I never imagined that I would be in my 40’s before discovering my passion.

It would take an even bigger stretch of the imagination to think that I would actually take the necessary steps to pursue this passion.  But this is the position I find myself in now; and with the help of the Creative Design School, it’s actually happening!

EMIL KAMDAR, UK

LOGO DESIGN SHORT COURSE

I didn’t have the best start to working life.

Having made it through school with the honest-held belief that to be successful, one must work in certain well-paying fields, giving no thought to what I actually cared about doing or what I enjoy.

I started a degree in physics, partly because I was told it would give me good prospects but I quickly found myself in over my head.  The work was too complex and I struggled to keep up, in the end, I dropped out.

Without any idea of what to do with my life and no prospects or qualifications, I fell into a two-year depression and was left with feelings of low self-worth and a fear of starting anything new due to the risk of failure.

In order to gain some stability, I found a job that could give me a career for life and steady pay. Even then I never gave any thought to what my true passion would be because, honestly, I didn’t think I deserved to.

However, with age comes experience and wisdom.

While on holiday in Mexico to celebrate my 40th birthday I met some fascinating people, many of whom were digital nomads.

During a conversation about remote working, the term “logo designer” was casually mentioned.

This planted a seed in my mind as I have always held an interest in logos and design in general; I feel excited when a car company redesigns their logo.  Thinking back to when I was in school, I used to draw superhero logos and redesign them over and over again.

I used to design my own starships from Star Trek.  This was my lightbulb moment – logo design is my passion!  It is something that has always been with me but I had never acknowledged it.

This was the point in my life that I had the necessary wisdom to make peace with my fear of failure and my feelings of self-worth, and I decided to pursue a side career in logo design.

I explored which courses were available.

At first, it felt like a minefield as I hadn’t studied for nearly 20 years.  It didn’t take long to realise that CDS was the only establishment which perfectly suited my needs.

Their structure was ideal for someone like me who was starting out with no knowledge or experience in their chosen subject – the one-to-one tutorials are perfectly suited to this.

I also liked that I could use the Logo Design Short Course to give me the foundation knowledge which would put me in good stead to enrol in the much more specialised Brand and Corporate ID Design course.

Logo Design

Having completed the Logo Design Short Course, I feel I have gained a solid knowledge base.  I have an understanding of the creative process which will feed into my future career.

Most of all, I enjoyed the course, I enjoyed creating designs and discussing them with my tutor.  This course gave me the opportunity to express my personal values in my designs; it taught me that this is the way to make my designs personal to me, and this will give me the advantage over generic AI-based designs.

Learning that there are so many possibilities for even basic graphics, such as for a house or a tree icon if you use the step-by-step process.

It was a challenge and a joy to take everything I had learned along the way and put this into practice for the final logo design project.  I created designs that I am proud of and I’m astounded by how far I have progressed over just six modules.

Becoming Freelance

Having only just started the Become a Freelancer Short Course I already feel that I am gaining valuable knowledge.

I am being encouraged to think about what I want from freelance work, where my strengths are and how to use those strengths to address my weaknesses.

The biggest revelation from completing the first module came when I realised that I had been subtly self-sabotaging, I didn’t have a mindset conducive to success.

I am grateful for this realisation as I can now focus my mind towards achieving my goals.

Another thing I like about CDS is knowing I have support from my course tutor when I need it.

I can message him and ask for guidance between tutorial meetings, I never feel that I am on my own or adrift.

My tutor encourages contact and I have the option to show him my work-in-progress before I make my weekly submissions.

For anyone considering enrolling with CDS, I would say just start by making contact.  Have a conversation over the phone or via video chat; maybe CDS isn’t right for you, or maybe it is, start by asking for yourself.  This is what I did and I’m so glad that I did it.

Having started on the path towards making a dream come true, I think about what I would say to my younger self; when I was adrift with no idea what to do with my life. 

I would tell him “It’s ok not to know what you want.  It’s ok not to have your life mapped out when you’re still a child, you don’t have to know what you’re passionate about in life.

Give yourself time and if you’re open to it, these things will come. 

So be open to it – and when it happens, it’s never too late to reach out and grab it with both hands!”