Target: Designing with Latin American Communities in Mind
Guiding design research for a Fortune 500 institution's
Hispanic Heritage Month Strategy
OVERVIEW
Guiding design research for Target's Hispanic Heritage Month strategy
Company
Target
Role
UX Research
Team
9 Members
Duration
6 Months
The brief
Latin American culture is rich and diverse, shaped by a blend of indigenous, European and global influences. Our team was tasked with uncovering nuanced visual expressions of Hispanic and Latino(a) culture to guide authentic design and representation for Target.
Outcome
Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we made a comprehensive acumen that informed meaningful insights that shaped inclusive, culturally respectful design solutions rooted in the lived experiences of the community.
Key Results
+
+
+
+
scholarly research
sources evaluated
process
Designing to belong
Our 4 objectives were to understand:
1
How is Latin American culture defined?
2
What constitutes their authenticity?
3
What influences their identity?
4
What can brands do?
Business Context
Meeting consumers where they are
Target needed to reach Hispanic and Latino consumers throughout their entire shopping journey, not just during a single campaign. Our research needed to inform touchpoints across inspiration, exploration, and community-building, creating authentic experiences that build lasting loyalty.
Collaboration vs Appropriation
Target needed to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month without repeating mistakes other brands had made: appropriating culture for profit while giving nothing back. One misstep could damage trust with the exact communities they wanted to serve.
We developed five principles to guide ethical design decisions:
Consent First
Shared Control
Credit & Transparency
Cultural Respect
Fair Exchange
background RESEARCH
Examining 24 countries
Lit review + cluster assessment
Images blurred to protect confidentiality
Primary research
I conducted 6 in-depth interviews with various individuals from different Hispanic backgrounds
To gain insights from lived experiences, I interviewed 5 first-generation and 1 second-generation Hispanic-American individuals with Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, and Costa Rican roots. Each culture had nuances that give distinct characteristics.
Images blurred to protect confidentiality
The manual coding process was revealing.
As I highlighted and categorized responses, patterns emerged, but so did something more important: the vast differences between and even within cultures.
These weren't abstract insights. They were lived experiences that shaped every recommendation we made.
color
I gathered over 290 images—art, textiles, traditional clothing, home goods—from Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. I visited museums and restaurants across Dallas-Fort Worth, documenting colors, patterns, and visual themes.
With these artifacts, I made color palette's based on thematic and recurring colors from each country.
Key Finding:
The color palettes for art and clothing within the same country were so different they needed to be treated separately. This wasn't just an interesting observation, it meant Target couldn't use a single "Guatemalan palette" across all products. Context mattered.
We took this into account when discussing design solutions with Target's team.
Images blurred to protect confidentiality
Impact
Our team created a 120+ page country-by-country lookbook for Target to use in their strategies
Overview
Key country facts
Known for
Influences
Demographics in the US
Clothing
Common or historical clothing
Food
Common Foods
Ingredients, products, brands used
Holidays
Widely held observances
Opportunities
Designers to collaborate with
Tips on authenticity
Traditional dress associated with holidays
Takeaways
Reflection
Through this project, I learned: