Te-Sian Shih is a distinguished New York City–based brand and packaging designer whose work has earned recognition worldwide. She has been invited to serve as a judge for several prominent design competitions, including the U.S. Poster Stellars Poster Design Competition, the Calanca Poster Design Competition in Switzerland, and the World Journal Packaging Illustration Competition in New York. These roles highlight her expertise and standing in the design community.
Her designs have won numerous international awards, including Gold at the MUSE Design Awards (USA), Silver and Bronze at the IDA International Design Awards (USA), and Bronze at the A’ Design Awards(Italy). She has also earned accolades, including a win at the GDUSA Package Design Awards (USA), DNA Paris Design Awards (France) and a Silver at the Graphis Poster Annual Awards (USA), affirming her technical skill and creative excellence in the design world.
Te-Sian’s work is not limited to design awards. Her creations have been featured in New York supermarkets and department stores, helping elevate the brand experience for both large and boutique businesses. She has also developed a wide range of visual materials, including websites, catalogs, posters, packaging, guidebooks, and key visuals. Her extensive portfolio spans several industries, and she has worked with New York–based packaging design studios, high-end fashion brands, and Orchestra concert productions, offering designs that are both visually captivating and strategically aligned with her clients’ goals.
Her design portfolio has also been showcased in prestigious exhibitions worldwide. Te-Sian’s work has been displayed at the Genoa Biennale and the Florence Biennale in Italy, the underground shopping arcade at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and The Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York. She has also exhibited at the Barcelona Biennale, Governors Island in New York, the Queens Botanical Garden, and Art Expo Dubai. Other notable exhibitions have taken place in Taiwan and Brussels City Hall in Belgium. In the past year, her designs were displayed at three famous London Underground stations, in London art galleries, and at Art Expo New York, one of the largest art expos in the world.
Te-Sian’s educational background is as impressive as her professional achievements. She holds a Master of Science in Packaging, Identities, and Systems Design from Pratt Institute, one of New York’s leading design schools. Her academic journey began in Taiwan, where she studied Marketing and Channel Management before transitioning to graphic branding and packaging design. This transition allowed her to merge her understanding of marketing with her passion for visual communication, providing her with a unique perspective that informs her designs today.
After moving to New York, Te-Sian pursued graduate studies at Pratt Institute, where she honed her skills in brand, graphic, and packaging design. Since graduating, she has built a successful career, working with an array of clients to create innovative, impactful designs that help brands stand out in a crowded marketplace.
In addition to her design work, Te-Sian is deeply committed to lifelong learning. She frequently takes courses at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and other institutions to refine her skills and stay up to date with industry trends. Her passion for teaching is also evident in her past work as an instructor of basic graphic design for middle school students in New York. She believes that a successful designer must experiment with diverse approaches and gain a thorough understanding of various cultures to create work that is both meaningful and inspired.
Through her international design invitations, exhibitions, and award ceremonies, Te-Sian has traveled to many countries, gaining insights into different cultural perspectives. These experiences, particularly in Europe, have influenced her creative process and inspired her to develop designs that are both fresh and globally relevant. For Te-Sian, every experience and cultural exchange is an opportunity to expand her design thinking, and she integrates these learnings into her work.
She has also forged lasting relationships with creatives from around the world, building a network of like-minded professionals who inspire her and challenge her to think beyond traditional design boundaries. Through cross-cultural exchanges, Te-Sian continually broadens her design horizons, and these relationships shape the way she approaches new projects.
Her Taiwanese heritage plays an important role in her design philosophy. Taiwan’s rich cultural tapestry, which blends Japanese, Chinese, Austronesian Indigenous, American, Dutch, and Spanish influences, informs her creative process. She integrates elements of Zen philosophy and multicultural values into her designs, creating work that is inclusive, innovative, and reflective of diverse cultural perspectives. As a designer, she aspires to serve as a bridge between cultures, synthesizing her life experiences into work that connects people worldwide.
Te-Sian’s design process is collaborative, starting with a deep understanding of the brand’s personality, values, and vision. She defines the appropriate style, color palette, and design elements to resonate with the target audience. Te-Sian works closely with clients to ensure the final product reflects the brand’s essence, conducting market research to align designs with current trends and strategic objectives.
Te-Sian’s extensive experience working with international clients has given her a profound understanding of how to create designs that resonate across different cultural contexts. She understands that successful branding requires both clarity of identity and a deep knowledge of local markets. Her global experiences allow her to craft branding solutions that are not only aesthetically engaging but also culturally relevant. She leverages this understanding to help clients expand their reach in diverse markets, using design as a strategic tool to increase brand visibility and influence.
Te-Sian’s success lies in her cultural awareness, as she creates designs that resonate with diverse audiences by considering local characteristics and nuances. She believes branding is about building connections, not just visual appeal, with designs that tell a story, communicate values, and foster trust. With extensive experience and a global perspective, Te-Sian has become a leader in brand and packaging design, using design as a powerful tool for communication and innovation. She continues to inspire through her work, teaching, and commitment to transcending boundaries.
