Ana Trujillo Garcia: From Paint to Product Design
When Ana Trujillo Garcia first arrived at Stamps four years ago, she thought she’d pursue oil painting. That changed after her first Studio: 3D Foundations class:
“My high school art teacher had recommended product design to me, but I was pretty set on oil painting. I fell in love with the laser cutter and the woodshop. I started tailoring my classes toward 3D and sculpture, took design courses, and fell for product and furniture design. And that was that!”
Now a senior set to graduate in December, Ana concentrates on product, furniture design, and fabrication, creating work that blends material experimentation, motion, and process. She’s drawn to mixing materials, merging digital fabrication with handcraft, and reimagining how design can respond to its environment. Cultivating her craft further through classes like Beautiful Objects, Discursive Design, and Sci-Fi Prototyping has helped her refine her conceptual and technical approaches.
“I work iteratively, with my projects blossoming from concepts derived from previous studies, new realizations, and connections or avenues I want to explore. I enjoy whimsical design language, bio-inspired design, and love exploring movement and reactivity. I sketch, prototype, test, and fabricate!”
Ana’s interest in bio-inspired design is apparent in A Bloom, a chair created while studying abroad in Scandinavia and selected for the 2025 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition. In her exhibition submission, she noted, “A Bloom’s visual identity stems from flowers, which react to the environment. I utilized lamination techniques to create the spring and curve of the backrest.”
In Winter 2025, Ana took Integrated Product Development, a course where multidisciplinary student teams from the schools of Art & Design, Business, Engineering, and Information combine their expertise to create, build, and market brand-new products. After a trade show presentation to industry leaders, faculty, and peers, Ana’s team Aquora took home the Sarah Murphy Prize.
Ana credits Stamps and Taubman faculty and staff members, including John Marshall, Lonny Marino, Kelly Agius, Carly Lowe, Ken Kalchik, Yohairo Lomeli, Lars Junghans, Stephanie and Bruce Tharp, Niki Azevedo Fairchild, Sophia Brueckner, and Kate Rubin, for their support in helping to shape her creative direction.
Beyond the classroom, Ana’s artistic growth has expanded through experiences such as working as a studio assistant to Machine Dazzle, studying abroad in Copenhagen, and completing an Art/Sci residency with Professor Mark Moldwin.
Ana is also part of the newly formed U‑M IDSA student chapter, where industrial design-focused peers share ideas and community, and a proud member of the Michigan Marching Band, where she’s played trombone for three years.
“I absolutely love it. I’ve made so many friends and have so much fun being part of such a renowned band and such a big, collaborative group working together.”
As Ana prepares to graduate, she hopes to land a job that allows her to continue creating and learning while exploring new techniques, materials, and ways of bringing playful, reactive design to life.
Ana’s advice to students just starting their Stamps journey? “Explore for a year with all your might, become friends with all the studio assistants, and always be thinking ‘how can I use this’ and then hone in — but learn new things every semester!”