And the results:

Contestant No. 1: The Uber Guide
Target really covers all the bases here. If you really have to find that under-$25-for-a-six-year-old-girl-who-loves-Rihanna-and-has-a-best-friend-named-Megan gift, somewhere in this experience there is filter that will suffice. Seriously though, no knock against the design, this is the approach that is necessary when trying to showcase an entire catalogue in the context of a gift. It should also be noted that my initial reaction was “Wow. Red.”.  I’m assuming the design is keeping in the brand guidelines and the festive season but damn that’s a lot of red.  

Contestant No. 2: The Minimalist
 The Cool Hunting Gift Guide truly nails the minimal approach. I really like the price-on-rollover treatment for the product shots. Also a nice touch is the way they tuck away the filter options into a couple drop-down menus on the left . My only negative critique here is that it’s lacking big visuals that show off the products, which may be a good thing.

Contestant No. 3: The Editorial

 ”Your winner, in the green shorts….” Design Public takes the Saturday Morning Herald approach to their guideand it works well. Simple filter options, nice imagery and extended opinions on why the gifts are great really make this the complete experience. Kudos to the team at DP.