My world: Visual merchandiser Ann Hayward

To me, colour is synonymous with happiness, enrichment, excitement, fun, fashion, eating outdoors.

It brings to mind the colour turquoise, the tone of the season and a personal favourite. Turquoise is retro, funky, summery, girly - you either love it or hate it. From fashion and fabrics to furniture, my career path has been exciting. I graduated with a degree in fashion and textiles and like all other students from this discipline, you either go into visual (VM) merchandising or down the fashion or textiles path or the home décor path. 

My first job was with Laura Ashley in the home design team.

I was always on the floor, tweaking and styling and working around the room-sets within the store. Soon, a VM position came up and I became an in-store visual merchandiser, which is like an interior designer but for a shop floor. Eventually, I did stints with House of Fraser, The One in Dubai, went back to the UK to work with Mamas and Papas, Wedgwood and Debenhams. Subsequently, I was head hunted to return to Dubai with Home Centre. It's been one and a half years now, and I know it's the best decision I have ever made. I love the fact that there are so many diverse nationalities in the UAE. I prefer that flexibility to avoid providing our customers with a stagnant experience. 

If I were to pick one difference in people's choice between the UK and the Middle East market, it would have to do with the furniture.

When you go into one of our stores, you will see a fine mix of the traditional and modern/transitional. In the UK, traditional does not sell; you would never have people buying the Middle Eastern or Arabic kind of ornate heavy woods.

Visual merchandising is not just about window dressing. It is also about creating a synergy and flow in every aspect of the store. The mood and theme needs to be continued to engage customers and draw them in. So you have visual pockets throughout the store that create a complete and compelling shopping experience. The window should just be a starting point to inspire and make customers want to go beyond what is displayed.

Windows are usually changed every two months and the display is first rolled out across all flagship stores.

In certain cases, we are required to tweak the theme to suit market tastes. For instance in India, we had a window called a ‘bachelor pad'. It didn't resonate well with the Indian market. So we changed the title ‘Starting Out' and made it more like a ‘young couple in their new flat' idea that did very well. 

Working in sets of three is the basic rule of visual merchandising.

It is called the pyramid theory because everything looks aesthetically better in threes. We spend at least four weeks planning the theme and ensure the products are there when the window is ready to be worked out. We also conduct a VM window workshop and invite the store managers and section leaders to give them an understanding of what we are doing. The actual change is done during the night over a 12-hour period. 

The three things I always carry with me are my measuring tape, my camera and my BlackBerry.

The measuring tape is a tool of the trade for me because there is always a need to measure something. I don't use the camera so much while working on the floor, but it is useful for market research. I take my BlackBerry everywhere - if I see an interesting VM idea on my travels all over the UAE, I picture it and email it back to the VM Concept team in the Head Office. 

My quick tricks for a home makeover would be never to use a dark colour for very small spaces.

Mirrors are a great way to make a space look larger. If you have a dark room and want to create ambient lighting, use an uplighter or ceiling lights.

Quick question

What are the colours of the season?
This season is about retro revival for domestic spaces, with a splash of turquoise or lotus flower pinks for that feminine feel. For the walls, it is purples, aubergines and greens to give an organic tone. For furniture, the trend is modern with a vintage twist.

Interview by Vasanti Sundaram, Dubai-based freelancer