"In 1999, a new kettle changed everything. It was blue, bold, and sold at Target-not in a design boutique, not in a museum shop, and not in a luxury department store. This wasn't just a new product launch, though. It was the beginning of a seismic shift in how design, retail, and brand partnerships operate. This was the first time a high-end design firm joined hands with a mass market retailer. Suddenly, "Design for All" wasn't our tagline; it was a new strategic ethos."
"Michael Graves Design's groundbreaking partnership with Target wasn't successful just because the products were beautiful and affordable. It worked because both organizations came to the table fully committed with complementary strengths: Target had retail scale and marketing mastery; MGD brought world class design and user empathy. Together, we created something neither could have done alone. This wasn't about "us and them;" it was about "we and together." We were both going to Design for All."
Michael Graves Design's 1999 collaboration with Target pioneered accessible, high-quality design by embedding designers within the retailer's merchandising, sourcing, product development, and marketing workflows. The partnership combined Target's retail scale and marketing expertise with MGD's user-centered design, producing affordable, well-designed products and a new 'Design for All' ethos. MGD developed a repeatable Direct-to-Retail Partnership Guide: a multi-phase process spanning benchmarking, ethnographic research, prototype approvals, packaging integration, and cross-functional coordination. Effective collaborations prioritize shared philosophy, strategic alignment, and organizational integration rather than standalone products, enabling partners to create outcomes neither could achieve independently.
Read at Fast Company
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