HOKU Design Group, founded by brand strategist KyAlea Monma, transforms client companies into cohesive, authentic brands that effortlessly attract customers, recreating the connection that they experience face-to-face with effective, impactful storytelling. With a singular, earnest dedication to the truth that success comes from recognition of one’s core message; and a mission to make her clients confident in the choices they make for their businesses, KyAlea strives to empower companies in their capacity to make a real impact in the lives of those that need them.
HOKU Design Group
Often, the founders that need its help find HOKU before HOKU finds them. Because of its clarity of expertise, story, and purpose, KyAlea finds that there is already a level of trust simply waiting to be built on when new clients approach her for a revamp.
On the other hand, when a business leader faces amazing connections with their real-life customer base but sees a disparity in their performance online, it points to a disconnect between the warmth clients feel with them in person and their business’ outward branding. What this hypothetical needs is to build a brand that works for them, rather than vice versa.
That’s where HOKU’s intensive yet startlingly efficient two-step process comes in. KyAlea starts with mapping her client’s Brand DNA Blueprint. She starts with a two-hour deep interview with a client to plot a faithful understanding of why the founder founded their business. Brand DNA Blueprints are a profile of a company’s story, which includes its mission, vision, core values, brand archetype, value propositions, and key messaging. The all-encompassing view of a HOKU Blueprint precisely positions clients within their industries, a perspective that sees the unique resonance that a company’s truth finds with its customers.
Digging as deep as she can into these primary interviews, KyAlea moves past the first superficial layers of the function of their company and their target audience. Instead, through her natural affinity to connect with people, KyAlea figures out the true origins of a business’ founding. These interviews empower her clients to finally piece together their inner motivations for previously abstract life goals. “I find that founders create this online entity they call their business, which they keep their personal lives separate from. While a work-life balance is healthy, what will inspire your audience is what inspires you. Sharing your origin story humanizes your brand,” KyAlea explains.
Once she constructs their Brand DNA Blueprint, which includes extensive market research, recommendations about their position, and a comprehensive sitemap, clients can choose to implement their tailor-made Blueprints themselves, with their own team of developers, or they can proceed to the next step with HOKU: creating their Master Brand. “That’s my ultimate goal, to help people feel clear and confident in their business choices, allowing them to better serve their audience,” says KyAlea, “For some, the Blueprint is enough to go public because I share absolutely everything and I am happy to support them.”
Or, HOKU takes clients to the next level, and KyAlea builds a Master Brand based on their Brand DNA Blueprint. Within weeks and a couple of intensive sessions, KyAlea constructs their website from start to finish, with their story and message always held central to the process. A white-glove service that includes copywriting, design, visuals, and branding, the Master Brand reflects the righteous pride clients have in their work back at them. “It brings businesses to life and shows founders how truly unique they are. I provide the clarity, connection, and simplicity for people to communicate and show up for their audience,” adds KyAlea.
KyAlea’s long-standing success in revitalizing brands to better serve their customers ranges from private companies to non-profit organizations to government departments and tech startups. She saw the light in the eyes of those she helped prosper every time she turned a company around from the brink of failure. Understanding that storytelling is the most impactful way to get people to pay attention through her passion for cinema, KyAlea wanted to continue empowering small businesses to have a voice that resonates with their audience. So, she took her years of knowledge and experience and founded HOKU Design.
It started with the discipline of clarity— clear messaging is good storytelling. KyAlea developed a system that enables her clients to realize that who they are is already the most magnetic superpower they have. She calls it R.I.C.E.: Reflect, Imagine, Connect and Create, and Evolve. KyAlea has evolved an alternative to brands wasting resources that could be spent providing real value to their clients by trying fruitlessly to find their customer base. The success stories that HOKU Design has written for its clients through R.I.C.E. and its comprehensive two-step process show that a brand is truly successful when it’s confident that its ideal client is waiting to find it.
As one founder and former client praises, “KyAlea orchestrated a complex rebranding that impacted how we spoke and delivered our products to clients. After launching the new strategies, messaging, and campaigns, we were able to increase our sales by 57% in just 3 months!”
For KyAlea, HOKU is the culmination of her life’s work in service of enriching the work and lives of others. “This is beyond a dream job. The fact that I can help people truly see themselves and help others see that superpower come to life is absolutely incredible. I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world,” she says. HOKU Design is committed to empowering clients to platform their voices and show up in their power and looks forward to continuing its mission of uplifting small businesses through impactful storytelling.
