Illustration & Short Films / Never-Ending Thoughts, Jack & the Beanstalk, and Support Taiwan.

As a designer, I see design as a disciplined form of art that requires two-way communication. Unlike pure art, which allows for raw, free, one-way emotional outpouring, design demands clear communication. I seize every opportunity to infuse something special and intentional into the smallest elements of my design.

Both paths—design and art—are fueled by the same unrelenting passion. Here are glimpses into some of my experimental projects.

Case Study 001 / Short Film Animation

Support Taiwan

Taiwan is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous human cultures, with archaeological evidence stretching back more than 30,000 years. Today, Taiwan stands as a vibrant, democratic society of 23 million people.

Yet Taiwan faces an existential challenge that receives far too little global attention: Communist China claims Taiwan as its territory while pursuing aggressive military, economic, and diplomatic pressure. This includes near-daily airspace incursions, large-scale military exercises simulating invasion, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and threats of force. Despite Taiwan’s strategically critical geopolitical location, many people worldwide are unaware of the daily threats faced by Taiwanese citizens, and how Taiwan is the first line of defence when it comes to Communist China’s superpower.

As a Taiwanese creator, I made this short animation to change that. Animation is one of the most powerful, accessible, and shareable mediums—capable of cutting through complexity, reaching hearts across language barriers, and sparking curiosity. My goal was simple but urgent: to raise awareness of the very real threat Taiwan faces today, to honor the resilience of my 23 million compatriots, and to inspire viewers to learn more, seek the truth, and stand in solidarity with a people who refuse to be erased. I hope this animation moves you to share it, to ask questions, and to remember: when a small island stands up for democracy under threat, the whole world has a stake in its survival.

Case Study 002 / Illustration Log Scroll

Never-Ending Thoughts

This project captures my philosophy of thought: a ceaseless, interconnected flow where one idea sparks the next, never truly stopping until the day I die. It's like the red line tracing across a detector's whiteboard—each moment, event, or trigger becomes a red dot, linking to others to form an ever-expanding web of thoughts. This web has its own organic rhythm and logic; it may seem chaotic in the moment, but over time, patterns emerge, and everything begins to make sense.

To bring this abstract process into tangible form, I created a long, continuous scroll drawn on translucent vellum. The scroll is a real-time log of my mind in motion: a stream of illustrations captured at the exact moment inspiration struck. Triggers could be as mundane as a weather forecast or as deep as my fleeting fear about existence in the world. Each drawing flows seamlessly into the next, forming an unbroken visual narrative of inner dialogue.

Case Study 003 / Fairy-Tale Inspired Short Animation

I’ve always been a natural questioner—someone who refuses to accept things at face value. When an event is presented, I seek context, analyze the source information, and imagine different probable outcomes

As a child, I still loved imagining myself as the twirling princess in a glittering gown, surrounded by elves and prince charmings, but more often I found myself pausing on the shadows: Why are the monsters drawn so monstrous? What made them “evil”? Were they truly wicked, or were they simply labeled that way because society found them unpleasant, different, or inconvenient?

Take the classic story “Jack and the Beanstalk.” On the surface, it’s a classic triumph of the clever underdog. However, Jack trades the family’s last cow—the only thing keeping him and his mother alive—for three magic beans. That decision alone is disastrous, causing his mother to hurl the beans out the window. Overnight, they sprout into a towering stalk that pierces the clouds.

Jack climbs it, enters the giant’s castle uninvited, steals gold, a hen that lays golden eggs, and a singing harp—then flees as the giant pursues him. In the end, Jack chops down the stalk, killing the giant who falls to his death.

Jack & the Beanstalk

The story celebrates Jack as the hero. Is he the hero? And why is the giant the villain?

The giant lives alone at the top of the world, and he never invades Jack and his mother’s home. Jack chose to trespass, steal, and repeatedly plunder.

The giant is portrayed as greedy and terrifying, yet Jack is the one who initiates the theft and destruction. The mother’s anger is understandable, but her decision to discard the beans sets the whole chain in motion. And society? It applauds the thief who kills the homeowner and walks away rich.

Who gets to decide what “evil” looks like? Who benefits from the story being told this way? What happens when we flip the perspective and question the so-called hero?

That instinct—to question, to reframe, to look beyond the surface moral—has shaped how I see stories, people, systems, and the world ever since. It may have earned me the label of “annoying” as a child, but it also taught me that truth rarely lives on the glossy page. It hides in the margins, in the unsaid, in the inconvenient details we’re encouraged not to notice.

Case Study 004 / Experimental Book

The Egg Book

This book shows a chick’s life inside an egg, which became the perfect metaphor for my early days in San Francisco. As a gullible young woman fresh off the plane in the United States, I rented a single bedroom in a historic Victorian house while attending the California College of Arts and Crafts. My hexagonal room, adorned with intricate ceiling motifs, felt strangely foreign yet eerily beautiful. I was terrified, but also electrified by whatever the future might hold.