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.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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.
