There are few challenges in life greater than one’s own circumstances. We work hard to build a life and career, make our plans and pursue our dreams… then without any warning, our circumstances change and all those plans – all those dreams – are no more. It’s in those moments that we have the opportunity to find the dream that’s been waiting for us the whole time.
Darrell didn’t dream of being a designer. Instead, design found him in the midst of the circumstances of life. Graduate studies, a promising career, and nearly a decade of work all came to an end because of an unexpected – and at the time, unexplained – illness.
In the midst of that struggle, a simple request from a friend – “You know Photoshop, right? Can you help me with these brand assets for my new business?” – started a chain reaction that led to formal Graphic Design training, freelance work in design and marketing communications, and the opportunity to teach others about design and digital communication.
At the end of the day, there are two ideas that drive this whole experience:
- Helping people be their very best is a passion that is not bound by any one vocation, and
- Being our very best (and indeed the very fact of living) inevitably requires asking others for help.
It’s okay to ask for help.