Digital Design - with Pualena Pakele & Cabot

Creative Natives HI
May 31, 2021
3 min read

#theCNP Ep. 002

Pualena Pakele & Cabot

Pualena Digital Design

The Creative Natives Podcast, Ep. 002

LISTEN on Anchor.fm

WATCH on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2svhm0O8sI

Honolulu, HI (CNHI) - Kaimuki native Pualena Pakele & Cabot is a designer who creates digital spaces and graphics for small business owners looking to expand and scale their business. She makes the typical business meeting fun and exciting with her bubbly personality, yet brings in a lot of valuable knowledge and professionalism. From full-scale websites to branding and logo design, Pua offers an array of quality services to help you and your business grow and thrive in the wake of a rapidly evolving marketing industry.

I met Pua while working with a local, non-profit, Mana Maoli where our relationship started off as a virtual one. I was fortunate to finally meet her in person a few times at our professional development workshops and have been honored to watch her grace our jam sessions with her lovely hula. Since going full-time with her business, I was eager to learn more. Keep reading to get to know about what Pua is all about!

"...I’ve since traded my colored pencils for a laptop, but my obsession with creating has never faded. As I learned to express my creativity across digital platforms, I fell even more in love with the limitless and ever-evolving graphic design tools at our fingertips. Like many of my creative friends, colleagues, and clients, I just can’t stop creating. Now, I get to funnel my creativity, love for digital design, and relentless perfectionism into projects to support fellow creative dreamers and doers..." (Pualena.com)

Q: [Where do you get your bubbly personality from?]

A: "I don’t really know, actually. Everything excites me. I used to try to separate my bubbliness from my professional life. It’s important to be your own boss and having when you own a business; you are your business. What makes this fun is being myself and attracting people through my bubbly personality."

Q: [What process do you go through when you're trying to create an identity for your clients?]

A: "There’s a responsibility in being a designer and taking on these people’s identity to produce digital spaces that are in alignment with who they are. It takes anywhere from one to three months to really take a website from start to finish. It sounds like a long time, and it’s a process, but in that period of time, people will evolve. Who they were when they started working with me is oftentimes not who they are by the time we’re done."

Q: [How do you manage your time as a freelancer and business owner?]

A: "Execution and consistency have never become a habit for me. I have to intentionally practice this every day, I like to cruise, but a big part of my personality is that I am an insane perfectionist."

Q: [Do you ever struggle with creative blocks? If so, how do you deal with them?]

A: “It’s just a matter of creating a space for me to flounder around in until I get back in the flow. There’s a lot of science behind changing your physical environment to spark creativity.”

Q: [What does the term "creative native" mean to you?]

A: “Don’t take advice as an out to not make your own mistakes. My greatest teacher was all of my failures. Take action and fail as much as you possibly can. Don’t let the fear of something not working stop you from doing it, regardless of what it is.”