The MFA in Design prepares students with an emphasis in Exhibition and Experience Design for research, teaching and professional leadership opportunities in a highly interdisciplinary field that shapes museum, theme park, tradeshow, exposition, retail, branded, public and civic spaces. An expanding global economy demands a need for exhibition and experience design research that explores innovative approaches to artifact display, interpretive and narrative environments, branded signage and wayfinding, and engaging experiences for a broad range of audiences that are fully immersive, interactive and participatory. Visit Storied Spaces for more information about the MFA exhibitions concentration in the UC Davis Department of Design.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Exhibition Design is focused on the communication of objects, information and ideas in the built and natural environment and their impact on community interaction and audience engagement. Students studying in this area add much needed critical research to the field, and are provided the tools, resources and action steps for academic and professional advancement in the exhibition and experience design industry.
Graduate students learn new skills in developing meaningful and transformational content, curatorship, architectural planning and staging, furniture, lighting, visual communication design, sensory and new media technologies. Their independent research studies may be augmented by electives in these areas, and collaborations with entities and other departments on and off campus including the UC Davis Design Museum and Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
Past graduate thesis projects have been:
Pop-up exhibits as a means for reaching diverse audiences
Challenging traditional natural outdoor history exhibits for the National Park Service
Using augmented reality in the commercial exhibition environment.
Museums as places for community engagement and activism
DRA 124A, Principles of Theatrical Design – Scenery
DRA 180B, Theater Lab – Design
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Department of Design includes a comprehensive series of labs, full-scale mock-up facilities, and advanced prototyping capabilities to assist and support graduate research and design studies. Additionally, the UC Davis Design Museum is available between exhibitions for prototyping. Students are encouraged to get involved with the museum and assist in the design and build-out of the rotating schedule of exhibitions.
The JoAnn C. Stabb Design Collection is associated with the museum and contains over 5,000 design related objects, mostly ethnographic textiles and fashion. Specialized tools, vinyl cutting and large format inkjet printing equipment are housed in the museum office. See MFA handbook for a list of additional maker spaces on the UC Davis campus belonging to other departments.
