an excerpt from the editor of a new publication of Plath's personal journals. She writes about the important people in her life including her chi ldren and her husband ... There are also mentions of many thematic symbols which appear in both her journals and her poems such as rabbits, death, water and woodpeckers ... all of which I incorporated into the pa inting . I approached the composition loosely and with an abstract mindset.

As the piece is really about a reflection of a person 's inner thoughts , it seemed appropriate to aim for a timeless, surreal juxtaposition of imagery." 10 X 13.

Ronn Campisi, Ronn Campisi Design , creative director.

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The Otaku Design Generation This page : Maquette for V W X Yellow Elephant Underwear/H I J Kiddy Elephant Underwear, 2005, by Chinatsu Ban . A pro-

ject for Public Art Fund . Courtesy Marianne Boesky Gallery.

Umbrella for Harbourcity, 2004. "Harbourcity is a complex style mall in Hong Kong. They provide an edgy style for people . This is from their rainy season campaign. I designed three patterns: Men (black). Women (white) and Kids (yellow) .

Each design shows different elements and a story, " said Takara Kimiyoshi Futori , designer.

"I imagine people can have spot light under this umbrella, even in bad weather. It's like musicI'm singing in the rain! They are given free to customers who spend around US$150 ."

"This is one of my own designs for the 'Snow Queen ' in the picture book Andersen: The Illustrated Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen" said designer Takara Kimiyoshi Futori, " I designed eleven visuals myself and, for three visuals , I collaborated with Chisato Shinya." Die Gestalten Verlag, publisher.

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This page : Time Bokan-Pink, 2001,

by Takashi Murakami . 707/a x 707/ a, acrylic on canvas, mounted on wood .

Courtesy Marianne Boesky Gallery.

Crazy Stripes , "ten_ki _style" texti le

pattern designed by TEN/ten _do_ten .

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Tim Tomkinson

Location : Broo kl yn, N ew Yo rk. On th e Web-www.timtomkinso n. co m .

Duration : I have li ved in N ew Yo rk for six yea rs, a nd have bee n illustratin g for almos t fi ve .

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Staff: Just m e in th e studio , but I'm

re prese nted by Fri end & Jo hn so n , who have reps in ew Yo rk, C hi cago and Sa n Fra ncisco.

Education : H o nors BFA , Pa rso ns School o f D esign, N ew Yo rk.

Cultural Influences: NYC stree ts, a ny

magaz in e o r book with photos, Seym o ur C hwasr, Peter Blake, typography, fashi o n, lsa mu oguchi , o ld signage, MAD m agazine in th e '8os, Rene M agritte, Paul Klee, album a rtwo rk , co n ce rt Aye rs, C harl es and Ray Ea m es, o ld photographs o f unknown peo ple, Jenny Saville, Surrealism, Po p Arr and Lowb row.

Environm ent: I live in C obble

Hill ,

Broo kl yn, with my w ife Kare a nd o ur two ove rwe ight cats. T he second bed roo m in o ur apa rtm e nt has beco m e my studio and offi ce. T he walls are pai nted b right red with o ri gin al a rtwo rk eve rywhere, and my d es k is surrounded by inspiring arr/ d es ign boo ks, sourcebooks, graphic novels and m y sketchboo ks.

Philosophy: Keeping a sketchbook is th e

mos t impo rtant thing in kee ping my work fres h. Ir's my way o f co mmuni ca tin g th e o ften stra nge, so m etim es hum o rous way th at I see the thin gs and eve nts a round m e. I try to all ow co nce pts to formul ate th e mselves in my sketches, fro m w hi ch I ca n refere nce fo r a ny o th er elem ents I'd like to in cl ud e. T he res ultin g pictures rem ain fa irl y subj ec ti ve, allow in g for '78

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