Titles and contact information are displayed below. Click on a section heading or use tabs at left to see all listings for that section. Click on a name to see full biography for that person.
Ph.D. Geography, University of California, BerkeleyS.M.Arch.S. Architecture and Urbanism, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyB.Arch. Architecture, Cornell University
Ph.D. Art History, University of Texas at Austin, 2001M.A. American Studies, University of Notre Dame, 1994B.A. American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1991
Field of interest: History and Theory of Design and Science
Ph.D. Art History, Boston UniversityM.A. Art History, University of Texas at AustinB.A. French Language and Literature, Vanderbilt University
Fields of interest: History of modern & contemporary art & design. Marcel Duchamp, museums, narrative environments, and experience design. Book design after Mallarmé.
Ph.D. in textiles and clothing, with a minor in sociology, at Texas Woman’s UniversityB.S. in textiles and clothing at the University of Texas at Austin
Her current research focuses on themes of place and space, with particular interest in neglected sites of fashion interest such as small cities and towns and rural areas and their interplay with intersecting identities regarding gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age, social class, and national identity.
Ph.D. History of Art, Open UniversityM.A. History of Art, Design & Contextual Studies, Birmingham City UniversityB.A. History, King’s College, University of London
Ph.D. Architecture and Human Factors Engineering, University of MichiganM.F.A. Industrial Design University of Illinois, Champaign UrbanaM. Arch. University of Illinois, Champaign UrbanaB.S. Faculty of Engineering, Carleton University
Ph.D. Computer Science, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, BrazilM.A. Computer Science, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, BrazilB.A. Computer Science, National Univeristy of San Marcos, Peru
M.F.A. Multi-media and Painting, Washington State UniversityM.S. Experimental Atomic Physics, Kansas State UniversityB.A. Fine Arts and Physics, Lawrence University
Research Interests: Public-engaged data-driven large-scale installations and social interventions
B.A. California State University, Long Beach (2014)
Since graduating with a BA in Design from California State University, Long Beach, Jennifer has worked in the design and fabrication of projection-mapped stages, props for the music and film industries, and interactive art and spaces. As Cartographer for Los Angeles-based event creation company the Do LaB, she contributed to large-scale event operations and designed art and music festival maps. Jennifer’s research now focuses on the participation of art with the urban landscape and its ability to bring communities together.
B.S. Fashion Design and Merchandising, San Francisco State University, 2006
Alicia has more than ten years of experience in the fashion industry working in an array of roles at major apparel labels. She has worked on a range of other projects such as creative community building and international fashion education for non-profits. Most recently, she was a Product Developer at Columbia Sportswear for the Mountain Hardwear label. She is interested in all things textiles, visual communication as a means of community building, and exhibition curating. She is currently exploring using pattern and textiles as a means of commentary or story telling.
A.A. in Fashion Design, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (2013)B.A. in Design, University of California, Davis (2016)M.F.A. in Design, University of California Davis (2018)
Christine works as a freelance Designer in the Northern California Bay Area. She has worked with such companies as Cari Borja Clothesmaker, Community Homework, Ink+Ivy, as well as with private clients for cosplay design and construction orders. Her work has been featured by Marvel Comics, and seen on such sites as Vanity Fair, LA Weekly, the Daily Mail UK, and YouTube. Christine has worked as an instructor at Arizona State University in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and here at UC Davis in Design.
All Design Department staff are listed here, along with administrative staff located in Cruess hall. Advisers are listed separately. For a complete listing of The Arts Administrative Group staff, please see our Staff Directory.
To set up an advising appointment for current students, please click here. If you are not a current student, please call 530-752-0890 to set up an appointment.
Office Hours: 7:30-4:00 M-F Advising: 10:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00 M-F
Ariel Collatz is an academic advisor and program manager for the Arts Group Advising Center. She holds a B.A. degree in History from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota and a M.S. in Counseling with a specialization in Career Development from Sacramento State University. She has worked as an undergraduate advisor at UC Davis for over 10 years. Her passion is helping students create a rewarding undergraduate experience.
Office Hours: 8:00-5:00 M-FAdvising Hours: 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00
Julie McGilvray, academic advisor for the Arts Group Advising Center, received a M.S. degree in Career Counseling from California State University, Sacramento. Julie was an intern during the 2014-2015 year at the UC Davis Internship and Career Center, facilitating workshops and providing career advising to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars seeking careers beyond academia. Her previous work experience includes over 12 years of experience in the career transition services, and providing career advising to diverse population of adults in career transition from many different career paths. Previously, she has worked for outplacement organizations in the SF Bay Area and Sacramento, and a Sacramento non-profit supporting homeless women and children become self-sustainable. Julie has a passion for assisting individuals to achieve educational and career goals.
