Welcome, friend.

I’m Joanna, an artist, writer, and deep thinker. When I realized the power of the messages I focused on to change the trajectory of not just my day, but my life, I knew I had to share it. At Words of Hope Designs, that simple goal shapes everything I do—I want to fill the world with messages that bring hope.

I have always been fascinated by handwriting. When I was five or six years old, I remember wanting my mom to write my name on my belongings, even though I knew how to write, because her handwriting, a tidy looping cursive, gave every item that extra special touch. Her handwriting conveyed her love and gave me a sense of security.

I started playing around with different styles of writing in grade school, decorating the margins of my notebooks with bubble letters and block letters, and mimicking different fonts produced by computers. It was fun, and helped me stay engaged during boring classes. This would continue through high school, college, and medical school, where the main way I learned the vast quantities of information required of me was by writing it out, again and again.

I joined the U.S. Army just before enrolling in medical school, and went on to complete a residency in General Surgery as well as additional training in Burn Surgery. As you can imagine, I saw my fair share of hardship, loss, and tragedy during this part of my career. When the losses began to hit closer to home and my world began to feel out of control, I leaned back into the calming art of hand lettering that I had begun at a rudimentary level so many years earlier. I realized just how much impact the practice of hand lettering had in my own life. Writing out the messages I wanted to focus on and then having them around my home and work space as visual reminders kept me grounded and focused on taking the next step, and gave me hope for the future.

In 2021, with my military service obligation complete, I separated not only from the Army but from a career in clinical medicine. I founded Words of Hope Designs and began sharing my art with the world. I am honored to share this journey with you and invite you to discover the power of words of hope.