Spirit of Aloha | Message of Aloha | September/October 2002

This Place

A Design with Aloha

Customer service agent David Ota's prize-winning design expresses what "spread a little aloha" means to him

Spread a little aloha. Many of you have heard this phrase on the radio and on television, in the Hoku award-winning song by the popular Mana'o Company. The catchy tune is also the Aloha Airlines theme song, heard in our television and radio commercials, and the phrase, spread a little aloha, is a familiar presence in our print ads. It's difficult to forget the song once you have heard it. It resonates in the mind and in the heart, recalling kindnesses, grand and small, that you have received, given, or can offer in the days ahead.

We feel that spread a little aloha is a way of life that defines Hawai'i. Perhaps that is why the phrase is so evocative. When our Aloha Airlines employees suggested a company-wide design contest to express what spread a little aloha means to them, we created a contest and issued a call for designs. The response was impressive.

David Ota, customer service agent in Aloha Airlines' cargo department, won from among close to 50 entries. In his design, an open garland of plumeria blossoms depicts the essence of the Islands-a flower lei-and several of the flowers represent Aloha Airlines destinations. The lei was left open to suggest not only the future destinations of our expanding airline, but also the boundlessness of aloha, the open-ended graciousness that the word implies.

Three prominent Honolulu designers served as judges. Guy Tom of The Ad Guy, a veteran of 17 years in art and creative direction, brought his award-winning sensibilities to the task. Chuck Painter has won more than 50 national and international awards. And from the design firm Hirasaki Nakagawa Inc. came the seasoned eye of Craig Hirasaki.
"My original idea was to have a plumeria lei on a flat surface," explained contest winner Ota. "And then I thought that if I left the lei open at the end, it would leave open many possibilities." Ota, who was a graphic arts major at the University of Hawai'i (later switching to photography), feels that his ideas are his strongest asset, and that computers have enabled him to do more as an artist. His "Spread a Little Aloha" design was printed on T-shirts worn by Aloha Airlines employees in the American Heart Association Heart Walk last month and will be used in other Aloha promotions.

David and his wife, Wendy, make their own greeting cards, melding their imagination and crafts with the wonders of their home computer. For the first birthday party of their 3-year-old son, Noah, the Otas designed, hand-cut, stamped, printed and embossed 250 invitations, envelopes and return cards.

At work in the cargo department, David, an Aloha employee of 11 years, appreciates the friendships formed through longtime, consistent service with loyal customers. "On the airport side, you see a lot of new faces," he noted. "On the cargo side, we often work with the same people, so we develop some friendships. We have a lot of regulars, like the truck drivers and the flower and fish people, who come just about every day."

For his design, David won two round-trip tickets to Burbank, Calif., one of Aloha's new routes, and admission to Universal Studios. Imagine what that will be like for young Noah, who will be a young new ambassador in spreading a little aloha.

Glenn R. Zander
President and Chief Executive Officer, Aloha Airlines

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