Office Hours: 8:00-5:00 M-FAdvising: 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00
Barbara Olivier is one of the undergraduate program coordinators and academic advisor in the Arts Group Advising Center. Her previous work experience has been extensive in the public and private sector with a vast range of administrative and clerical duties and responsibilities, which has led her to UC Davis. She has held various positions within the University, beginning as a senior secretary in the temp pool and had led her to begin her career in advising in 2002. Barbara has held positions in Political Science/International Relations, as well as Languages and Literatures, before accepting a position with the Music Department. Her main focus is assisting undergraduates with their academic and future career goals.
Kathryn Shickman received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts degree in Human Development from California State University, Los Angeles. She has worked as an undergraduate advisor and program coordinator at The Arts Group Advising Center here at UC Davis since August, 2014. She has previously worked as a study coordinator at UC Davis MIND Institute, and as an advising assistant on campus in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and at Services for International Students and Scholars. In her career prior to coming to UC Davis, she has held many roles in the fields of education and developmental psychology.
BA Art/Design Studies, San Jose State University 2017 Minor: Mexican American Studies
Adriana Arriaga’s current research focuses on designing for vulnerable communities using interactive design. Her goal is to connect with different people to start a dialogue on social issues that affect marginalized communities. Arriaga refers to herself as a social impact designer; to her this means she designs by integrating the consideration of race, class, gender and other marginalized groups. In her previous experience, Arriaga has applied her design and artistic skills to help bring awareness to social issues in communities.
Towson University, B.F.A. Digital Art and Design, 2017
Alexa Ann Bonomo studied Digital Arts and Film at Towson University and moved to the Bay Area in 2017. While continuing her practice at Kala Art Institute, she joined a cohort of artists at Gray Area Foundation for the Arts to work in the medium of code and algorithmic design and had shown at various places in the Bay Area including Kala Art Institute, The Grand Theater, and the Exploratorium. Currently, she is working towards an MFA in Design, at the University of California, Davis to research data visualization and the use of data in the rise of empathetic media.
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, BA Digital Media Arts 2018
First Wenjie prefers being called Austin:) He studied at Nanjing University of Post and Telecommunication, majoring digital media, from 2014 to 2018. His current research areas are UI/UX and front-end development, especially Web design and App Design. Austin enjoys life and believes that design comes from life and serves life, so he hopes to draw inspiration from life. He also wants to try different forms of interaction design and collaborate with different people in UC Davis.
California State University, Long Beach, BFA Interior Design, 2015
Tracy is a designer who is interested in re-imagining exhibitions to encourage a greater connection with nature. She is focusing on addressing environmental and ecological issues through education to implement necessary changes and increase interest. By exploring the possibilities of exhibitions, she hopes to lessen the gap between urban living and the natural world to encourage more sustainable living practices, greater care and sense of urgency for pressing environmental concerns.
Tara Halsted is interested in swimwear and clothing designed for swimmers’ bodies. Tara has been swimming since the age of five, and loves to incorporate her passion for the sport into her artistic and academic work. As an undergraduate, she majored in Art Practice at Stanford University, and now she hopes to use skills developed through her art practice in her designs. Tara enjoys many methods of creating, including drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, crocheting, sewing, and cooking.
UC Irvine, BA Film Studies, 1989Lesley University, MS Environmental Education, 1997
Harold Linde designs and curates Immersive Tea Experiences (I.T.E.) to inspire greater presence, connection and awe for diverse participants.
He has created and facilitated immersive tea experiences at TEDxUCLA, TEDxVeniceBeach, BlueMind Malibu, Summit LA17 and Summit LA18. He completed construction on the dedicated tea space TEA STUDIO #202 on the UC Davis campus in January 2019.
B.S. in Architecture, Shiraz Azad University of Art and Architecture
Persia started her education at Shiraz Azad University of Art and Architecture where she received her B.S. in Architecture. She has always had a strong passion for arts, music and design. She continues to explore different painting techniques and combines them with cultural elements through her work. She started working as an architect on multiple residential projects upon graduation in Iran, and her journey brought her to the United States to continue her education, where she found her desired major at UC Davis.
Syracuse University, BA Religious Studies, 2004College of the Redwoods Fine Furniture Program (The Krenov School) 2011
The last 8 years I have been designing and making furniture. I studied at the renowned Krenov School (formerly, the College of the Redwoods Fine Furniture program) for two years and moved to Santa Cruz to start working professionally and independently. It was great fun and I was able to explore my creativity and make a lot of fantastic pieces. That said, I felt like my impact was negligible on communities greater than the few consumers of my goods. Inspired to make a bigger impact with my skills and passions, I have come to UC Davis looking to expand on my background
University of Lapland, B.A. Interior and Textile Design, 2017
Jenna’s professional practice combines traditional methods with new technologies, aiming to develop innovative designs that are purposeful, visually intriguing and sustainable. Her MFA research focuses on ornamental design, its different traditions, principles and the background of ornamental design practice.
