Announcing the 2022 Designer Dozen Award Winners

OMETIMES THINGS ARE just better in pairs… So how about a dozen?

Now in its 10th consecutive year, VMSD’s annual Designer Dozen award showcases some of the brightest rising stars in both retail and design. Supporting and retaining young talent is so important to the continuing growth and evolution of the retail industry, and that’s why this award highlights those aged 35 and under making a difference outside and inside of their places of work.

Many of our winners this year participate in extracurriculars beyond their day-to-day job duties, like mentoring other young professionals, delivering Christmas presents to families in need or working to guide high school students to pursue careers in construction and design. Much like retail is striving to meet customers through a more unified, omnichannel approach, designers and visual merchandisers are realizing the importance of applying a similar holistic strategy to their personal lives, going above and beyond their “normal” responsibilities to further enrich their work as creatives.

Be sure to keep an eye on these 12 superstars in the years to come.

• Amelia Papadakis, Interior Designer, Bergmeyer
• Aaron VandenHeuvel, Associate, CallisonRTKL
• Ashley Floyd, Design Director, ChangeUp
• Laura Back, Senior Designer, Environment, Chute Gerdeman
• Shwetha Shanmugam, Team Lead – Retail Designer, Four Dimensions Retail Design
• Cristina Arrea, Associate, Design Manager, Gensler
• James Colburn, Design Manager, Harding Retail
• Lora Child, Designer, IA Interior Architects
• Daria Kralik-Udalova, Retail Designer, Ninth Space
• Jacqueline Stubbs, Visual Merchandising Manager, Purple
• Kate DiLillo, Interior Designer, Richardson Design
• Victoria Nonaca, Visual Merchandiser, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art