I have worked with a lot of graphic designers during my career—27 years as an editor with The Honolulu Advertiser, followed by a decade as head of Corporate Communications at First Hawaiian Bank and another 12 years as an independent contractor responsible for overseeing preparation of the bank’s annual reports. Since 2009, Stacey Leong, Karyn Lau and the team at Stacey Leong Design have worked with me to produce those reports. Stacey also handled design of Yes! — The Memoir of Walter Dods Jr. which I co-authored. I have never regretted hiring Stacey.

She and her company are professional, creative, proactive and timely. She listens to the client and understands his goals and audience at the front end of every project. She speaks her mind when she thinks a client is heading down the wrong path but, in the end, she knows the client is the boss. She meets deadlines and keeps costs within agreed-upon limits.