Why this archive exists.

In my early twenties, while facing the loss of my mother—who happened to be the first creative I ever knew—I began thinking about what happens to a lifetime of creative work when there is no place built to preserve it.

My mom was an educator by profession, but in her spare moments, she drew, painted, carved and made things with her hands. At the time, I had no meaningful way to preserve the full story of her creative life. That absence left me with a lasting desire to protect the evidence of making: the work itself, the evolution behind it, and the life it records.

This website is roughly my third or fourth attempt at preserving my own 'record'. Previous versions of it include bulky PDFs that were way too large to email or share efficiently. It took me quite sometime to figure out how to document and share what I regard as my life's work. But here I am, finally, after a full decade of my life as a Graphic Designer began, figuring it out.

I like to imagine this collection as some version of the Library of Alexandria for graphic design: a place where I can publish my life's work and create space for other creatives to do the same. For now, I've figured out the 'my life's work' aspect of things - for the future, I hope to welcome other creatives to join me in preserving their legacies as well.

For the present moment, The Complete Works documents more than a decade of my own practice—not only the finished designs, but the movement of a creative life through time. Each posting here means more than just work to me, and represented more than just a job at the time of its completion. It's the story of my life, its moments, challenges and triumphs, as told through the projects I completed along way. Every visual here is a timestamp in my own memory, posted here for your viewing pleasure.

Because after a long trek through the industry, one important lesson that I've learnt is that preservation truly is power.

- Joy