Twenty years ago, Stacey Leong Design opened its doors. And from the beginning, we have been incredibly blessed. Every day, for 20 years, we have worked with a profound sense of pride and purpose to serve our community.
We love what we do and our passion runs strong after 20 years of doing business in Hawai‘i, for Hawai‘i. To our incredible clients, contributors, family and friends, a heartfelt thank you for your 20 years of dedication, trust and partnership. We are eternally grateful. E holomua kākou with love and intention for the next 20 years and beyond!
Enjoy these photo galleries of behind-the-scenes photos and a collection of past works throughout the years.
As I write this, it has only been a week since the wildfires ripped through the sleepy towns of Lāhainā, Kula, Olinda and Kīhei. Since then, I have had trouble sleeping. As more stories unfold of that horrific night, I find myself obsessing over what happened and of the welfare of the survivors.
Many know, some may not… but I am a product of that island. I grew up in Upcountry, Makawao. I am a Maui girl. The flattening of an entire town and the mass loss of lives on the island that I still consider home hurts in a way that is difficult to put into words.
The one thing that I cling to is being “Maui Strong.” Maui people can be characterized as warm, friendly, loving and at the same time we can be tough, rough around the edges, gritty with a quiet resilience that is ingrained from childhood. It is also a way of taking care of others even when you are facing hardships yourself. It is the kind of mentality that doesn’t allow self-pity or wallowing. It is the automatic, all hands on deck kind of thinking that binds the community together. And that is what we all witnessed as the people of Maui took matters into their own hands. They were doing what they were innately taught to do.
There is a strong desire to help my home island during this difficult time. Like many, I have sent donations to specific families in need rather than taking them to mass donation sites. Sending requested supplies via cargo to ‘ohana seems the best way to quickly fulfill their immediate needs. But, let’s be realistic, it is going to take years to rebuild Lāhainā and in the meantime, so many people need immediate help. I realize that many of you may not have family or know people on Maui that have been displaced and would still like to help in some way. I urge you to please donate to either:
As a thank you from SLD for donating, we will send anyone who donates to either or both of these funds our “Maui Strong” sticker (until we run out). Please email me your mailing address and proof of donation for one or both of the mentioned funds (receipt) and we will mail your sticker at no charge.
Me ka mahalo nui, Stacey sll@staceyleong.com
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The Maui Fire Store is operated by active Maui Fire Department Fire Fighters and this fund is approved by MFD. The donations received are used to help their affected fire and other first responder families’ needs. Each family has different needs and they are working with each family individually to provide for them. They are proud and humbled by the amount of support they have received thus far.
Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners at this year’s award show held at the Hawai‘i Theatre on July 1, 2023. SLD has been proudly designing for the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) since 2007!
Through the years, weʻve had the great opportunity of working with HARA—some of Hawai’i’s best recording artists, producers, song writers, recording engineers, musicians and contributors—all of them staunch supporters and volunteers of music here in the islands.
Each year, the organizers work their magic in such a compressed amount of time… we are always so impressed with their ability to produce such a great show that is broadcast live for the world to enjoy on TV and online.
Where does SLD come into play? We take the vision and theme of the show and design the program for the awards show! Itʻs so exciting to see all the nominated artists and honorees… but attending the show, seeing the artists and being surrounded by so much talent takes it over the edge! Itʻs like Hawai‘iʻs Grammy Awards! Everyone is dressed to impress—showcasing the best local fashions—and accessorized with pikake, ilima, pakalana or maile lei. Now the actual show… we are treated to the best island music and entertainment all throughout the night! Guarantee youʻll be moving to the beat after the first song.
A big mahalo to HARA and the board for being such gracious hosts and for putting on a show to remember!
We might not be known for creating Public Service Announcement Videos, but itʻs something we have experience in and have exercised over the years. Most recently, we were contracted by the State of Hawai‘i and the City & County of Honolulu to develop a series of PSAs that increase public awareness and understanding of special management area (SMA) and shoreline setback regulations. That was definitely easier said than done. This has been a very controversial topic over the years!
In our initial meeting with our client, we learned that there was a host of issues and public misconceptions about shoreline setbacks. We put on our trusty “problem-solving” hats and encouraged the client to get to the root of the matter. Using the same process when working on branding campaigns, we identified their target audience, issues and problems, and developed main message points and call to actions. It took our team a mere 2.5 hours. It needed to happen within that time, the parking meters were ticking! Those C&C parking attendants really have no mercy.
This project was eye-opening. I have never felt so depressed after an initial meeting. As they say, “Ignorance is bliss.” I didn’t know just how bad sea-level rise is. I mean, I have heard about it in simple terms… but it was never put into context and backed with data from leading experts in front of me. From that moment, our team felt a deep sense of purpose and responsibility to be as effective as we possibly could through our PSAs in hope that our communities in Hawai‘i will be informed about the inevitable decrease of our beaches due to sea-level rise.
Whenever delivering a message, I believe it has to be relatable, relative and have resonance with the audience. That meant assembling the right team to make this happen. From the start, longtime friend and expert copywriter Julie Funasaki was enlisted. Technical scriptwriting extraordinaire is something that she can now list on her long list of capabilities. Another longtime friend was roped in—Shawn Pimental of ‘Upena Production Network. A notable musician, producer and sound engineer, Shawn was crafty and pivoted many times over during the pandemic, creating a production company that collaborated with many in the video production industry. He introduced me to Bryson Hoe, Executive Director of ‘Ōiwi TV. My stress level instantly lowered now that I had a solid crew I could count on.
In storytelling, it’s not just the message being delivered thatʻs important, but who is delivering that message. Our team had a very short list of individuals that would be perfect for these PSAs. We felt deeply that these individuals needed to be recognizable, trustworthy, and exude mana. Lemme tell you, this was the most stressful part of the whole project… seeking and requesting these people that I had no prior contact with. With help from friends, I was able to connect with the incomparable Robert Cazimero and the captivating Paula Fuga. I have fan-girled over both of these artists for quite some time and was thrilled that they both had a sense of duty and urgency to participate in this project. After reading the scripts and background both Robert and Paula agreed that our message was one that needed to be heard.
One afternoon during my sunset walk with my son, I shared with him my latest project, how elated we were with the progress and of our new messengers. I told him we were actually missing one more voice… one that represents our future. He looked at me and asked, “You mean someone like me? Do you want me to do it? Because I know about sea-level rise…” Before agreeing to his volunteering, I made sure he realized he wouldn’t get paid and once he says he is gonna do something, he canʻt back out because a whole crew needs to be organized and assembled to shoot the scene. He vehemently agreed and I was happy. The client was happy, too. We had a wise man, an inspirational woman and a Kamehameha School sixth grader willing and ready.
Weeks of scriptwriting and copy editing were finally done. Then the arduous process of location selection and scouting and shoot planning. Shoots done in Hawai‘i are always so dicey… the weather is always the most unreliable crew member. For the most part, we were extremely lucky to have such great weather during the rainiest months of the year. Some shoots took longer as we had to wait out rain dumps and we were blessed with multiple rainbows that gave us the sign that everything was turning out perfectly.
We hope that you learn something from these PSAs. Please take time to share them with others whether they live near the shore or not.
Enjoy behind-the-scenes photos and a collection of past work through the years. Even we have a hard time believing two decades have gone by so quickly. It’s hard keeping track of all of Stacey’s hairstyles, too!
