As Department Chair of Otis College’s Game Design department, industry veteran and educator, Joffery Black transforms student outcomes with his student-centered and mission-driven focus. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Black earned a BFA in Digital Arts from Arizona State University; he also holds an MS in Digital Marketing from Full Sail University in Florida. He spent over eight years at Heavy Iron Studios, working on games based on such popular IP as Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Square Pants and Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles.
In the industry, he has worked as a modeler, texture artist, lighter, and illustrator in games, feature development, and animation. More recently, he expanded his background to include augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), including at Spaces, a VR startup that was acquired by Apple in 2020. A vocal advocate for his industry, Black also has hosted and/or moderated live events on topics including gaming and AR/VR for companies like Meta and Epic Games. As an educator, Black helped build and lead the Animation and VFX programs at the Los Angeles Film School, preparing students for careers in animation, VFX, and game-related industries.