{"id":218316,"date":"2025-07-03T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=218316"},"modified":"2025-07-03T13:31:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:31:01","slug":"honolulu-cc-alum-behind-bold-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/03\/honolulu-cc-alum-behind-bold-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Honolulu CC<\/abbr> alum behind bold design featured at UH<\/abbr> Alumni Makers\u2019 Market"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Lowell<\/p>\n

Nearly 30 years ago, Honolulu Community College<\/a> helped launch the career of a young designer with a bold vision. Today, that designer—Lowell Gillia—is the creative lead of Design Asylum<\/a>, a multidisciplinary studio known for turning ideas into eye-catching visuals seen across Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“Honolulu Community College gave me the foundation to build my career,” said Gillia.<\/p>\n

After earning his associate in science degree in commercial art from Honolulu CC<\/abbr> in 1986, Gillia headed to Northern California to continue his design education. However, it wasn\u2019t long before he returned home to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to plant roots. He founded Design Asylum, a studio built on challenging conventions, collaborating with intention, and delivering innovation with purpose.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re niche expert builders,” Gillia said. “That means we don\u2019t just play in the niche—we evolve it. We layer fresh applications onto proven industries, delivering bold ideas without blowing the budget—innovation with intention, and a side of efficiency.”<\/p>\n

Giving back to UH<\/abbr><\/h2>\n

\"Makers'<\/p>\n

Gillia remains deeply connected to the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> community, not only as an alumnus but also as a lecturer at Honolulu CC<\/abbr>. This year, he\u2019s giving back in a new, high-profile way—his design will be featured on the Maker totes at the fourth annual UH<\/abbr> Alumni Makers\u2019 Market<\/a> on August 8.<\/p>\n

“Giving back to the UH<\/abbr> alumni community felt like coming full circle,” he said. “This was a meaningful way to show appreciation—and to support the next wave of local entrepreneurs.”<\/p>\n

To current UH<\/abbr> students dreaming of starting a business in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, Gillia offers heartfelt advice drawn from his own journey.<\/p>\n

“Your reason for being an entrepreneur will keep you grounded when things get tough,” he said. “Build consistency into your routine, stay curious and don\u2019t be afraid to ask for advice. Chances are, someone\u2019s been in your shoes—and they\u2019re willing to help.”<\/p>\n

Tickets for the 2025 UH<\/abbr> Alumni Makers\u2019 Market are available now.<\/a> General admission includes a Maker tote designed by Gillia.<\/p>\n

Read Gillia\u2019s full Q&A.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honolulu CC<\/abbr> alum\u2019s design journey comes full circle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,62,271,71,319],"class_list":["post-218316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-uh-alumni-association","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-foundation","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218316"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218323,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218316\/revisions\/218323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}