VMSD Unveils its 2025 Designer Dozen

MARCH 2025 – VMSD magazine celebrates the best and brightest young designers in retail design with its annual VMSD Designer Dozen. These 12 emerging stars (age 35 and under) recognized this year come from retail organizations and design firms nationwide and internationally, including Coach, Landor, Aunt Flow, MTVD, and more.

VMSD Editor-in-Chief Carly Hagedon says, “Our 2025 class of Designer Dozen winners represent the future of the retail design and visual merchandising industries. These winners push the limits when it comes to making a difference, not only in their firms but in the world at large. We look forward to celebrating all our winners during the 2025 International Retail Design Conference in Providence, R.I., this fall. Congratulations again to our 2025 Designer Dozen!”

VMSD’s 2025 Designer Dozen award recipients are:

• Joanna Roopchand, Design Director, 3-D Design, Coach
• Abby Golden, Senior Environmental Designer, ChangeUp
• Meg Lefeld, Director, Sr. Project Manager, ZenGenius Inc.
• Ambriah Phillips, Designer, Environments, WD Partners
• Jordan Taylor, Creative Director, Landor
• Melisa Daives, Architect, MTVD Design Studio
• Nicki Gitlin, Founder, dang
• Ryan Todys, Designer, MG2
• Claire Coder, Founder, Aunt Flow
• Samantha “Sami” Johnson, Senior Interior Designer and Design Studio Manager, NANO LLC
• Shelly Chipimo, Architect, Bergmeyer
• Kali Robinson Rothwell, Associate Creative Director, Chute Gerdeman*

Profiles of the Designer Dozen will appear in VMSD’s March/April issue, and the winners will be celebrated during the 2025 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), in Providence, R.I., this Oct. 22-23.

The print version of VMSD’s March/April issue has begun mailing, and the digital edition is now “live” via www.vmsd.com/digital.

Interested in nominating or becoming a Designer Dozen? Submissions for 2025 will open late December 2025/early January 2026. For questions, please contact the VMSD editors by emailing vmsd@smartworkmedia.com or stay tuned to www.vmsd.com/submit-your-competition-entry.

*Note: Due to an error, Kali’s age was incorrectly listed in print as 29 instead of 31. This update, as well as some other changes to the “Why Kali” section of her write-up is reflected in the digital edition of the magazine.