San Francisco State University, BS Apparel Design and Merchandising, 2018
Aurie is dedicated to sustainable fashion design, both in study and in practice. She is concerned about the environmental impacts, socioeconomic exploitation and structural corruption caused by fast-fashion production. She started sewing in kindergarten and has been inspired by historical costume and cultural influences from around the world all her life.
BA Design, University of California, Davis, 2011MFA Design, University of California, Davis, 2019
Adam Taylor’s research catalogs the history of design for American politics and places it into conversation with the design of countercultures and political protest, aiming to further understand the interwoven nature of politics and design practices. Taylor’s current exhibition and graphic design professional work continues his previous projects with arts organizations, cities, museums, non-profits, and universities.
BA Design, University of California, Davis 2016 Minor: Textiles and ClothingMFA Textiles and Fashion Design, University of California, Davis 2019
Dee Dee Yang’s research explores the material culture of Hmong batik and its significance to the cultural identity of Hmong women. Her passion for Hmong textiles stems from her desire to understand her own Hmong-American identities, which has continued to inspire her work in textile craft and apparel design.
Iris received her B.E. in Landscape Architecture in Beijing Forestry University. Now she is studying here to explore the field of UI/UX design and wearable product design. She is also continuing her study in coding here. She is eager to explore how modern technology can be utilized by designers to improve the human-being’s life quality in the dense and crowded modern cities.(like cities in China) She loves music, painting and gardening. She always has a great passion to design, art and life.
Architect and Professor Emeritus Richard Berteaux’s interest in vernacular and environmentally responsive architecture is underscored by his professional work and his research on color in vernacular architecture.
Born and educated in Los Angeles, California, he studied Romance Languages at UCLA, and received a BA in Spanish. He attended the Sorbonne in Paris for a year in an intensive French Language and Culture program, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from U.C. Berkeley and an M.S. degree from Stanford University in Urban Design.
Artist’s Statement: After a conventional education reading history at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, I switched course, educated myself as a book designer and calligrapher, taking the last letterpress class offered at Oakland’s Laney Trade School and studying with the calligrapher Arne Wolf.
Dolph Gotelli, Professor Emeritus of Design, initiated the visual presentation program when he began his teaching career in 1970. He is also the Founder and Director emeritus of the Design Museum, where he was the curator. During his tenure he designed scores of innovative exhibitions for the Northern California community including shopping bags, American souvenirs, Halloween collectibles, international folk toys, masks, Santa Claus and edible art. Under Gotelli’s direction, the museum has received an international reputation for cutting edge installations featuring theme exhibitions.
Professor and architect Patricia Harrison focuses her research on the design of housing and other service facilities for low-income families in non-urban communities. To accomplish her research she collaborates with nonprofit housing and community groups to develop affordable housing projects. In this process she works with low-income families to design projects that address their cultural and lifestyle needs, while incorporating issues of energy efficiency and creative use of building materials within very restrictive budget and site constraints.
Gyöngy Laky, San Francisco sculptor, is a past recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, she was also one of the first textile artists to be commissioned by the Federal Art-in-Architecture Program. Laky’s work is in many permanent collections including the San Francisco MOMA, The Smithsonian’s Renwick Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum, the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu and others. She exhibits her work nationally and internationally.
Chair Designate and Department Chair – Dept. of Environmental Design. Principal investigator, CAES – Agricultural Experiment Station Projects. Adviser, master adviser, and adviser re: Education Abroad (Scandinavia).
Victoria Z. Rivers is engaged in textiles research ranging from the producing and exhibiting of dyed and embellished textile artworks to researching and publishing subjects on South and Southeast Asian textiles, to curating exhibitions.
M.F.A. Textiles, Wayne State UniversityA.B. Anthropology,Stanford University
Ann Savageau has exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally. She has had 12 solo exhibitions and over 60 group exhibitions. National exhibition venues include The Detroit Institute of Arts; Long Beach Arts; The University of Wisconsin, Madison; The Textile Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi.International exhibitions include “K-18 Stoffwechsel”, Kassel, Germany; Editions Gallery, Perth, Australia; Third International Exhibition of Miniature Textiles, London, England.
Jo Ann Stabb is a designer, author and lecturer focusing on the field of fashion and wearable art. She served on the Design faculty of the University of California, Davis, for 34 years (1968 – 2002) teaching clothing, fashion, historic costume, ethnographic costume and contemporary wearable design. Her creative work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally in Austria, France, England, South Korea and Australia.
Kathryn Sylva is an associate professor of Design She earned her B.A. in Art Studio from UC Davis and an M.F.A. in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Professor Sylva’s research includes two large visual communication projects, one on eating disorders and the other on the American eugenics movement. She also collaborates with researchers in nutrition in using visual presentation strategies to enhance the effectiveness of health and nutrition educational and research materials.
We list here the names of recent Design M.F.A. students (2011–present). The Undergraduates section at left includes Design alumni from earlier years, before the Design M.F.A. program began.
