A lifelong passion for drawing and painting led artist Joy Hanser to the Kootenay School of Art in 1980. After graduating with honours from the Graphic Design program, she moved to Abbotsford and started her own company, Joy Designs. While the first years were focused primarily on hand painted signs and graphic design, she has completed hundreds of large and small-scale commercial and residential projects since her tirst award winning mural at the Trimore Fun Arcade (Signs of the Times contest, January 1983 issue).