Tzu Hsuan Yang on how she became a product development manager  and never running out of creative design ideas

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Using her innate instinct for colour and form, Tzu Hsuan Yang is known for her bold, adaptable furniture. The designs celebrate simplicity while embracing fashion. Some even describe them as art—and it’s easy to see why, given her strong background in fashion design.

Her ability to navigate design challenges exemplifies this balance. In one case, Cindy and her team designed a pillow featuring intricate full embroidery. While visually stunning, the concept posed significant cost and production hurdles. Instead of discarding the idea, she initiated discussions with the factory to understand its technical limitations and worked closely with designers to reimagine the concept. The solution she came up with is a combination of textured print with selective embroidery, preserving the richness of the design while meeting both cost and production goals. “That process captured the heart of what I love most,” Yang says, “finding the sweet spot where creativity and real-world constraints meet to create something new.”

Here, she speaks with us about her journey from design major into product development, the challenges she meets at work, and the inspirations that continue to shape her work.

Tzu Hsuan Yang, beginning in fashion design and later transitioning into home decoration, she has cultivated a unique perspective that blends aesthetic sensibility with practical functionality. “In fashion, I learned to catch trends, details, and consumer psychology,” she reflects. “When I shifted into home products, I can tell that consumers value comfort, usability, and longevity.” This two fields allow her to design products that are both stylish and enduring.

Currently serving as product development manager at Core Home in New York, Tzu Hsuan Yang has been in charge of the entire product lifecycle, from market research to production launch. She thrives on combining market insight, sales performance with design execution and consumer trends, transforming fashion concepts into viable products. “For example, I introduced a redesigned oven mitt that combined silicone for durability and easy cleaning with fabric for a stylish finish. This approach resonated strongly with customers and became a best-seller.” She notes, “Moments like that remind me of the power of pairing intuition with data-driven strategy.”

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When asked what inspired her transition from fashion design into home interior design, she emphasized, “it’s my love for textiles, fabric, and art—I’m a big art lover. I get completely excited when shopping for fabrics especially if I find something exceptional. I love to feel it, scrunch it in my hand to see how it will ‘behave’. I like to use my past experience with fashion to create clothing’s counterpoints in interior design: drapes, pillows, bedding, etc. As a fashion designer, I prefer to create things that are colorful and have volume and texture, but I go the complete opposite in interiors because I feel like the home should be more palate-cleansing and consumer-driven. Because we need to be responsible for the performance.”

Her global collaborations have also shaped her professional philosophy. Working with suppliers in China, India, and Turkey, Tzu Hsuan Yang quickly recognized the importance of cultural awareness in addition to technical expertise. Differences in raw material availability and working styles often demanded flexibility and clear and direct communication. “What I learned is that understanding each other’s pace, capabilities, and values often matters more than pushing for speed,” she explains. “That’s when partnerships truly thrive.”

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Vendor communication has challenged her skills in another way When facing clients expectations for premium materials at impossibly low costs, she helped buyers see the trade-offs between quality and pricing. These transparent exchanges often turned tension into collaboration, reinforcing her role not just as a product manager but as a trusted advisor in home design.

Her independent project, Avec Thy, further reflects this evolution. By building a lifestyle brand’s website and social media presence from the ground up, sheFor Tzu Hsuan Yang, she parlayed her passion for design into a clothing line, and her independent project, Avec Thy, helps her gain first-hand experience in shaping brand identity, crafting a visual voice, and connecting with consumers. Whether she is designing a bedding collection, collaborating with global suppliers, or shaping a digital brand presence, she embodies the rare ability to bridge imagination with execution. It is this ability that makes her work not only distinctive but also deeply impactful in both fashion and home design.

Presented by: APG

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