In My Father’s Words

Overview

Turning my dad’s poems into something our family can keep returning to

Những Bài Thơ Của Bố means Dad’s Poems.

I designed and built this digital poetry book to preserve my dad’s Vietnamese poems, his voice, and the stories behind them. His writing captures family, faith, war, displacement, loss, and finding home again.

More than anything, this project was my way of saying thank you.

The Problem

Some stories become harder to pass down with every generation

I can speak Vietnamese, but poetry carries layers of meaning that are difficult to translate.

I found myself wondering what would happen one day when my future children—or their children—could no longer understand the language my dad wrote in.

A printed book could preserve his poems, but it couldn’t preserve his voice. And it felt too final for someone who’s still writing.

Visual Direction

Design something that feels inherited, not designed

I drew inspiration from old Vietnamese letters, family photographs, worn passports, handwritten notes, and weathered journals.

Every detail—from the aged paper and vintage red cover to the page-turning interaction—was designed to make the experience feel timeless, intimate, and deeply personal.

Impact

A small project that became one of my most meaningful

The final experience brings together bilingual poetry, audio recordings, page-turning interactions, and a living archive that can continue growing with my dad’s writing.

It also became a reminder that AI can accelerate the building process—but the heart of a product still comes from human taste, intention, and care.

Reflection

Some projects solve business problems. This one preserved something I’ll never get back.

Building this reminded me that the products we remember most aren’t always the biggest ones.

Sometimes they’re simply the ones built with the most love.

Built with love for Bố ❤️