TARGET- 2023 Blue Sky Planners
Giveaway!
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Ends Friday, 7/14. Three winners will receive an email on 7/17.
BlueSky Planners for Target / Yao Cheng Design
Every season’s program for Blue Sky Planners is a chance for me to spotlight my favorite recent patterns! For 2023 Back to School, I wanted my Field of Daisies to be the highlight design.
When I first painted this artwork, I knew it would be a gem. My inspirations came from fields of wildflowers and the frequent customer requests to add in daisies in my work. The primary focuses for this artwork were color and density. I wanted the flowers to be as vibrant in color as they are in fragrance. The density of blooms was also crucial- using transparency to further layer was something I practiced through the various versions of this painting. It was important for the flowers to feel as though they are blossoming in real time, and layering really helps achieve the effect of compactness.
By the end, I explored through various layouts with this motif, including a Daisies Wreath version for this 2023 Planners collection. Jump to see it also as art prints!
Field of Daisies / Yao Cheng Design
Target Stores!
What a thrill it is to see my designs in Target stores! I feel so proud to see them on display, especially as I think back to the ideas as they first unfolded in front of me.
Inside, I’m jumping up and down and doing cartwheels! As a personal goal, I’ve achieved something that I’ve once thought as a far-reaching dream. Truly, with every season’s release inside Target stores, I’m elated. My sentimental self is in full gear as I think back to 2012 when I began this incredible journey…
In those early days, I was often found laying flat on my back, feeling exasperated. I’d feel the improbability of it all- how would I ever make this business work? I knew so little of what I was doing and how to get from A to B. So many doubts would swirl around, but one of the things I promised myself was: If one day, I find my work in Target stores, I’ll know that my business will have achieved an important step. That’s the thought that I’d come back to during times of uncertainty. It was a way to force myself to look at the bigger picture.
And now I am doing it. Every time I see my artworks in Target or large retailer shops, I get to tell myself that I’ve achieved this milestone and can keep looking ahead!
Indigo Foliage / Target Stores 2023 / Yao Cheng Design
Here’s another design that me and the Blue Sky creative team felt strongly about! Indigo Foliage was another pattern that I’ve painted through different iterations of. Its original idea came from a Hanukkah card design I made for Minted. At the time, working in monochromatic colors was not a focus in my work- I was very much in the headspace that everything had to be very colorful all the time. But with that project, I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone.
Indigo Foliage was initially meant for the holidays, very much a nod to Hanukkah but in a more floral way. However, I intentionally wanted this pattern to also be applicable outside of the holidays, so it’s not a surprise that this painting was picked for this Blue Sky project! You can see the hints of holiday in the dark berries of the pattern, but otherwise, it is a flexible design that can applied to many different products.
