Department Administration
Brendan Griffiths
Department Chair
bgriffiths@otis.edu
Brendan Griffiths is a graphic designer, programmer, and educator living and working in Los Angeles. He is a partner in the design practice ZUT ALORS! where he's worked with a broad range of clients including Bloomberg, Creative Time, Deitch Projects, The New York Times, Condé Nast, Performa, The City of New York, Print Magazine, Socrates Sculpture Park, and Johnson & Johnson among others. He has been teaching graphic and interaction design since 2012 and currently serves as Chair of Graphic Design and Illustration at Otis College of Art and Design. Prior to joining Otis, he was an Assistant Professor of Interaction Design at Parsons School of Design in New York where he was also the founding director of their Master of Professional Studies in Communication Design program. He has also led workshops and served as a visiting critic at Yale University, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Pratt Institute, and Harvard Graduate School of Design, and has served on the board of directors of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York. He holds a BFA in Multimedia Design from the University of Oregon and an MFA in Graphic Design from the Yale School of Art. Disorders.
Hazel Mandujano
Assistant Department Chair
hmandujano@otis.edu
Hazel Mandujano is a Los Angeles artist and designer. She received from Otis College both a BFA in Fine Arts and an MFA in Graphic Design, graduating as a member of the first MFA Graphic Design cohort at Otis. In 2015, she co-founded mandujano/cell with her partner, the artist Juan Capistran. At mandujano/cell, Hazel and Juan published artist books and catalogs and curated 16 exhibitions both nationally and internationally, with a focus on exhibitions by BIPOC artists. Hazel has led publicly accessible workshops for Big City Forum, Talleres Publicos, Cal State Dominguez Hills Praxis Program, Museum of Latin American Art, Orange County Museum of Art, and Slanguage, and has taught design courses and workshops at Otis, Cal State L.A., and Cal Arts.
Riah Buchanan
Director of MFA Graphic Design and Associate Professor
buchanan@otis.edu
A part-time faculty member serving at Otis for over 10 years, Riah Buchanan teaches BFA and MFA Graphic Design students in both studio and theory seminars, and brings extensive teaching experience in UX/UI, experimentational media and technology, and branding to the department. She holds an MFA in 2D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and is pursuing a PhD from the Center of Digital Art and Experimental Media at the University of Washington. Her previous experience includes working at the American Civil Liberties Union and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.