Six months ago, 36 local residents from a variety of neighborhoods, ethnic backgrounds, careers and interests convened for just one task: to define the essence of Hawai'i.

Oh, and boil it down to an image that would be recognizable on the 1-inch face of a quarter.

After plenty of hearty discussion and a lot of input from the public, the group yesterday unveiled five design themes that will serve as guidelines for artists with the U.S. Mint.

The artists will create as many as 12 mock-up designs for the Hawai'i Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission early next year, and from those, Gov. Linda Lingle will make a recommendation on a final design to the U.S. Mint.

The coin, set to be released in fall 2008, will be the last of the 50 state commemorative quarters. It will be produced for 10 weeks.

Commission members said pinpointing Hawai'i's sense of place with just a few images was a hefty undertaking. Reaching a consensus — with a commission made up of a broad range of people, from native Hawaiians to Filipinos, seniors to teenagers and politicians to teachers — was even more difficult, they said.

"Not everybody agreed all the time," said Nicholas Tomihama, a 16-year-old Mid-Pacific Institute student who was on the commission with his father.

Commission chairman Jona-than Johnson said there were scores of design elements and landmarks that commissioners wanted to include on the coins. One of the biggest tasks, he said, was agreeing on what really illustrated the Islands to residents and people on the Mainland alike.

"It was a study into what's so important about Hawai'i," he said.

Hawai'i graphic designers agreed that too many elements on a coin can confuse people, and some said several of the commission's designs sounded too crowded based on their descriptions.

For example, said Anne Bush, chairwoman of the design program at the University of Hawai'i, the state motto — Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina I ka pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) — would likely be unreadable on a coin. But two of the designs include it. Also, she said, waves for a surfing-themed coin could come across as cartoonish if done badly.

And Bush pointed out that some native Hawaiian groups might object to King Kamehameha I being portrayed on coinage of the United States of America. Kamehameha appears on several of the designs.

"Something like money really does verge on the universal, so thus it requires a really compact, tightly designed form," she said. "If it's too complex, people don't get any of it."

Richard Bigus, a graphic designer and associate chair of the UH art and art history department, said some landmarks or cultural icons — like Diamond Head or a hula dancer — could also come across as stereotypes if drawn incorrectly.

Bigus said if he were designing the coin, he would opt for a nature theme. "I think people mostly come here to see the ocean and the landscape," he said.

Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a commissioner, said the design described as "Hawai'i, diverse but unified" illustrates the diversity of the Hawaiian Islands — its people and geography.

"The state motto conveys mutual respect for the land, the ocean, the environment and each other," she said. "Moreover, the motto recognizes that our island home is a fragile socio-ecosystem that must be cared for with vision and balance."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.