Design Research in New York introduced us to fine Scandinavian design. But somehow the idea spread. Old Navy does it for fashion. So do thrift shops. IKEA does it.
Target is the best example of selling good design to the American mass market.
Target saw the competitive edge in keeping cheap and adding design. Like the toilet brush Michael Graves designed for Target. The toilet brush is surely one of the household's ugliest objects, even though in historic Connecticut these necessaries are hidden in trompe l'oeil containers cunningly color-coordinated with the toilet itself. And cost a lot of money. So the Michael Graves Target toilet brush is an emblem of the new design democracy.