Target's Functional Form: The New Imperative As their motto states: "Design for All," Target stores have thrived due to increased consumer desire for goods aesthetically pleasing, weakening the modernism principle Form follows function. The value of a product was determined predominantly by its success in terms of utility. However, with the advent of widespread mass production and accessible retail, there has been a natural gravitation towards the need for more personalized, specialized and unique products. Retailers and manufacturers have recognized that modern consumer thinking is shifting from the basic need to the "personal and emotional – 'like'" (Virginia Postrel 5). Aesthetically appealing products are designed to give pleasure through beauty and make sales through personal connection. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Target used this knowledge to hire big-name executives and designers in a partnership and environment that shared the belief that "people instinctively appreciate good design and that it should be affordable and accessible to all" (Target .com). Not only is distinguishing good design instinctive, but it has repeatedly proven to be a valuable selling point. The success of this philosophy is evident in the bottom line, and Target's revenue has risen steadily since major acquisitions by Vice President Robyn Waters and design-architect Michael Graves in the mid-1990s. The saying Form follows function was coined by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan in his article "The Artistically Considered Tall Office Building" published in 1896 (Klausner core77.com). For over a century it has been considered a statute of design philosophy. It cannot be argued that function precedes form; the designer must make function his starting point. However, while modernist design ideology promises “efficiency, rationality, and truth, today's diverse aesthetic offers a different trifecta: freedom, beauty, and pleasure” (Postrel, 9). Aesthetics, or style, has become a globally accepted selling point. Functionality still matters, but competition has pushed quality so high and prices so low that manufacturers need aesthetics to make a product stand out. GE Plastics headquarters in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to an era in which the look and feel of products will determine their success. They believe that “sensory effects…will be essential competitive tools” (Postrel, 2). In the late 1990s, Apple computers revitalized a struggling company through the personality and uniqueness of the iMac line, while the reinvention of the Beetle reintroduced Volkswagen's retro sensibilities to a new generation of consumers..