BEHIND THE SCENES
Supporting the Next Generation
One of our favorite things to do at Stacey Leong Design is support the local design community and help up-and-coming graphic designers with their future careers. We truly believe in giving back and making time to inspire the next generation of creatives. After more than 25 years in the business, we look forward to opportunities of sharing our experience and knowledge with local students interested in pursuing careers in graphic design, marketing, and communications.
Over the past several years, I’ve been invited to speak with Dr. Vera Zambonelli’s creative media class at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu in Kapolei. Dr. Zambonelli is an Emmy™ award-winning filmmaker, educator, researcher, and founder of Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking, an organization that promotes gender equity in the film industry. She teaches her class of content creators and artists about the legal landscape of the creative industry and about the licensing and use of existing and commissioned content.
I look forward to speaking with Dr. Zambonelli’s students whenever I can, and I always come away inspired by the students and their passion for design excellence. The class also gives me an opportunity to reaffirm some of the major tenets we live by at Stacey Leong Design. The advice I offer to the students are things I’ve learned over the past 20 years and values we live by every day at SLD. Some things I’ve shared with Dr. Zambonelli’s students are:
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”
We work hard every day to listen to our clients more and talk less. Taking the time to really listen and reflect on what we’ve heard allows us the opportunity to truly understand our clients’ goals and more effectively determine creative solutions that directly address their needs.
“Don’t half ass it, Always use your full ass.”
At SLD, we put 100% effort into everything we do. We never want to have regrets and the only way to do this is to put forth our best effort for every project. We treat our clients’ needs as our own and make it a personal responsibility to give everything we’ve got.
“Stay simple. Stay true.”
We don’t use every tool in the box for every project on purpose. To create a visually interesting design that shares a clear and compelling message, we focus on what is most important and make sure that message emotionally resonates with the primary audience and directly aligns with our clients’ core values.
“Never stop learning.”
Actively seeking opportunities to learn and grow allows us to continue to be inspired and maintain our passion for innovative, creative work. One of our favorite parts of finding opportunities to learn is meeting new people in the process and becoming inspired by their work and expertise.
“Use your creativity to do better for society.”
Using our creativity for the benefit of society has made our lives meaningful and fulfilling. At SLD, we love using our skills to make the world a better place. It sounds corny, yes, but over the years we’ve learned that it’s not corny at all. It’s why we do what we do and why we constantly choose projects that allow us to say at the end of the day that what we did helped people. It allows us to say that what we did, mattered.
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Student Reflections
The first thing I remember from Stacey is her definition of graphic design and how it is about sending a message and the process is a lot of it is creative problem solving. Another piece of advice that stood out would be to stay as simple as possible and that messages become easier to understand when you stay simple. As a creative, sometimes we feel that our work is underappreciated or that it doesn’t feel like we have any sort of influence. However, Stacey brought up the idea that as creatives we have a “social responsibility.” We can make a difference with our work especially if we share it with others. I learned a lot from her presentation and appreciate her taking the time to present and answer our questions.
— Brandon
I am so happy that Stacey Leong was a guest speaker for our class. Seeing her work and what she produces is so inspiring! Aside from graphic design, I could relate to Stacey on a cultural level as well. As a Native Hawaiian, being deeply rooted in my culture has a big impact on what I create and how I go about creating it. Seeing how Stacey uses her own roots in her professional work is something that I hope to do one day. One thing that stood out to me the most during her presentation was when she spoke about her experiences working at an advertising agency and how it is much different from a traditional graphic design job. As a student who is double majoring in Marketing and Creative Media, this was very enlightening to know. I am happy Stacey was able to speak to us and her words will definitely stick with me wherever I go.
— Lea
Stacey Leong’s visit was inspiring as it provided me with a new perspective on being a successful creative professional in the field of Graphic Design and how to implement those skills for Hawaii-based clients.
— Andrew
I really liked her saying on making a difference: “I think creatives have a social responsibility…you should always try to use your creativity to do better for society…Work for a cause, not appease. Live to express, not impress.” Sometimes, I fear that my passion for creating will be overshadowed by doing whatever to make ends’ meet. When that was brought up during the Q&A, she said that it’s just a fear and to remember what you truly love doing. I think it’s amazing how she was able break away and take on projects that have cultural significance. What makes her brand so successful is her authenticity, passion, and commitment to doing projects with purpose.
