Target
Challenge
Target’s mission is simple and inspiring: customers can “expect more,” and “pay less.” But over time, while Target’s external marketing remained excellent and exciting, the in-store experience had become less so.
With guest expectations for in-store experiences rapidly on the rise, the old Target formula of neat, clean and easy was no longer enough. We worked with Target creative and leadership to design a more magnetic, relevant and inspiring in-store experience for its guests.
Solution
Our strategic development began with an immersion into the existing in-store experience and a few questions—how do guests switch between checking items off a list and exploring? Where are the pain-points? The highlights? What are they seeking that they aren’t getting?
The biggest takeaway was that the store was designed around company operations, not guest expectations and behaviors. Guests have distinct expectations for different categories when shopping, but the Target store design was one note across the entire store. This made shopping easy, but not exciting.
Our solution was to inject more inspiration and variance into the shopping experience.
We started by consolidating what was once over 32 different departments and subcategories into 11 new, distinct worlds. Each world is built upon distinct guest needs and expectations, and has a charismatic identity that conveys the world’s purpose and story.
We layered on top of that a foundational design system— grid layout, typography, hierarchy—that all worlds had to adhere to. This created critical moments of unity and rest to ensure shopping remained easy as guests moved from category to category, while still allowing each world to feel distinct.
Results
By working with Target to expand the lens through which they viewed the in-store experience, we clarified the forces that shape their guests’ expectations and designed a more inspiring in-store journey that drives meaningful connections with guests.
Team
- Nicholas Rezabek
- Jules Tardy
- Leo Porto
- Flora Chan
- Esther Li
- Gabe Benzur
- Clay Kippen
- Andrea Leitl-Fitzgerald
- Erin Collis
- Ellen Flaherty
- Megan Bowker
- Mille Kristine Windfeldt
- Josh Smith
- Matt Luckhurst
- Brian Collins
- Leland Maschmeyer
- Bryna Keenaghan
- Seth Mroczka
- Hayden Lockaby
- Michelle Fonseca
- Jessica Lau
- Melissa Braun
- Courtney Shares
- Yocasta Lachapelle
- Tory Sica
- Carlos Ancalmo
- Target Creative Team