The Savageau Award is named for Ann Savageau, a professor in the Department of Design from 2007 to 2014. Ann Savageau and Michael Savageau generously gifted this endowed award fund for one graduating student from the Design MFA program. The purpose of the Savageau Award is to further the career of a Design MFA graduate from the University of California, Davis, and to encourage, recognize and celebrate creative and original contributions to the discipline of Design.
SAVAGEAU AWARD WINNERS:
Damien Mitchell
2024 Savageau Award Winner
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.”
Alejandra Ruiz Suárez
2023 Savageau Award Winner
Alejandra Ruiz Suárez was awarded the 2023 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. Her work focuses on sustainable pathways for reducing textile waste.
Trace Manuel
2022 Savageau Award Winner
Trace Manuel was awarded the 2022 Savageau Award for a Master of Fine Arts design student at the opening celebration of the annual Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition at UC Davis. As a designer, researcher, and educator with a many-pronged background in graphics, audio, photography, and video, Trace has always been fascinated with how documentation bends reality. Previously, her multimedia practice has explored how patients articulate their lives and stories within the healthcare system.
Kaylani J. McCard
2021 Savageau Award Winner
Kaylani J. McCard was awarded the 2021 Savageau Award for a Master of Fine Arts design student on June 10 during a virtual opening celebration of the annual Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition at UC Davis. McCard (also known as Kaylani Juanita) is a freelance picture book illustrator and writer with a focus on counter-storytelling based on her experience as a biracial Black woman. McCard strives to create new ways for people to imagine themselves.
Eldy S. Lázaro Vásquez
2020 Savageau Award Winner
The 2020 Savageau Award recipient Eldy S. Lázaro Vásquez‘ thesis project investigates the environmental impacts of digital fabrication (i.e. 3D printers, laser cutters). Her main research contributions include: Growable Interfaces, Bio-Fabrication, Sustainable Prototyping with Bio-based Materials, Digital Fabrication Life Cycle, and an ECO-IMPACT Calculator.
Adam Flint Taylor
2019 Savageau Award Winner
Local Actions, National Outcomes was 2019 Savageau Award winner Adam Flint Taylor’s thesis project—the final installation showing two years worth of research and creative practice aimed at understanding the issues with voting in the United States. This work explored how states (and sometimes county municipalities) created chaos for US voting because states have the right to plan and execute their own ballot design, gerrymandering, and voter identification laws.