A Unique Perspective

Judy Bell has been inspiring retailers and design agencies for decades with her lively approach and strategic vision.

Skilled in identifying the connection between fashion retail trends and global cultural, demographic, economic, environmental, political and technological developments, she combines these insights with neuroscience and the study of human behavior to deliver a holistic plan of action. The 6th edition of her college textbook, Silent Selling, Best Practices and Effective Strategies in Visual Merchandising, features her pioneering work with color palettes and a Look-Compare-Innovate process to inspire creative thinking.

Judy worked for a wide range of retailers, both specialty and department stores, most notably Target, where she developed and led a variety of teams, including Visual Merchandising, Innovation, Competitor Insights, and Creative Merchandising Solutions. During her twenty-two year career there, her responsibilities focused on inspiring marketers, product designers, merchants, and merchandise presentation teams by offering them a global perspective of compelling sales-driving strategies. Judy presented her insights to over 3000 Target team members and agency partners annually in venues that included the Target Center arena and the Guthrie Theatre.

Active in the retail design industry, Judy serves as a Special Advisor to the Editorial Advisory Board of Retail Leader, an online community of elite executives. She is a member of RDI, (Retail Design Institute), FGI, (Fashion Group International) and Shop! Association. She also serves on the Marketing Committee of Alliance Francaise, Mpls/St.Paul, a French immersion school and community. Annually she judges Winning Windows, a holiday competition based in Manhattan, with a nationwide reach. She is a past member of the board of PAVE (Planning and Visual Education), NADI (National Association of Display Industries), and A.R.E. (Association of Retail Environments). She was also a member of Design:Retail’s Editorial Advisory Board for a decade.

“Her contagious enthusiasm has made Bell a wanted commodity in the world of public speaking, and she has helped bring Target full-swing into the retail design community.”

–Alison Embrey Medina, Editor in Chief/Associate Publisher, design:retail

2005 Retail Design and Store Fixture Manufacturers Awards at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.

Invited to share her perspective at international conferences throughout her career, most recently Judy was featured at two virtual events: Fortress REIT in Johannesburg, and the World Retail Congress in London. In person at the Bernstein Display showroom in New York she presented, “The New Psychology of Visual Merchandising.” Most memorable was her experience hosting the 2005 Retail Design and Store Fixture Manufacturers Awards at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. She emerged from a hidden floor beneath the stage, her arms filled with shopping bags, and to the music of “Material Girl” she walked down a runway flanked by 4 men in tuxedoes, who fanned her with festive white feather plumes. Amen.