StylePortfolios: Shaun Hng

What is your employment status?
SH: I’m job searching for new opportunities.

What is your official job title?
SH: Global Visual Merchandising Senior Manager

What should everyone know about you?
SH: I provide Visual Merchandising expertise through science with proven track record managing, designing, leading and implementing corporate strategy. From designing global guidelines to training enhancing customer experience and the company’s bottom line. I’ve worked in key Asian cities and now in NYC.

Describe what you do?
SH: I develop Visual Merchandising Guideline & Strategy to drive company growth & brand experience.

Why did you choose to be a designer?
SH: I would decorate & “spice up” my bedroom every few months.Therefore I’ve always knew that I’m creative since at very young age. I’m glad to have parents who recognized and encouraged that creativity.

What steps did you take to become a designer?
SH: While studying in college I was very actively freelancing and working as assistants to VM professionals, styling for magazines and event management. All those experiences help to developed my understanding of being a designer.

What is the best/most challenging part of your job?
SH: The best would be when your creativity and work drive financial growth to the company. The most challenging would be that sometimes it takes time, trial and error the right strategy.

If you weren’t a designer what would you be?
SH: An interior designer.

How did you get started in design?
SH: It was a lecturer in college who somehow recognized that I would be good in Visual Merchandising and guided me towards that direction.

What do you like about what you do?
SH: The interaction between customer and my work leading to improving in sales gave me the drive to do better. That drive is what that keeps me going.

What’s a common misconception people have about what you do?
SH: That the creativity of Visual Merchandising is only shown on the display however the actual creativity is mostly “hidden” where we create strategies from analyzing customer interactions.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
SH: I see myself still working on Visual Merchandising in a beloved company, helping it to grow while guiding new & young talent into the field.

What sparked your interest in design?
SH: My love in beautiful, well-balanced and aesthetically pleasing visuals and all senses.

How has your work evolved since you began your career?
SH: It has evolved from simply creating beautiful visuals to one that drives growth for the company. Now, I’m all about consumer psychology and what influences them before they even step out of their home.

Are there any types of clothing/footwear/accessories that you avoid wearing?
SH: Anything that’s too flashy, uncomfortable and won’t help me move freely.

What are you fascinated by at the moment and how does it feed into your work?
SH: I’m fascinated by the changes of retail and customer behavior after covid. Learning to adapt is always a crucial part of retail.

What is the biggest lesson that you have learned since you started your career?
SH: That I should always trust and listen to my gut feeling.

What advice would you give to young designers?
SH: Anything is possible; it happened for other people and that could be you too.

What would you like to achieve before the end of the year?
SH: Continue to learn new skills as I’m currently job searching.  I would like to drive growth for a company that I will love for many years to come.

Are you superstitious or do you have any rules you live by?
SH: My one rule is to always do the right thing for the people, company and me.

What’s your motto?
SH: Everything is possible.

Other (feel free to tell the readers anything about you that we didn’t ask)
SH: I’ve been studying Chinese Feng Shui for years and incorporate that into visual merchandising; creating a link between spirituality, facts from data and consumer psychology.

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