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Aloha nui friends,

This year as we celebrate our 5th anniversary we reflect back on all the things we've done. Since 2015, our team has been busy supporting big and small projects, working late nights, catching early morning flights, hosting lunch meetings and attending pau hana mixers. Along the way, we made new friends, developed partnerships and connected communities throughout our islands. A big mahalo to those of you who have been with us from the start and for those who joined our journey along the way. We are so fortunate to call you ʻohana!

Join us as we take a trip down memory lane to celebrate some of our DTL milestones and accomplishments over the past five years.

DTL– pronounced detail because we take care of your big and small needs– was started in Kakaʻako by a hui of local dreamers (including Mālia and Jason) believed DTL could strengthen the connection between community and culture. Through planning, communications, strategy and design, DTL was created to re-imagine the consulting world and build exciting opportunities to showcase the ingenuity, creativity and beauty of our islands and people.

We started off as a lean and mean team, but with a lot of encouragement from our kuaʻana (elder sibling) WCIT Architecture, DTL helped recount the history of Waikīkī and her people at the newly renovated International Market Place in Waikīkī. Through cultural integration, programming and design that prioritized Hawaiian culture and history, thousands of malihini (visitors) and kamaʻāina (locals) have experienced the beauty of Waikīkī as they walked throughout the common area space at the International Market Place.

Thanks to partnerships with Kamehameha Schools (KS) and Maui Brewing Company, our design team was very busy in 2017. We had the honor of rethinking the KS Annual Report and turned the number-rich document into a colorful illustration with a never before digital augmentation that allowed readers to also turn their photos into videos to supplement the words on paper (which were also translated into Hawaiian for the first time ever!). Numbers turned to food as we designed menus and materials for the opening of Maui Brewing Co.’s first O‘ahu restaurant.

From urban Honolulu to the waters of Waimea Valley, O‘ahu, this year was focused on event planning. We met countless community members at farmers markets and open houses who shared their treasured memories and experiences of the Neil S. Blaisdell Center, which included the development of the Blaisdell Master Plan. This year we also assisted with the sponsorship and opening ceremonies for the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. Working closely with the Aikau ʻohana, we honored Eddie’s legacy and his work to promote and share the Hawaiian tradition of surfing with the world.

In 2019, our work was all about creating strategic plans. We worked with the Oʻahu Metropolitan Planning Organization to hold meetings across Oʻahu to learn more about the transportation needs of our communities. We assisted the Board of Directors of the Kapolei Community Development Corporation to create a plan that would benefit generations of Department of Hawaiian Home Land beneficiaries in the Kapolei region. That same year we also worked with the County of Maui and a committee of community members to develop the Baldwin Beach Park Master Plan.

We kicked off our 5th year with a commitment to “Kulia I ka Nuʻu” (Strive for the Summit). Our team was challenged to create excellence in our work and communities. So when we began to work from home in mid-March we wanted to make the best of the situation and ilicit positivity and hope. As a result, Actions of Aloha was born and encouraged love, compassion and kindness in our communities. Originally started as a social media challenge, Actions of Aloha has expanded to include a series of card decks that promote connections and community through acts of aloha.

Community News

DTL is proud to partner with dozens of community organizations throughout our pae ʻāina. Approximatly 20% of our time is utilized to provide in-kind kōkua to support our communities and the work that they do to uplift our people. Here are a few of the community partners we’d like to feature:

Re-use Hawaii

Started by a group of Kamehameha alumni, Helu Kanaka is a call to all Native Hawaiians to participate in the 2020 Census. Thousands of dollars are allocated year to support funding for Native Hawaiian programs and services.

It’s not too late to be counted! For more info on how to participate in the census go to 2020ce n sus.gov.