Damien Mitchell was awarded the 2024 Savageau Award for a Master of Fine Arts design student at the opening celebration of the annual Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition at the Manetti Shrem Museum.  He created the display “Re/Pair: A Fusion of Handcraft and Digital Fabrication in Shoemaking.” 

Mitchell merges craft and design within the practice of shoemaking, addressing issues of sustainability and circularity through the democratization of design. His work prioritizes the advancement of manufacturing accessibility to foster sustainable local economies by employing both traditional handcrafting and digital fabrication. 

Mitchell is a multidisciplinary designer who has worked in the fields of industrial design, graphic design, and handicraft. His current focus as a graduate student is exploring the integration of Craft in design education and product manufacturing. He uses handicraft and digital fabrication to create footwear and other wearable accessories to explore new means of manufacturing. Damien is a recipient of a Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, the Christina Bullock Sustainable Design Award, and the VentureWell Award.

Established in 2019, the Savageau Award is aimed at furthering the career of a graduating M.F.A. design student and to encourage, recognize, and celebrate creative and original contributions to the discipline of design. It is named for Ann Savageau, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Design from 2007 to 2014.