Fengchen Chang

• Multi-Brand VBL & Strategy: Spearhead Visual Brand Language (VBL) and CMF strategy across a diverse brand portfolio, establishing distinct design identities ranging from ultra-luxury (JennAir) to premium and mass-market brands (Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag).
• Trend Research & Forecasting: Lead interior lifestyle trend analysis, competitor benchmarking, and macro color forecasting to translate consumer insights into actionable CMF directions for future product pipelines.
• Digital Toolkits, Patterning & AI Workflows: Pioneer graphic pattern workflows and digital toolkits—executing 2D-to-3D mapping on complex components (refrigerator air towers, bin textures)—while leveraging KeyShot, Substance, and AI platforms (Vizcom) for rapid 3D concept visualization.
• Cross-Category Implementation: Direct the end-to-end execution of CMF concepts across major appliance categories—including cooking, refrigeration, and dishwashers—ensuring brand alignment and visual consistency across all touchpoints.
• Technical & Supplier Collaboration: Partner closely with Industrial Designers, Material Engineers, and global suppliers to evaluate, qualify, and validate materials, balancing aesthetic intent with functional performance and manufacturability.

• End-to-End CMF Ownership: Built and owned the CMF strategy, development pipeline, and design standards across both Consumer Electronics and Healthcare product categories.
• Trend Research & Concepting: Conducted global lifestyle trend research and color forecasting to translate consumer insights into premium, high-touch material palettes and design narratives.
• Centralized CMF Library: Established and curated Ember’s centralized HQ CMF Library, building a comprehensive material repository to accelerate design exploration, prototyping, and production alignment.
• Supplier & Vendor Management: Partnered with global vendors and material suppliers to evaluate, source, and qualify advanced finishes, ensuring aesthetic fidelity and production feasibility.

• Collaborated with Industrial Design (ID) teams during early-stage CMF concept development, providing strategic material insights and technical guidance to align aesthetic intent with engineering feasibility.
• Led cross-functional engineering teams and global vendors to build, evaluate, and iterate physical working models and functional CMF prototypes, adhering to strict quality standards.
• Directed vendor networks and streamlined manufacturing processes, ensuring effective production execution while maintaining design integrity and material performance.

• CMF Team & Cross-Functional Leadership: Led and mentored the CMF design team while directing cross-functional collaboration across Industrial Design, Engineering, Operations, and Program Management to deliver global smartphone projects on schedule.
• Strategic Marketing & Regional Alignment: Partnered directly with Global Marketing to translate market demands and target audience profiles into CMF strategies, delivering localized color, material, and finish variations tailored across different global and regional markets.
• Flagship Concept Development: Spearheaded CMF concept creation and material strategy for high-profile flagship smartphones, including Google’s landmark 1st and 2nd generation mobile devices.
• Technical Execution & Supplier Qualification: Defined advanced surface finishing specifications (coatings, anodizing, micro-textures), managed master color matching, and qualified materials with global vendors from initial prototyping through high-volume mass production.

Commonwealth Honors Scholar | GPA: 4.0