As students consider college majors, some put their passions aside for a major that has better potential for a reliable paycheck and steady employment.
For Lokahi Lunn ’11, passion won out, and Ƶ showed him that passion and a steady income do not have to be mutually exclusive.
When he arrived at Pacific as a freshman, he started out pursuing a degree in kinesiology. Then he tried out business. In the end, neither subject held his interest like art did.
“Finally I was like, ‘Man, I’ve gotta do art.’ That’s really what I wanted to do,” Lunn said. “Once I did that, I believe late in my sophomore year, college ended up being a lot more fun, a lot more interesting.”
Art was Lunn’s passion. It was also his way to find his place in the family’s business.
Since graduating in 2011, Lunn has been a graphic designer for , an apparel company founded in 1985 by his mother, Danene, specializing in Hawaiian-themed designs. Today, Lunn and his mother are the primary design team for the company, which sells apparel in two stores on Oʻahu and online.
Lunn admits it was a scary decision to follow his passion for art instead of a major that had a better track record of paying the bills. Pacific not only encouraged his decision, he said, but showed how art can be a fulfilling career both for the soul and the pocketbook.
“My advisor, (professor emeritus of art) Jan Shield, played a big role,” Lunn said. “After telling him about my family business, he helped me to not just focus artistically on one item, but also make it a product. He asked, ‘If you design something, how can you design it for a product for hundreds of people?’ It wasn’t just focused on one art piece. It was really eye-opening.”
The experience helped shape the way that Lunn would be able to make art into his full-time profession. For starters, it was about framing his purpose. As an artist, he said, you design for yourself more than anything else. As a graphic designer, you design for a larger audience. It was a lesson that Shield taught Lunn through mentorship on his senior capstone, where he created designs for a variety of items.
“I did shoes, I did hats. I did a couple of mats, stuff like that,” Lunn said. “I did a lot of artwork on blank products to try and turn them into something to sell. I was into more tattoo-style stuff back then, so that’s what I focused on.
“You’ve got to find a good blend of an artist and a designer, and that’s what I try to do.”
Following His Passion
“Part of college is all about finding yourself and discovering what your true purpose in life is. I tried the business route. I tried exercise science, and they weren’t for me. I had to follow what I wanted to do.”
— Lokahi Lunn '11
While sitting at the computer, designing for ѲԳܳʻ, Lunn treats art as an occupation. He can’t wait for inspiration to strike him. He looks at what is out there and gets to work creating concepts that could appeal to customers. Lunn estimates that for every design that makes it to a fabric print, there are five to 10 versions that don’t.
When he needs inspiration, Lunn doesn’t have to look far. “My mom is the main one coming up with our color schemes, and she seems to be a genius sometimes,” he said. “I just try to learn from that.
“Our main inspiration is really everything around Hawaiʻi and Hawaiʻi’s culture,” he added. “We try to stay, as a business, in tune with what the major fashion brands do, but we do take risks in our color schemes. And I think that’s probably what helps us stand apart.”
Outside of the art studios, Lunn experienced the exceptional support that Pacific not only provides all of its students, but specifically students from Hawaiʻi. Attending college so far from home can be challenging, he said, but Pacific makes it easier.
“A lot of people from Hawaiʻi can get homesick pretty quickly. But with a student body that has a lot of students from Hawaiʻi, it’s more comfortable,” Lunn said. “There is a big Hawaiʻi presence, but it is far enough away where you can grow.
“And if you can stand the rain for a little while,” he chuckles, “it’s a really good place.”
Lunn’s advice for current students is to try everything. For art majors, that means trying every medium: printmaking, watercolor, drawing and sketching. A wide breadth of experiences has made him a better graphic designer.
More broadly, that means being open to the possibilities. You never know where the light of education might lead you.
“Part of college is all about finding yourself and discovering what your true purpose in life is. I tried the business route. I tried exercise science, and they weren’t for me. I had to follow what I wanted to do.”