— Kevin
After the discussion with Stacey Leong, once again I felt inspired by her work and how she was able to collaborate with so many different individuals and companies to create their visions. It’s refreshing to see someone successful who didn’t have to leave their home state and it was cool that she actually got to experience being on the Hokuleʻa.
— Jade
On Monday we were visited by Stacey Leong who owned her own graphic design company. It was interesting learning about her background and hearing how she originally wanted to be a marine biologist. Hearing what it took to become a graphic designer back in the day was interesting in how they had to get accepted into the program because there wasn’t enough of a demand for work in that field. How she worked with all these companies and one of the biggest graphic designers on the island was interesting to hear.
— Jonathan
My favorite quote that she showed was “Don’t half ass anything. Always use your full ass”. I really liked this quote because it was direct and honest. Stacey talked about how many times, we say that we will go back to a project and better it for our portfolio. But, we most likely won’t. This is why it is important to work hard and put your all into your design projects, especially if you want them on your portfolio.
— Karen
Stacey was very personable and a well of knowledge. It was wonderful to hear about her path from youth to business owner. It is always nice to see locals not just excelling, but really holding a positive place in the business world in Hawaiʻi. I did look through her website and must say that the work they do is amazing. On a more personal level I really like that she is able to incorporate so much of the Kanaka culture into her work and that focuses on the Kanaka culture. There is so much of my ancestor’s culture to share, and as long as it is not becoming just a commodity, I feel that it can be used positively.
— Tris
Stacey has been inspirational in her message today that I can live by especially when I start getting into my career in art. She’s someone who has to work on multiple projects for clients and all are expecting the best from her. The lesson I learned from her was the duality of simplistic but whole in commitment to your work.
— David
Stacey Leong is an example of someone from Hawaiʻi who can become successful. Although Stacey’s accomplishments in design are impressive, what impressed me the most was her view on work ethics. Thank you, Stacey, for your words of knowledge and inspiration. I shall apply your mentality for my ambitions in life.
— Sean
I really enjoyed listening to Stacey’s story about how she came to be a graphic designer. I liked that she talked about how she was a lazy student in high school. Stacey was honest about that because it was something I could relate too as well. I also liked that she talked about how she discovered graphic design and didn’t even know it was a career choice. It was cool to hear about how her mom was the one that kind of helped her to figure out what she ended up being later on. What I took away from Stacey’s story was that do what makes you happy. You might be hesitant about it at first but don’t let that stop you. Don’t be afraid to discover new things in life.
— Sage
I was inspired by Stacey’s story and can relate to having big goals for my career but having to take small, practical steps. Seeing her success reassures me that I can achieve those big goals even if I need to take the small steps and take the opportunities that are right in front of me. In Hawaiʻi, we are often taught to be humble. Stacey mentioned that we need to be humble in the sense that we should listen well and improve on the job, but when looking for a job or internship, it’s important to be impressive and show what you can do.
— Jonah
Listening to Stacey Leong’s talk was very interesting and informative. The point that stood out the most for me during her talk was the information that she gave on what it is like to find a client and keep them. It really made me realize how many different hats a business owner needs to wear and perfect in order to stay in business. Along with doing the actual creative work, a business owner may also need to search for clients, build positive relationships with them, and communicate effectively from casual phone calls to business contracts with clients in order to make sure that they have a good experience. Altogether I thought that Stacey’s conversation was really helpful to know more about the day-to-day of someone who owns a successful business in this specific creative field, especially from someone who not only works with clients but also has some employees, partners, and interns as well.
— Seve
Stacey Leong’s presentation was truly valuable to watch. As she stated, I not only learned business/creative professional insights but also life lessons that I can surely use in my day-to-day living. One of the clearest points made during Stacey’s presentation was having to work hard and work your way up. She stated that she was and still is constantly learning. I liked her advice of “listen, take notes, and take instructions well.” Hearing that, I definitely will strive to be humbled and continue to work hard on my craft.
— Kaui
I appreciated Stacey Leong’s time with us, sharing her journey as a graphic designer. As I grew to appreciate designing, I found her story intriguing. What I found most interesting from her visit was her origin story. The message I got from her journey was that it’s never too late to figure out what you want to do and that life has a way of making unexpected things happen.
— Latisha