See all of the current news in Design, including faculty
publications, job openings, research and grant news, study abroad
programs, graduate and alumni honors and awards, and more.
Students from the Department of Design have created “Wonder
Wander,” a one-day exhibition, in support of the 2018-19 Campus
Community Project, featuring “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness
in a Changing World” by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas
Carlton Abrams.
The exhibition features work by Alexa Ann Bonomo, Austin Cao,
Tracy Corado, Tara Halsted, Eldy Lazaro, Harold Linde, Elizabeth
Marley, Jean Menezes, Jonathan Parris, Aurie Stetzel from DES 225
Studio Practice in Design with Professor Glenda Drew.
Susan Taber Avila, professor of Design, recently
participated in the World of Wearable
Art competition, held in Wellington, New Zealand. Her
“In Bloom” creation was a finalist in the awards competition and
was included in all of the 2018 30th anniversary
performances for this annual event.
A team of students representing UC Davis took the Biodesign Challenge for the
first time and came away with the Outstanding Science
Award and was runner up for the top prize at the event.
Team Sorbit from UC Davis,
which included design and economics double major Julie Xu,
created a diaper of bacterial cellulose with enhanced absorbency
and biodegradability. The event was recently held at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Design and Art History double major Jennifer Place has received
national attention for winning the LEDvance Student Design, an
annual competition in which students are tasked with designing,
developing and producing a lighting fixture prototype.
This year’s “Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition at UC Davis”
showcases the work and research of graduate students across
seven disciplines — art studio, design, art history, music,
theatre, creative writing and French — at the Manetti Shrem
Museum.
Design’s Jennifer Cadieux, Alice Decker, Justin Goldwater, Emily
Harris, Lauren Kelly, Christine Knobel, Rachel Max, [george
slavik], Lanwei Su, Daria Taback, Sheena Tu and Corey
Wolffs will be featured in this interdisciplinary show.
Join Jennifer for the installation event of her MFA thesis
project: LUMENroute! For one night only the Walnut Park Tunnel in
South Davis will come alive as a series of motion-activated light
fixtures surround participants with color and light. Then take a
moment to enjoy a beautiful evening in the park at the LUMENroute
seating area, glowing with light, color, music, and laughs! This
project has been created with the support of the City of Davis
Arts and Culture Affairs Fund Award and the CITRIS Connected
Communities Initiative Mini-Grant.
Based on a yearlong reporting project by Capital Public Radio and
developed in collaboration with the California Museum in
Sacramento, ”Passion and Perseverance: A Year at Encina”
explores how the school reflects California’s shifting
demographics, education policies, and residential segregation.
Through photographs, videos, Instagram posts, and school
artifacts, the exhibition challenges the narrative of low-income
schools by highlighting the work of tireless teachers and staff
who create a safe and supportive campus culture.
Two graduates of UC Davis Design, Kat Fukuii and Maggie Yee,
visited DES 157-001, Intermediate Interactive, to talk about
their lives and work post college. Kat, a designer at Github in
San Francisco, inspired students with her talk about design
empowerment through code and teamwork. Maggie, a designer at Open
Table in San Francisco, summarized her experiences with
successful job hunting using projects started in DES 157.
Beth Ferguson, assistant professor of design, has won
an Austin Green Award for the creation of a solar charging
station in the city of Austin. Ferguson’s firm Sol Design Lab was the driving
force of the project.
The completed project, Electric
Drive: The Future of Renewable Energy Mobility, is located on
West 2nd Street in Austin.
Design innovation in the Product Design Lab recently found
students re-purposing recycled campus street signs into
furniture. Under the guidance of Beth Ferguson, assistant
professor of design, the students in the new course, DES165
Studio Practices in Industrial Design, created tables, chairs,
lighting fixtures and bike racks out of the discarded
signs.
Each February The Red Dress Collection uses fashion to raising
awareness of heart disease as the leading killer of women.
Students from the UC Davis Department of Design are at the
forefront of this awareness campaign.
Presenting the work of undergraduate seniors, this annual juried
exhibition celebrates the breadth, talent, creativity and
multidisciplinary coursework from the Department of Design.
A UC Davis design student team was selected as one of six
national finalists in the SOFA Chicago CONNECT Competition in
November 2017. UC Davis was the only California school among the
prestigious design program finalists.
The UC Davis design team consisted of Victoria Chau, Sierra
Kennedy, Jessica Jade Lam and Sandra Bae.
Here are some samples of work by Professor Susan Taber Avila
which are includes in the “Artistry in Fiber” series. The images
are courtesy of Schiffer Publishing.
Susan Taber Avila, professor of design, has made invaluable
contributions to a new book series on fiber art. “Artistry
in Fiber” by Anna Lee and E. Ashley Rooney is a three-book
series which includes a volume titled
“Wearable Art” featuring a foreward by Avila. In
addition, examples of Avila’s work appear in all three books.
