Editorial illustration, 2015

Fortune commissioned me to illustrate a feature on Target at a turning point. After a damaging data breach and a costly exit from Canada, the retailer had a new CEO tasked with turning things around. The concept: Target’s famous bull terrier, nursing a bruise in the shape of the brand’s logo.

Process
The image went through several rounds of development. I started with exploring different dog faces and expressions, and comparing the crisp, familiar eye marking with a bruised, more crestfallen version. Once we chose the dog, I tested backgrounds ranging from a repeating logo pattern to a single oversized logo. We landed on the bruised dog against the single logo, which I developed as a detailed pencil drawing before hand-painting the final piece in gouache on paper.

Outcome
The illustration was completed, but Fortune ultimately chose not to run it.

Role: Editorial illustrator · Client: Fortune · Medium: Gouache on paper